I’m often asked whether it pays off to add time or budget to optimize a user experience. So when I come across great illustrations of the value of UX, I like to stockpile them.
Companies Focused on UX Outperform the Market
Source: http://www.uxmag.com/strategy/327/investing-in-ux
This article’s author contends that the value of focusing on user experiences is not proven at in individual cause & effect analyses, but instead argues that “companies that internalize the values of doing great UX will see it permeate in their performance.”
In the experiment he describes, they isolated a set of companies that invest in UX optimization and tracked it against the market at large. Over a year’s time, the UX fund outperformed the market. He also contends that the experimental restrictions lessened the performance they might have otherwise seen.
This research reminds me of what I heard in Tuesday’s panel — that SUS might be correlated to NPS, something I hope to look into a bit more.
The $300 Million Button
Source: http://www.uie.com/articles/three_hund_million_button
I love this classic anecdote, as it underscores the need for and benefits of usability testing.
Beware the client who wants to use usability testing to perform marketing research. That’s not the point. Usability testing should uncover the frustrations users have as they attempt to accomplish the task for which they came to the site – which is not to be marketed to. It’s to make a purchase. To find a specific piece of information. To sign up. To make a decision.
Other Examples
Do you know of any other stories that encapsulate the benefits of focusing on UX, like these do? Do you have a personal anecdote? Please share.
See also
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Continuing the Discussion