You’re Probably Solving UX Problems the Wrong Way — Here’s How to Fix That

3 UX Principles You Shouldn’t Ignore

Photo by Dewang Gupta on Unsplash

An average specialist takes orders.

A good specialist creates solutions.

A great specialist understands the problem.

In this article, I’ll share some underrated knowledge I picked up from talented User Experience Designers.

Learn to craft products that meet the user’s needs instead of caressing the creator’s ego.

Brace yourself for a knowledge drop that separates the cream from the crop.

💡 The Why is Stronger Than the How

Yes, it really is that simple: Great product specialists don’t lead with “how”. They start with “why”.

Followed by another why.

And another one.

Eventually, you will understand the core of the problem.

Why is that important?

Because most product specialists jump to solutions too quickly. Even the smart ones do that. No, especially the smart ones.

The reason is obvious: the more experience you have, the higher the probability that you’ve seen something similar.

And since our brain is naturally wired to preserve energy, you take a solution for a similar issue, adapt it, drop the mic, and go on with your life.

But this won’t be you anymore!

In the future, consciously pause and dig deeper. Research where the request is coming from.

Here’s a little cheat sheet of questions you could ask:

• Why do we need the feature?

• Why did the user request it?

• Did a user request it, or a product manager?

• What were the circumstances?

• What is the motivation for the request?

• What job is the requester trying to complete?

All of these questions will lead you down a path of true understanding.

If you wonder why I bring up such an obvious thing:

Obvious things are often the first we forget.

Hence, you will find a downloadable cheat sheet that sums up the key takeaways of this article at the end.