Nielsen Norman Group

If your teams are still working in silos, stuck in a product-first mentality, and wondering why customer experience feels so disconnected, Kim Flaherty has some news for you. ?? A product-centric approach makes you focus on features. ?? A journey-centric approach makes you focus on customers. Too many teams try to achieve customer-centricity while still operating with this product-centric mindset. They tweak a feature here, add a touchpoint there—meanwhile, the customer’s journey remains disjointed. The truth? You can’t create a seamless experience if your teams are still working in silos. Truly shifting from product-centric to journey-centric design means: ? Prioritizing the customer journey over individual product improvements ? Breaking down internal silos in favor of crossfunctional collaboration ? Measuring success by customer outcomes, not just feature adoption But here’s the catch: A top-down mandate won’t cut it. Organizational change isn’t just about new processes. Teams need to see why journey-centricity matters, be trained on how to work differently, and be given time to adjust. (Because let’s be real—no one likes being told to “just do things differently” without context.) Read Kim’s full article for some tips: https://bit.ly/3FaeoD4 Want more? Read about how companies like Jumbo Supermarkets and PostNL worked to manage this mindset change in our latest report: https://bit.ly/3YlkpTj #UX #CustomerExperience #JourneyMapping #DesignThinking #OrgChange

?? This week, I had the opportunity to attend the brand-new “Designing AI Experiences” course by Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g)—a deep dive into the intersection of UX and AI. As AI-driven features rapidly become a priority across industries, this course provided practical strategies for designing user-centered AI solutions. ?? What made it stand out? ? Actionable strategies—Not just theory! We worked through interactive Miro exercises, design templates, and industry case studies to create AI-driven solutions that truly serve users. ? Incredible discussions—Learning alongside like-minded UX professionals passionate about AI made the experience even richer. The shared insights and diverse perspectives were invaluable. ? Expert-led learning— Caleb Sponheim, Ph.D., led the course with a strong analytical approach, combining computational neuroscience, UX research, and AI strategy. For any UX practitioners working with AI, this course is a fantastic opportunity to build a structured approach to integrating AI into products and services. Excited to apply these insights in future projects! About course: https://lnkd.in/dWWP8auG ?? What are your biggest challenges in AI + UX design? Let’s discuss! #AIUX #DesigningAI #UserExperience #HumanCenteredAI #UXStrategy #AIX #NielsenNormanGroup

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What happens when your beautifully crafted app, seamless website, and intuitive human-centered design no longer impress because an AI is the one making the choices? AI agents are reshaping service design, shifting interactions from human-to-business to AI-to-business and even AI-to-AI. Instead of users browsing options, their AI assistants might help evaluate, select, and engage with services on their behalf. This means UX won’t just be about human users anymore—it’ll also be about optimizing for AI decision-making. Much like how ecommerce transformed retail, AI will: ?? Commoditize experiences: prioritizing structured data over aesthetics. ?? Redefine differentiation: success will hinge on seamless AI integrations and compatibility. ?? Consolidate platforms: a handful of major tech players will become the new gatekeepers. The UX field has always adapted to new tech, and this is no different. The challenge? Designing experiences that serve both human needs and AI-driven efficiencies. Read more about what Sarah Gibbons & Pablo Fernandez Vallejo have to say about AI Agents here: https://bit.ly/4hbvsG4 Designing AI experiences for your company? Try out one of our newest courses Designing AI Experiences with instructor, Caleb Sponheim: https://bit.ly/4gFRPUi #UXDesign #AI #ServiceDesign #FutureOfUX #AIUX

Have some free time in April? Looking to spend that training budget? Why not take one of our courses? Take one (or more ??) of our 37 live UX courses offered this April 5–11. Led by NN/g experts and guest instructors from all areas of expertise, sharpen your skills, learn the latest in UX design, research, and stakeholder management, and connect with a global community of professionals. ??? April 5–11 ?? San Franciso, USA : 8 AM - 3 PM ?? New York, USA: 11 PM - 6 PM ?? Sao Paulo, Brazil: 4 PM - 11 PM Join us for Courses like: ?? Usability Testing with Maddie Brown https://bit.ly/41sbfWI ?? The One Person UX Team with Evan Sunwall https://bit.ly/4bue5iw ?? Advocating for Resources and Bugdet for UX with Dr. Ari Zelmanow https://bit.ly/4f763ME ?? Leading Highly Effective UX Teams with Janice Rohn https://bit.ly/4i917t3 ??? *NEW* Interaction Design with Megan Chan https://bit.ly/41sbgde ?? Storytelling to Present UX Work with Rachel Krause https://bit.ly/4jPtbTv Check out the full calendar here to find the course for you: https://bit.ly/3F6aISR April Course Pricing: https://bit.ly/41sbgtK Can’t make it in April? That’s okay! Explore our courses coming up in May & June: https://bit.ly/4kv8Y5N #NNGUX #UXTraining #OnlineLearning #LiveOnline #Event #Course #ContinuousLearning #Education

