The Role Of UX In Product Development & Management
As a forward-thinking Design leader with over 19 years of experience and a Doctorate in Design student, Alok brings a wealth of expertise in crafting innovative solutions that bridge the gap between user needs and business goals. He specializes in Design strategy and User-centered design, and has a proven track record of driving impactful change in organizations such as Myntra, Vedantu, BlueStone, Walmart, Microsoft, and others.
The emphasis on technology in today's world is no surprise, given its constant advancement. Incorporating interactive designs to enhance the user experience through digital platforms is becoming increasingly common. UX design covers all aspects of the end-user's interaction with a company, its services, and its products.Therefore, it is essential for a UX designer to be involved throughout the product development lifecycle. By participating in the design of the product's user interface and interaction flow, UX designers ensure that the product meets user needs. They create wireframes and prototypes, conduct usability testing, and collaborate with the development team to implement the design into the product.
To emphasize the exclusivity of UX design and a designer's pivotal role in product development and management, we have Alok Kumar, Director of User Experience at Myntra. In this CXO interaction, he updates the readers with vital information on the topic. Let's dive in!
How has the user experience and design evolved over the years?
In the last twenty years, I have witnessed a significant transformation. Previously, creating awareness was the main challenge, but now Design and UX have evolved and are experiencing a golden era. Businesses have begun to understand the value of UX and Design, recognizing the impact of deeply empathizing with their users. Trust in UX has increased as it partners with product and business teams to address both- business and user problems through design solutions, bringing user research to the forefront.
UX is a major part of the product development lifecycle. What are some of the challenges faced in the product development lifecycle and how do you think UX designers play a major role here?
I can confidently say that UX plays a critical role in the product development process. UX designers bring invaluable expertise in deeply understanding users and solving problems through first principles and established UX processes. The health of the product management lifecycle heavily depends on the collaboration between UX designers and product managers. Effective collaboration and a clear understanding of each role’s importance contribute to creating exceptional products.
In the product development cycle, businesses and product teams often become overly focused on metrics, sometimes deprioritizing the user experience. Additionally, with limited tech resources, it’s crucial to effectively utilize time to develop the right experience. Amidst the prioritization and race to meet metrics and revenue goals, the UX team stands as the advocate for the user experience, ensuring it is not compromised. The art of storytelling and demonstrating the value and impact of user experience on the product is vital, and UX designers excel at bridging this gap.
In the e-Commerce industry, particularly in the fashion and style sector, meeting customer demands and adapting to changes can be quite challenging. How can businesses effectively streamline the product development and management process to ensure an exciting and hassle-free experience for our consumers?
Well, there’s a different approach to this. At Myntra, our approach transcends the traditional role of a fashion e-Commerce company, as we pride ourselves on being a technologically advanced e-Commerce platform that is constantly at the vanguard of pioneering technology and innovations. Our proactive adoption of emerging technologies, including AI and generative AI, is geared towards elevating the over all experience of our users.
We harness technology to analyze social media data, discern trends, and fore cast forthcoming fashion trends. This analytical prowess not only facilitates our sellers in effectively managing their inventory but also empowers us to furnish our users with recommendations for new and emerging trends, thereby ensuring their continual access to the latest fashion offerings upon logging in.
Our array of AI-driven features, including Fashion GPT and MyStylist, provides users with innovative styling concepts. Furthermore, our integrated generative AI stylist, Maya,furnishes fashion guidance and recommendations. The foundation of our prosperity lies in our commitment to scalability throughout the product development lifecycle. Emphasizing a technology-first approach, outstanding user experience, and distinguished designs are pivotal in ensuring a seamless experience for our extensive clientele.
If there's a need to perform a UX evaluation of a product, what would be your approach? Tell us about the analytics and tools that go into the evaluation process.
We firmly believe in first principles thinking and building products based on best practices. We rigorously test our designs with real users through usability testing, both remotely and offline. We utilize tools like user testing.com for unmoderated testing. My UX team is well-equipped and trained to conduct usability tests and user interviews effectively.
For UX evaluation, we rely on Nielsen Norman heuristic evaluation, which we consider one of the best methods. We adhere to and trust established UX best practices to assess and iterate on our designs. Data is the cornerstone of our process. We have internal tools that help us analyze data and run experiments. We never go live without running the experiment which is kind of an industry trend, as well as we don’t want to take any risk on this big scale.
What breakthroughs can be expected in the future to enhance UX/UI?
It’s clear that generative AI is at the forefront of technological innovation, with numerous advancements already emerging in the field. Design tools like Figma and Canva have begun integrating AI to enhance efficiency. With the world’s focus on AI, UX designers should strategize on leveraging AI to help businesses grow faster and measure impact more effectively.
