UX house of cards

Skip the initial research and see what happens…

Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

No, this is not about an exciting new Netflix series starring Robin Wright and Jacob Nielsen (though that would be epic).

This is a reflection on UX case studies, live projects, a fundamental misunderstanding of what a UX process is for and the importance of up-front research.

Also known as “How to stop things from falling over”.

Case studies and process

The majority of portfolio case studies today follow the UX process (well done) but I don’t believe they always understand or communicate what the process is for.

The UX process is not an arbitrary box-ticking exercise; it is a UX-specific manifestation of The Scientific Method, which ensures that the design solution (or outcome) sits on top of a robust, logical structure of evidence-based decisions.

Therefore, whatever solution you show in your case study, the reader (i.e. the user!) should be able to be follow all the way back to the findings from your initial generative or formative research.

Assuming you did some.