UX is dead. Or is it? ?? With mature design systems and AI promising full-on automation, some business leader think UX investments are unnecessary… But they might be missing the bigger picture. UX isn’t dead—it’s just evolving. For years, we’ve focused on micro-level optimizations: refining product UIs, tweaking button copy, and perfecting form design. But these product-focused enhancements no longer drive the same business value. The real opportunity? Designing for the entire user journey. Think of it like this: If traditional UX was creating animated shorts (Steamboat Willie ????), then today’s UX needs to be full-length feature films (Snow White ???). Every touchpoint—emails, notifications, support interactions—is a scene in a much larger brand story. UX is no longer just about moments. It’s about movies. And if we don’t start designing the full narrative, we risk being outpaced by competitors who do. Read more in Kim Flaherty's latest article: https://bit.ly/43x3OA2 Or purchase her latest report, Architecting a Journey Management Practice: https://bit.ly/3YlkpTj #UXDesign #UserExperience #JourneyMapping #CustomerExperience #ServiceDesign #DesignThinking #UXLeadership

The best UX solves real problems. Whether it’s reducing form friction, understanding AI adoption, or making design more accessible, these insights will help you build better experiences. ??? Less Effort, More Completion: The EAS Framework for Simplifying Forms by Huei-Hsin Wang Use the EAS framework. Eliminate first, automate where possible, and simplify what remains to minimize user effort and improve form completion rates. https://bit.ly/41NGDjG ??? AI Adoption in the Workplace Still Low, 2 Years Later by Kate Moran and Maria Rosala It’s tempting for designers to think AI features are now familiar to our users, but recent research from Pew Research Center suggests that adoption is still lower than we might think. https://bit.ly/41KSmzz ?? Accessible Solutions Benefit Everyone: Here's How with Megan Chan Designing for specific needs, like accessibility, ends up benefiting everyone by making products easier to use for all. https://bit.ly/4heEWQM ?? Turn Your Non-UX Experience Into a UX Career Advantages with Tim Neusesser Follow this 5 step process to break into the field of design by effectively framing your previous experiences. https://bit.ly/41LwJz6 Let us know what topics you want to see NN/g cover next in the comments! #UXArticles #UXVideos #UserExperience #NNgResources #UXCommunity

If you’re transitioning into UX, you probably came in expecting structured frameworks, clear methodologies, and step-by-step processes. And sure, those exist. But in reality? UX is messy. It’s full of ambiguity, constraints, and situations where “it depends” is the only honest answer. Some common surprises for new UXers: ?? UX isn’t just about users – You’ll spend a lot of time advocating for UX in orgs that don’t fully understand it. UX maturity varies, and you might need to *sell* UX before you can *do* UX. ?? You won’t use every method in every project – Personas, journey maps, usability tests… great tools, but not always necessary. Learn to adapt instead of blindly following frameworks. ? You’ll rarely have all the time, budget, or tools you want – Sometimes, you’ll bribe usability test participants with leftover company swag (yes, this happens). Scrappiness is a UX superpower. ?? The whole team owns UX, not just you – If the product manager, engineers, and stakeholders aren’t on board, even the best designs won’t see the light of day. The key to thriving? Embrace the ambiguity. Learn to work with constraints. Seek out mentorship, observe experienced UXers, and accept that mistakes are just part of the learning process. Watch the full discussion with Kate Moran, Maria Rosala, Kate Kaplan, and Page Laubheimer here: https://bit.ly/43fTcFE If you’ve transitioned into UX, what was your biggest “oh wow, no one told me this” moment? Drop it in the comments! ?? #UXCareer #NewToUX #UXReality #CareerTransition #UXDesign #Mentorship

Service design has always been about orchestrating experiences between people—customers, employees, stakeholders. But with AI stepping onto the stage as an active participant, the script is changing with AI agents. AI agents, defined by Anna Gutowska, are systems or programs capable of autonomously performing tasks on behalf of a user. Imagine booking a lab test. Today, you navigate portals, phone calls, and forms. In the future? Your AI assistant—knowing your history, preferences, and needs—can handle scheduling appointments, fetching results, and even liaising with your doctor. No hold music required. ?? For organizations, AI agents aren’t just customer-facing—they’re reshaping internal operations too. From IT support to compliance monitoring, AI is stepping in to automate, optimize, and maybe even make fewer Excel errors than Greg from accounting. (Sorry, Greg.) This shift isn’t just about efficiency; it’s a fundamental rethinking of how services are designed. Instead of users performing every step, AI enables outcome-oriented design: “I need X” → AI figures out how. Interested in learning more, read the complete article by Pablo Fernandez Vallejo and Sarah Gibbons here: https://bit.ly/4jUL3fM Interested in learning how to for design AI in your organization? Check out our course: https://bit.ly/4icbqwb #AI #ServiceDesign #UserExperience #AIUX #Innovation #FutureOfWork

Breadcrumbs, Toast, Sliders Sadly, not the edible kind. We’re talking UI elements! Raluca Budiu and Kara Rivenbark have put together a comprehensive UI component glossary to be your one-stop shop for all those UI element names and uses. Whether it’s a tooltip, split button, or a megamenu, we’ve got you covered. ??? Quickly look up definitions ?? Jump to what you need ?? Bookmark it for later Check out the full list here: https://bit.ly/41zvhzX #UXDesign #UIComponents #DesignTerminology #UXGlossary #UserExperience