Boagworld: UX, Design Leadership, Marketing & Conversion Optimization

Welcome back. In my previous emails, we explored how to plan and present your UX strategy and gain support from the people who matter. We talked about getting buy-in and navigating the occasional tricky political waters. It was all about setting the stage, wouldn't you say? But I'm also keenly aware that we didn't dive deep into what that strategy should actually contain. We just scratched the surface of how to sell it and discussed the big picture.

Now, it's time to roll up our sleeves and talk about the nuts and bolts. We're going to get into the specific actions and approaches that will define your work as a UX leader. This is where your vision starts to become a tangible reality, shaping how your entire organization thinks about and delivers user experience.

Let's address something we all feel in our bones: the elephant in the room. Most of us in UX, and I mean most, operate with teams that are just plain under-resourced. There's always more work to be done than there are people to do it. You look around, and for every UX professional, you often see multiple product owners, project managers, and developers. In my agency days, a 1:2 ratio of UX to developers was our ideal scenario, and it's why so many of us feel stretched thin.

We want to make a difference, right? We want to ensure every digital touchpoint is delightful, efficient, and user-friendly. But if you're like me, you've probably felt that familiar tug of war: the desire to be involved in everything, versus the crushing reality of limited time and energy. Trying to be the "UX person" for every project just spreads you too thin. It often results in hurried, mediocre work, and that's not why we got into this field.

I know what you're thinking. "More people! We need more budget, more headcount!" And believe me, I hear you. I've been there, banging that drum. But the truth is, until your organization truly understands and values UX, getting those extra resources is an uphill battle. It's a bit of a chicken and egg situation, isn't it? You need more resources to show value, but you need to show value to get more resources.

So, how do we break this cycle? We can't keep trying to do all the UX ourselves. It's simply not scalable.

This is where we introduce a fundamental shift in how you view your role and, crucially, how your colleagues view UX. We need to stop being the go-to team for simply "doing the UX work." We need to stop being the implementers who just take orders and churn out wireframes or conduct isolated tests.

Instead, your primary role becomes that of a coach, an evangelist, and a guide. Your job is to instill a user-centric culture across the entire organization. It's about empowering and equipping your colleagues; the product owners, developers, marketers, and customer service teams – to do user experience work themselves.

Think about it this way: there are far more of them than there are of you. If you can enable them to do even a small part of UX well, the collective impact on your overall user experience will be enormous. It's about leveraging the entire organization as a force multiplier for UX, rather than trying to handle everything with your small, dedicated team. This frees you up to be more strategic and to tackle the bigger, thornier UX challenges.

This is the very heart of your UX strategy. It's a strategic move that shifts you from tactical execution to widespread influence. And it's precisely what we're going to explore over the next few weeks.

To achieve this widespread impact, there are four key areas we need to focus on. They are like the foundations of a solid house for your UX strategy.

1. Offering Supportive Services: This is about providing guidance and assistance to your colleagues, helping them implement UX best practices in their own work. It's not about doing the work for them, but helping them do it.
2. Providing Resources, Tools, and Information: We need to give our colleagues the right instruments and knowledge so they can create great experiences without always needing to come to us for every little thing.
3. Setting Standards, Policies, and Standard Operating Procedures: This ensures that best practices are consistently applied across all projects, creating a baseline of quality even when you're not directly involved.
4. Education and Training: This involves developing and delivering structured learning opportunities to help colleagues understand UX principles and apply them effectively in their daily work.

If you run an agency or work as a freelancer, you might be thinking, "This sounds great for in-house teams, but how does it apply to me?" Well, I'd argue it applies even more so.

Too often, agencies and freelancers can fall into the trap of being seen as just "order takers" or "extra hands." Clients come to you, they tell you what they want built, and you build it. You might deliver a beautiful design or a perfectly functional website, but what if the client's brief was flawed from the start? What if they don't truly understand why they need certain UX elements, or how to maintain them after you've gone?

Shifting to offering "supportive services" fundamentally changes that dynamic. Instead of just delivering solutions, you become a strategic partner who empowers your clients.

Consider these ideas:

• Offer UX Audits and Strategic Roadmapping: Beyond building a single product, help clients understand their overall UX landscape and define a long-term strategy for their teams to follow.
• Provide UX Mentoring and Coaching: Offer your expertise to your client's internal teams. This could be monthly check-ins, ad-hoc consultations, or even helping them onboard a new in-house UX hire.
• Run Internal Workshops: Facilitate design sprints, user story mapping sessions, or basic usability testing workshops with your client's staff. You guide them through the process, helping them gain skills and ownership.
• Develop Design Systems or UX Playbooks: Instead of just designing screens, deliver a reusable design system or a "UX playbook" that empowers their developers and marketers to maintain consistency and user focus in future work.
• Focus on 'Enablement' Deliverables: Instead of just final designs, perhaps you deliver a comprehensive research plan they can adapt, or a framework for A/B testing that their marketing team can run.

This approach transforms your relationship with clients. You move from being a vendor to an indispensable advisor. It builds deeper trust, often leads to longer-term retainer agreements, and ensures your work has a lasting impact beyond the immediate project. It's about helping your clients become more self-sufficient and more user-centric, which in turn makes your partnership more valuable.

In our next email, we'll dive deep into the concept of "supportive services" - a transformative approach that can help you expand your UX influence across the organization without increasing your team size. We'll explore how shifting from doing all the UX work yourself to enabling others can create a multiplier effect that dramatically increases your impact.

This approach represents a fundamental shift in how UX professionals operate within organizations, and I'm excited to share specific strategies and examples with you next time. For now, though, let's wrap up with an action step.

