Scapegoating User Experience Design

April 29, 2019

It tells the story of hackers compromising Nest Cams in private homes by taking advantage of lax security on the cameras. And it pins the blame for this on technology companies’ focus on reducing “what Silicon Valley calls ‘friction’—anything that can slow down or stand in the way of someone using a product.”Scapegoating User Experience Design

To look at UX as something that simply reduces friction is one way but it's also a very short-sighted way. UX should be long-term and a great long-term user experience can weigh in the extra seconds it takes to add a layer of security even if it's slightly inconvenient when setting up. A great UX writer will help you describe for the user why it requires 2FA (or something else) and the user benefits.

We could chalk this up to lazy journalism but in fact the fault lies with us, with designers who have utterly failed at explaining what it is that we do to the world at large. There is little comprehension of what design does or how to define user experience, and what possibilities exist within these broad, amorphous concepts for everyday people. Scapegoating User Experience Design

This is the main reason why I've recently decided to describe what a UX designer does, how that role differs from a UX lead and why it pays off to create a UX strategy with your team.

It’s honest, authentic, and accessible.

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