Day-to-day life of a Product Owner is a balancing act: when developing software products, it is necessary to consider both users’ tasks and workflows, and business considerations. This involves translating complex requirements, prioritising decisions and, at the same time, managing the development team efficiently. And all this is often done under intense time and budget constraints.
Under this pressure, there is often little time to focus closely on the user experience. UX is often only considered at the end of the development process and equated with attractive buttons and stylish interfaces. However, UX is far more than just user interface design (UI): it is a product’s inner compass. It reveals what users really want and the tasks they wish to accomplish, as well as the obstacles in their way.
When used in this way, UX methods bring structure to the process, help to prioritise tasks, and foster a shared understanding of the tasks within the team. Those who firmly integrate UX into the agile process not only adopt a user-centred approach, but also work more efficiently, saving resources and bringing products to market more quickly that people enjoy using.
Clarity rather than gut feeling. Why investing in UX pays off.
Many software companies are reluctant to fully integrate user experience due to concerns over additional costs, time and unclear benefits. In fact, user-centred development does initially require an investment: users must be recruited and surveyed, and the results analysed. UX also takes time during the development process itself, involving iterative testing, gathering feedback and making adjustments, which ties up resources.
Another common concern is that if all user needs are to be taken into account, the application will inevitably become more complex. There is a concern is that UX leads to increased technical requirements. However, in practice, the opposite is true: a clear focus on users’ actual needs significantly reduces complexity. This is because good UX enables functions to be selectedin a targeted manner, rather than implementing everything that is technically possible. Therefore, UX not only creates better user experiences, but can also reduce technical effort – because less is often more.
Our experience shows that: Those who consistently incorporate UX into their work are more efficient, require less rework and reduce costs in the long term, all the while improving product quality.
For example:
In one of our projects¹, we were able to reduce the processing time for customer enquiries by an average of 1.5 hours per case thanks to an improved UX. The System Usability Score (SUS), an internationally recognised standard for measuring the user-friendliness² of systems, applications or websites, was 86.9. Applications are considered to have an A grade (excellent) from as low as 80.3.
In practical terms, this means that UX design can significantly improveefficiency and user-friendliness for businesses. Employees can complete tasks more quickly and easily, leading to time and cost savings, higher productivity, and happier teams.
Companies that firmly embed UX into their offerings and processes, such as many start-ups, create lasting value for their users. The benefits are as follows:
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More targeted product development: UX can help identify at an early stage whether a feature is genuinely necessary or just a technical gimmick. This leads to significant time and budget savings.
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Fewer unexpected changes: Clear user requirements reduce the need for subsequent adjustments and make future patches and updates easier to plan.
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More efficient teamwork: Product owners and project managers can communicate their requirements and expectations to the development team more easily. This minimises misunderstandings and speeds up the development process.
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Market advantage and successful sales: A positive user experience leads to higher conversion rates as buyers immediately recognize the app’s benefits, and referral rates also increase.
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Reduced support and training costs: Intuitive applications require less training and generate fewer support requests, which is a major benefit not only for the software company, but also for users, who can work more quickly and with fewer issues.
Integrating UX design into Scrum processes
UX design and Scrum are two processes that share the same goal: a software product that users enjoy using and find successful. Scrum is widely used in software development. In practice, however, UX design and the Scrum process have mostly operated in parallel, with few points of overlap.
Misunderstandings and redundancies can be avoided if the two processes are closely integrated. Even in the preparatory phase – known as ‘Sprint 0’ – initial conceptual UX design methods, such as user research, persona creation, and formulating requirements as user stories can be effectively integrated.
On this basis, a clear product backlog that is clear to everyone can be drawn up, which makes it much easier for the product owner to estimate the required effort. As the project progresses, prototypes facilitate early user testing and discussions about use cases and interactions during sprints, enabling quick adjustments to be made during the development process.
UX methods provide support at every stage of development
- User research and requirements analysis: At the start of a project, the needs of the users should be identified through interviews, surveys or observations. This results in the creation of realistic personas with specific tasks, which can then be used as as a basic guide.
- Wireframing and prototyping: Before development begins, wireframes and prototypes help to quickly visualise and test initial concepts. These can be created using tools such as Figma, Adobe XD or Axure.
- Usability testing: Regular testing with real users helps to identify weaknesses early on. This feedback should then be incorporated into the product in short iterations.
- Gather ongoing user feedback: Following the release, users should be surveyed regularly to identify areas for improvement. At this stage, A/B testing and heatmaps can provide a better understanding of user behaviour.
UX to go?
User experience designers require a specific skill set that lies somewhere between psychological empathy and structural process design. They must be equally familiar with design principles and content data models. They must also develop an understanding of technical complexity in order to collaborate seamlessly with the development team. UX designers also support the product owner by reviewing the acceptance criteria for user stories, thereby improving the quality and consistency of the requirements.
This knowledge must therefore be integrated into every stage of the development process. Regular, structured communication between developers and UX designers during sprint planning sessions, daily stand-ups,and reviews enables both parties to clarify early on whether the proposed UX design can be implemented within a reasonable time frame and budget. At the same time, developers are given the opportunity to contribute their own ideas and perspectives to the design process.
A lack of in-house expertise can be offset by partnering with specialist UX providers. These providers are generally accustomed to working closely with development teams and can offer valuable expertise to software companies. A side effect of this knowledge transfer is a shift from a technically oriented corporate culture towards greater customer focus. This effect can be further enhanced through UX training and workshops, which significantly improve employees’ understanding and motivation. This shared understanding and change in perspective can transform a company and prepare it for the future.
Taking software development to a new level
AI is already helping to simplify software development in many ways. However, it still falls short on a number of key success criteria, such as understanding human behaviour, which can sometimes be illogical, and anticipating the desires and fears arising from social contexts.
As well as providing a positive user experience through intuitive navigation, minimising usability issues and improving error tolerance, UX design can generate new approaches to product development and significantly boost a software company’s potential for innovation. This enables the identification of unique selling points beyond the usual functions that set the company apart from the competition and facilitate better positioning within the market environment.
After all, understanding your users enables you to sell more effectively. Insights into customers’ genuine needs and challenges aid software development and inform your sales pitch. When launching new products or targeting new customer groups, understanding your audience helps you tocommunicate more clearly and effectively, ensuring that you highlight the right messages.
Conclusion: UX – the common thread in product development
For product owners, UX does not mean more work, but greater effectiveness, leading to better decisions, fewer mistakes and a successful product. Those who incorporate UX at an early stage create structure, save resources, and develop long-term valuable applications. Integrating UX into the development process has a twofold effect:
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It strengthens teamwork and makes planning easier by providing clarity on requirements, priorities and implementation options.
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It also delivers measurable results in terms of faster implementation, an improved user experience, and reduced operational overheads.
For software developers, UX offers a strategic advantage by significantly improving product quality, market success, and customer loyalty.
Curious?
Would you like to discuss a challenge you are facing, or talk to us about this topic? We look forward to hearing from you. You can contact us by phone on +49 611 . 238 50 10 or via email at kontakt(at)diefirma.de.
References
¹ https://www.diefirma.de/en/projects/psi-metals-ux-research
