Isn't it time we had some sort of a "manifesto" defining what it is we need and value in user experience (UX) design in technology? Some UX and design proponents have done exactly that.
"The world needs a tech diet," according to a very thoughtful -- and extremely well-designed -- work [1]by Fabricio Teixeira, founder of UX Collective, and Caio Braga, product design lead at 99designs and editor at UX Collective. Many developers and designers have become too focused on gaining clicks, views, and session duration as an end-all and be-all of application success, they write.
Companies have pursued metrics to the point in which they seek to "design for addiction, always devising new ways to keep people coming back for more." In the process, the actual business value of KPIs gets lost. "More page views per visit to an e-commerce website do not necessarily mean more sales. Likewise, the number of opens per week for a mobile banking app tells us little about customer loyalty and satisfaction - when it comes to their financial life, aren't people looking for peace of mind instead?"
The result: technology teams have only "helped build a corporate culture that systematically prioritizes short-term gains over longer-term product health," Teixeira and Braga state. "Although we are aware that our design tactics can be misleading, we give them positive names - like 'growth hacking,' 'gamification,' and 'engagement loops '- and try not to dwell on their possibly pernicious effects."
This is leading to the current pushback now being seen against the technology industry. "Discussions around our unhealthy relationship with technology are becoming mainstream," they state. What can technology developers and designers do to put applications and engagements on a healthier path? Here are some of Teixeira and