UX maturity
Understanding your UX maturity level is the starting point to developing a strong user-centric culture and aligning your UX efforts with organisational goals.
An organisation’s capacity and desire to effectively implement user-centric design and principles within its culture is measured according to its level of UX maturity.
UX maturity encompasses a range of factors, including the rigour of UX research and design methodologies within an organisation, the prioritisation of resources, attitudes towards UX across teams and among leadership, and the knowledge and practice of UX. UX Maturity significantly impacts business success as higher UX maturity levels lead to more enhanced user experiences, increasing user loyalty and satisfaction.
An indication of an organisation’s UX maturity level is provided at the beginning of the UX audit to identify the extent to which it implements user-centred design and research across all processes, recognise good practices, and indicate areas that might need improvement. The UX maturity survey sets the foundation for the relevant, actionable recommendations we provide as an output of the UX audit.
Understanding UX maturity
The six stages of UX maturity
We assess UX maturity levels according to the model developed by the Nielsen Norman Group because it offers a clear framework for determining the degree of an organisation’s UX-related strengths and shortcomings. The model also reveals solutions for organisations to progress to the next UX maturity stage. The Nielsen Norman Group identifies six positions of UX maturity:
Absent
UX is disregarded or non-existent
Limited
UX work is uncommon, carelessly conducted and of little significance
Emergent
Although the UX work is useful and promising, it is also inefficient
Structured
The organisation has a widely used scientific UX methodology that has differing degrees of efficiency
Integrated
Valuable insights and outstanding user-centred design outputs are a direct outcome of a commitment to UX at all levels
User-driven
Valuable insights and outstanding user-centred design outputs are a direct outcome of a commitment to UX at all levels
The four categories of assessment
Strategy
Culture
Process
Outcome
The benefits of UX maturity
Increased user satisfaction and loyalty
Improved conversion rates and user engagement
Competitive advantage in the market
Steps to achieve UX maturity
00Establishing a user-centric culture
01Conducting user research and testing
02Creating seamless user journeys
03Iterative design and prototyping
04Measuring and analysing UX metrics
05Empowering and training UX teams
Challenges in Advancing UX Maturity
Advancing UX maturity can be a challenge for several reasons, some of the most common barriers we see are:
- Organisational resistance: Common resistance points within organisations include the investment required, the risk of change and a lack of understanding the value of UX. Educating teams and senior leadership on UX and its advantages is crucial for uptake.
- Resource allocation: Securing adequate resources within an organisation for UX initiatives can also be a challenge. This is often a result of different priorities within senior leadership teams. Showcasing the business case for UX investment is key, focusing on enhanced user satisfaction, engagement and loyalty can help tie back UX initiatives to business goals.
- Skill gaps: Existing teams may not be composed of the roles required e.g. UX designers, researchers, strategists etc. or individuals may not have the necessary skill set to be able to advance UX maturity within the team. Identifying where skill gaps are is the first step before discussing with teams new roles to hire for or training required to support existing team members. Employ both of these strategies to help bridge the current skill gap.
Integrating UX maturity into business strategy
It is important to instil a user-centric approach into the organisation’s mindset and ways of working. To cultivate UX maturity it must also be built into the business strategy. Three ways to support this include:
- Alignment with Business Goals: It is important to demonstrate to stakeholders how UX maturity aligns with and supports broader business objectives. At the project kick-off understanding business goals is a key area of focus and should be weaved into the UX audit review process.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Our ways of working naturally support this by actively seeking input from stakeholders at key touch points throughout the project. At the start of any activity or deliverable where stakeholders will be engaged or reviewing, we recap the project context and explain the activity or deliverable, highlighting its purpose and use case so that the value is understood.
- ROI of UX: Advancing UX within an organisation can have a great ROI. Improved UX understanding and implementation within the organisation means that in turn the user experience of a product or service is enhanced. Enhancing the user experience can lead to higher customer loyalty, conversions and satisfaction.
The role of leadership in UX maturity
Leadership vision and commitment to advancing UX maturity are very important. Leaders who see the value in investing time and resources in UX can gain an in-depth understanding of their users from their team and ensure that a best-in-class user experience is implemented. Leaders also play an essential role in driving the cultural change of an organisation towards a more user-centric approach across teams. A user-centric approach also means a continuous improvement mindset. There is a need for the leadership to foster an environment of continuous learning and improvement in UX to ensure best practice is maintained, and as user wants and needs naturally change over time products and services must continue to adapt.
Conclusion
Understanding existing UX research and standards provides a comprehensive view of where an organisation stands in terms of UX efforts and reveals gaps and opportunities for enhancing UX processes and strategies. As UX maturity advances, the user becomes more central to processes and design decisions, which results in improved user experiences and increased business success. If you would like to find out more, simply contact us and one of our friendly staff will get back to you.
