Good UX has real business value.
It can increase revenue, customer happiness, and cut down on costs. Yet do you ever feel like your work isn’t fully appreciated in the business world?
If so, look to these inspirational thought leaders to feel more secure about the business benefits of UX.
Susan Weinschenk PhD
Susan Weinschenk is a behavioural psychologist and the founder of The Team W. She’s been in the UX field for thirty years, and is the author of the important books like 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People. It’s a great resource if you need to convince business people about UX. She’s also a podcast host at Human Tech.
Follow: @thebrainlady
Read: 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People
Watch: The ROI of User Experience
Jaime Levy
Jaime Levy is the author of UX Strategy: How to Devise Innovative Digital Products that People Want. In this book, she uses her thirty years of experience to show how UX combined business strategy can lead to big results. Jamie’s also a lecturer in User Experience at the University of Southern California, and works as a consultant.
Follow: @JaimeRLevy
Read: UX Strategy: How to Devise Innovative Digital Products that People Want
Watch: Shoot for the Moon: How UX Strategy can transform the world
Jared Spool
Jared Spool is an author, researcher, and educator. He’s helped companies solve their problems for over thirty years. Jared often speaks and writes about the business value of UX. He gives practical advice on how to sell the value of UX to business people. For anyone involved in building products, Jared recommends reading Steve Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think.
Follow: @jmspool
Read: Why UX Outcomes Make Better Goals Than Business Outcomes
Watch: Beyond The UX Tipping Point
Laura Klein
Laura Klein is the author of Build Better Products. This book teaches us how to create products and features that improve your company’s bottom line. It includes practical exercises that can help you align your business goals with your product needs. Laura’s also a podcast host at What is Wrong with UX?.
Follow: @lauraklein
Read: Build Better Products
Listen: The ROI of Design
Don Norman
Don Norman is co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group, author of The Design of Everyday Things, former Apple VP, and much more. Don is a thought leader on many aspects of user experience, but in more recent years, he’s concerned with how design thinking improves business strategy.
Follow: @jnd1er
Read: I wrote the book on user-friendly design. What I see today horrifies me
Watch: Design for How People Think
Jeanne Liedtka
Jeanne Liedtka is a thought leader at the intersection of strategy, innovation, and design thinking. She has written numerous books about design thinking. Designing for Growth is a great book for anyone who wants to learn more about UX and apply it in their day-to-day work. It’s a practical guide for managers who want to stay innovative.
Follow: @jeanneliedtka
Read: Why Design Thinking Works
Listen: The business value of design with Jeanne Liedtka
Jayneil Dalal
Jayneil Dalal is the creator of Design MBA. Designer Jayneil didn’t want to invest in doing a MBA at an expensive college, so he started this podcast instead. His mission is to make business education accessible to the design community. And inspire other designers to launch their own ventures.
Follow: @jayneildalal
Read: @jayneildalal on Medium
Listen: Design MBA – Being a Solo Design Founder – Joe Formica
Alan Cooper
Alan Cooper has been a computer scientist since 1973 and an entrepreneur all of his life. He’s famously known for inventing personas in the community. He’s the author of The Inmates Are Running the Asylum. While it was first published in 1999, many UX professionals still use it to make their business case in 2021. It’s a classic.
Follow: @MrAlanCooper
Read: When Companies Question the Value of Design
Watch: Alan Cooper – Working Backward
Erika Hall
Erika Hall is the co-founder of Mule Design, and author of Just Enough Research. Many senior stakeholders want to skip user research because it’s “too expensive.” In this book, Erika looks at why research is the right thing to do. And shows how you can do it effectively in terms of price and time.
Follow: @mulegirl
Read: Just Enough Research
Listen: The Art of Just Enough Research: With Guest Erika Hall
