You're balancing user needs and stakeholder feedback. How do you decide what truly matters in UX design?

First things first, without your users, your stakeholders role(s) would be non-existent. The user can fire everyone at the organisation. Place your users needs front and centre, solve their problem first then fulfil the organisations business goals. Let the stakeholders always know that users & data are your true north in matters UX. Focusing on the business goals entirely will lead to a product for the company, not the users. Listen to your users, always.

Deciding what truly matters in UX design involves a delicate balance between user needs and stakeholder objectives. I prioritize user needs as the foundation for successful design, but I also recognize the importance of aligning with business goals. To make informed decisions, I employ a data-driven approach, analyzing user research findings alongside business metrics. I foster open communication with stakeholders, clearly articulating the impact of design decisions on both users and the business. Ultimately, I strive to create designs that not only meet user needs but also contribute to the overall success of the product.

Keeping the balance between stakeholder goals and user needs WILL be tricky. The goal is to first make sure you solve the users problems to ensure you actually do have users in the first place, then align your solution to the business goals whether that is monetisation, reach, partnerships, etc.

Balancing stakeholder expectations with user needs is a critical skill for any product manager or designer. Strategies to be considered: Having a strong relationships with stakeholders are essential for gaining trust and buy-in. Crafting compelling narratives around user experiences can make complex data more relatable and impactful. Not every user need can be met immediately. Prioritize based on business impact and user value.

Prioritise the most important feature that sets apart your product from your competitors and that will bring users to your platform. That's the way to get started, then build from that foundation as you expand your feature base and incorporate new segments of the product. This ensures there's a grounding point for your product. For example, a banking app must first have the ability to deposit and withdraw money from my account before we think of any other features like loan disbursements, financing, insurance, savings, etc.

Involved your stakeholders in key meetings i.e. sprint planning, research analysis, usability testing. This will give your stakeholders first hand experience of their objectives being meet and provide feedback. Keep testing and iterating the product unless product market fit has been achieved. Changes or features that can cause max impact should be addressed first.

By proactively managing risks, UX designers can increase the chances of delivering successful and user-centric products. By prioritizing risks based on their potential impact and likelihood of occurrence. And developing alternative solutions or strategies to address potential issues and continuously reassess risks throughout the design process.

As a designer first we try to find a balanced solution. But if we are unable to find it we should prioritise user needs and try to convince the stakeholders that users cannot be ignored. These are people for whome we are building our product and their experience determines its success.