Beyond generative AI, I anticipate significant growth in the AR and VR sectors. Innovations like Apple Vision Pro are poised to drive this market forward, offering businesses new opportunities to create better user experiences and showcase their products in immersive ways.
The emphasis on technology in today's world is no surprise, given its constant advancement. Incorporating interactive designs to enhance the user experience through digital platforms is becoming increasingly common. UX design covers all aspects of the end-user's interaction with a company, its services, and its products.Therefore, it is essential for a UX designer to be involved throughout the product development lifecycle. By participating in the design of the product's user interface and interaction flow, UX designers ensure that the product meets user needs. They create wireframes and prototypes, conduct usability testing, and collaborate with the development team to implement the design into the product.
To emphasize the exclusivity of UX design and a designer's pivotal role in product development and management, we have Alok Kumar, Director of User Experience at Myntra. In this CXO interaction, he updates the readers with vital information on the topic. Let's dive in!
How has the user experience and design evolved over the years?
In the last twenty years, I have witnessed a significant transformation. Previously, creating awareness was the main challenge, but now Design and UX have evolved and are experiencing a golden era. Businesses have begun to understand the value of UX and Design, recognizing the impact of deeply empathizing with their users. Trust in UX has increased as it partners with product and business teams to address both- business and user problems through design solutions, bringing user research to the forefront.
UX is a major part of the product development lifecycle. What are some of the challenges faced in the product development lifecycle and how do you think UX designers play a major role here?
I can confidently say that UX plays a critical role in the product development process. UX designers bring invaluable expertise in deeply understanding users and solving problems through first principles and established UX processes. The health of the product management lifecycle heavily depends on the collaboration between UX designers and product managers. Effective collaboration and a clear understanding of each role’s importance contribute to creating exceptional products.
In the product development cycle, businesses and product teams often become overly focused on metrics, sometimes deprioritizing the user experience. Additionally, with limited tech resources, it’s crucial to effectively utilize time to develop the right experience. Amidst the prioritization and race to meet metrics and revenue goals, the UX team stands as the advocate for the user experience, ensuring it is not compromised. The art of storytelling and demonstrating the value and impact of user experience on the product is vital, and UX designers excel at bridging this gap.
In the e-Commerce industry, particularly in the fashion and style sector, meeting customer demands and adapting to changes can be quite challenging. How can businesses effectively streamline the product development and management process to ensure an exciting and hassle-free experience for our consumers?
Well, there’s a different approach to this. At Myntra, our approach transcends the traditional role of a fashion e-Commerce company, as we pride ourselves on being a technologically advanced e-Commerce platform that is constantly at the vanguard of pioneering technology and innovations. Our proactive adoption of emerging technologies, including AI and generative AI, is geared towards elevating the over all experience of our users.
We harness technology to analyze social media data, discern trends, and fore cast forthcoming fashion trends. This analytical prowess not only facilitates our sellers in effectively managing their inventory but also empowers us to furnish our users with recommendations for new and emerging trends, thereby ensuring their continual access to the latest fashion offerings upon logging in.
Our array of AI-driven features, including Fashion GPT and MyStylist, provides users with innovative styling concepts. Furthermore, our integrated generative AI stylist, Maya,furnishes fashion guidance and recommendations. The foundation of our prosperity lies in our commitment to scalability throughout the product development lifecycle. Emphasizing a technology-first approach, outstanding user experience, and distinguished designs are pivotal in ensuring a seamless experience for our extensive clientele.
If there's a need to perform a UX evaluation of a product, what would be your approach? Tell us about the analytics and tools that go into the evaluation process.
We firmly believe in first principles thinking and building products based on best practices. We rigorously test our designs with real users through usability testing, both remotely and offline. We utilize tools like user testing.com for unmoderated testing. My UX team is well-equipped and trained to conduct usability tests and user interviews effectively.
For UX evaluation, we rely on Nielsen Norman heuristic evaluation, which we consider one of the best methods. We adhere to and trust established UX best practices to assess and iterate on our designs. Data is the cornerstone of our process. We have internal tools that help us analyze data and run experiments. We never go live without running the experiment which is kind of an industry trend, as well as we don’t want to take any risk on this big scale.
What breakthroughs can be expected in the future to enhance UX/UI?
It’s clear that generative AI is at the forefront of technological innovation, with numerous advancements already emerging in the field. Design tools like Figma and Canva have begun integrating AI to enhance efficiency. With the world’s focus on AI, UX designers should strategize on leveraging AI to help businesses grow faster and measure impact more effectively.
Beyond generative AI, I anticipate significant growth in the AR and VR sectors. Innovations like Apple Vision Pro are poised to drive this market forward, offering businesses new opportunities to create better user experiences and showcase their products in immersive ways.
