Stop relying on UXRs

This isn’t a dig at UX Researchers; they add massive value. No. This is about the epidemic happening in the product world: switching titles to ‘Product Designer’ magically equips teams with the prowess to navigate UX, UI, research, and commercial strategy.

But, reality check: it doesn’t. We’ve all seen unvalidated, yet beautifully designed “solutions” that, you guessed it, either never reach production or fail at launch. This mishap costs millions.

Typically, in response, organisations try and resolve this error by hiring UX Researchers; consequently, alleviating the need for Product Designers to complete one third of their responsibility. Quick insight: UX Researcher salaries are higher than Product Designers… Ouch.

This fragmented hiring strategy treats the symptom, not the cause. It’s a folly.

So how do we better utilise Product Designers?

A Product Designer is…

First and foremost, we need to understand that it’s a senior role from the offset. Unlike other roles, such as a UX Designer or UX Researcher, where individual contributors make their way up the seniority ladder, Product Designers must be senior from day one.

This is an important distinction because commercial understanding isn’t optional for a Product Designer; no, it’s critical. But let’s not run before we can walk, let’s break it down systematically.

Personal traits

Without the right personal traits, you’re expectation of a Product Designer will never be met.

1. Autonomy: These are the self-starters, constantly absorbing new information and tackling problems head-on, with little need for hand-holding.
2. Alignment: They’re the strategic thinkers, aligning their broad skills with the business’s heartbeat, ensuring every design move maps to overarching goals.
3. Accountability: High emotional intelligence allows them to navigate team dynamics gracefully, always owning up to their decisions.

Commercial competence

Without commercial experience, a Product Designer cannot be expected to solve business-critical needs.

• Knowledge: They’ve acquired the ability to predict market trends, customer behaviour, and complex business landscapes through years of immersion.
• Approach: They embrace strategic, hypothesis-driven experimentation, balancing innovative solutions with practical business outcomes.
• Expertise: Mastering a wide range of skills, from financial acumen to adaptability, they steer projects with a keen eye on the present and future.

Capability

And lastly, the correct capability is essential.

• Research and validation: Conducting solid research to understand market, customer, and user dynamics and the ability to validate solutions against hypotheses.
• Workshops and presenting: The ability to facilitate workshops as a guide and not a hero and to confidently present decisions and outcomes.
• Design and experience: Most designers are comfortable with this one; this is their bread and butter. It involves t-bar concepts, wireframes, user flows, design system management, and interactive prototypes.

Utilising Product Designers

Understanding what a Product Designer brings to the table clarifies not just the role, but how to leverage them effectively.

To fully utilise Product Designers, organisations must:

• Shift perspectives from seeing these professionals as mere executors of design tasks to recognising them as integral strategists who bridge the gap between user experience, business objectives, and technological feasibility.
• Encourage an environment where Product Designers are empowered to lead, strategise, and validate, ensuring that every product decision is informed by a deep understanding of both the market and the user.

By doing so, Product Designers can become the linchpin of product innovation and success, driving projects forward with a keen eye on both the present needs and future opportunities.

Hopefully, you’ll see that by adjusting hiring practices and operational frameworks to support and amplify Product Designer’s capabilities, we stand to not only elevate our product strategies but also streamline processes and achieve more with less.

(And, if your research and validation needs are high, hire dedicated Researchers. Just make sure you’re getting your money’s worth.)