Does User Experience (UX) Really Matter?
Every now and then, I will go to conferences and events where the topic of user experience will come up with a prospect. In said conversation, some form of the "what is the real business value of UX?" question comes up. While we often meet that by talking in vague terms about lowered training costs, I always found such conversations to not be terribly convincing. So lately, I have revamped my standard "pitch" (for lack of a better word) around UX, to something like:
[Prospect]: So, is there really any business value in making applications pretty? I am an important investor and I don’t want to waste money on fluffy crap.
[Me]: Do you fly on a private jet, or are you still flying commercial?
[Prospect]: Sadly, in this environment, we are flying commercial, so I settle for First Class.
[Me]: Whew – ok then, maybe you can relate then. Have you ever had to change a flight?
[Prospect]: Yeah, sure have. Once I was on this three city tour bla bla bla…
[Me]: Wow, well, don’t you wonder sometimes if that ticket agent behind the counter is really changing your ticket? Doesn’t it seem like she is doing enough typing back there to write an entire Masters Thesis?
[Prospect]: Sure does! There must be a lot of work to change from the 6AM to the 8AM flight to LaGuardia.
[Me]: Well, think about it. You can go online, or for that matter, to the Kiosk 6 feet away from the gate agent, and accomplish the same thing with 4 clicks and 2 keystrokes.
[Prospect]: Wow! You don’t say…
[Me]: In fact, think of all the money airlines could save if the UX on their systems that their agents have to use didn’t suck so much.
[Prospect]: No wonder airlines are constantly going bankrupt. Can I have your card?
The answer to "does UX really matter?" - heck yes. In fact, whenever I personally start to wonder when and if companies will start aggressivley investing in technology, I think about how much low hanging fruit there is in terms of UX for LOB applications, put a smile on my face, and go about my day, confident that yes, there is still quite a bit of work to do.