Take a moment to reflect on your current workload. Where do you feel most stretched thin? Which tasks seem to repeat themselves across different projects? Jot down a few notes - these insights will be valuable when we discuss supportive services in detail next time. As always, I'm keen to hear your thoughts, share them with me.

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Joining me, Paul, are Marcus Lillington and Jared Spool, and together we explore how UX needs to reposition itself, what AI really means for designers, and how to navigate the current UX job landscape without losing hope. We also touch on some interesting new tools from Figma and an exciting AI-assisted prototyping app that could change how we work.

This episode highlights two key apps making waves in the design space:

Announced recently at the Figma conference, this new tool aims to let you publish websites directly from Figma, competing with players like Webflow and Framer. However, we share a healthy dose of skepticism about its current capabilities—especially its accessibility issues and lack of data entry support, which limits its usefulness beyond very simple sites.

This AI-powered assisted coding tool stands out as a promising alternative. Unlike traditional prototyping in Figma, Ready lets you describe your UI in natural language, and it generates real HTML and CSS code that’s responsive and supports data entry. This means you can create interactive prototypes faster, test them in real-world conditions, and iterate with ease. It’s not about replacing designers but augmenting their productivity, and it offers a glimpse into how AI can support design workflows in practical ways.

We begin by reflecting on the state of UX and where it’s headed, especially with AI’s rapid development changing the landscape. Jared shares his ongoing work guiding UX professionals to unlock their full potential within organizations, emphasizing the gap between what UX can deliver and what’s often realized. This disconnect often results from a lack of awareness or understanding within teams, and Jared’s leadership sessions aim to close that gap.

We delve into AI tools emerging in design, focusing particularly on generative AI and assisted coding. While AI is often hyped as a threat to designers, we agree it’s more of a productivity booster than a replacement. AI lets us do more with less effort, but it doesn’t eliminate the need for thoughtful, skilled UX design. The analogy Jared uses — comparing AI’s rise to previous tech shifts like blacksmiths transitioning to new materials — reminds us that professions evolve rather than vanish overnight.

We discuss the limitations of current AI design tools, such as Figma Sites, which lack the sophistication needed for anything beyond very basic websites. On the other hand, Readdy offers a more practical approach by generating actual working code through conversational commands. It’s a step forward but still not a magic bullet. The process requires human input, iteration, and adjustment, which is where UX professionals continue to add value.

An interesting angle comes from the critique of AI as reinventing the command line — a somewhat clunky, text-based interface for describing complex UIs. This makes it tricky to fully express the nuances of design and iterate quickly, especially in production environments where prototyping demands fast, precise changes.

Turning to the job market, Jared offers a clear-eyed analysis: although there are more UX jobs available now than ever before, there are also far more UX professionals competing for them. The result? Overcrowded job listings and intense competition, especially for junior roles. The industry isn’t shrinking; rather, it’s saturated.

He points out that the issue isn’t job scarcity but a mismatch between experience levels and job requirements. Many bootcamp graduates enter the market with limited experience, and companies often prefer hiring senior candidates to junior ones due to cost efficiency and immediate impact. For those struggling to find work, Jared advises gaining real-world experience by volunteering on meaningful projects with tangible outcomes, like improving a local charity’s website to boost adoption rates.

For senior professionals, the key is precision: tailoring applications meticulously to each job posting and clearly demonstrating how your skills match the role. Generic resumes won’t cut it when hiring managers sift through hundreds of applicants. This targeted approach greatly improves the chances of landing interviews and offers.

We debate an intriguing prediction by Jakob Nielsen that many UX battles are “won” and that AI might replace human interaction with websites entirely, as AI agents fetch and personalize content for users. While fascinating, we question the commercial and practical realities. Advertisers still rely on website visits for revenue, and user experience involves more than information retrieval; it’s about connection, context, and trust.

We emphasize the enduring importance of educating organizations about real UX issues, including accessibility and ethical design topics that remain under appreciated despite technological advances.

The conversation wraps on an optimistic note: despite challenges, UX as a profession is robust, filled with opportunity, and evolving with new tools and methods. The future may be uncertain, but it’s far from bleak. Embracing AI as an aid, not a threat, and focusing on building relevant experience and clear communication skills will serve UX professionals well.

To lighten the mood, Marcus closes with a classic:

“I went to a zoo and saw a baguette in a cage. Apparently, it was bred in captivity.”

Thanks for tuning in to this week’s episode. Whether you’re grappling with AI’s role in design or navigating a tough job market, we hope this conversation gives you clarity and confidence to move forward. See you next time!

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In this week’s episode of the Boagworld Show, we’re joined by none other than Andy “The Pioneer” Clarke. We dig deep into the role of aesthetics in UX, explore how AI can conduct user interviews, and debate how to approach pricing conversations with clients. Alongside our usual banter, you’ll find insights into why design needs personality and how creative direction can add real value, whether you’re designing marketing sites or B2B dashboards.

We also introduce a new AI-powered user research tool, share some standout reading recommendations, and end with the usual Marcus groaner (you’ve been warned).

This week we took a look at Whyser, an AI tool designed to conduct user interviews on your behalf. You simply set up your interview goals and questions, and the AI takes care of the rest; scheduling, conducting, and even analyzing interviews.

What impressed us most was how well the AI adapted its questions based on our answers. It felt remarkably natural and even asked follow-up questions relevant to what we’d said earlier. That’s a big deal for those of us who struggle to find time to do interviews at scale.

Whyser isn’t without its drawbacks; it does put a layer between you and your users, which can dilute the empathy you build through real human conversation. But if time or access is limited, this could be a game changer. Especially helpful for teams that rarely get to talk to users directly.

We hear it all the time: “Design is about solving problems.” That’s true, but it’s not the whole picture. In this episode, we explore the undervalued role of aesthetics in UX and why visual design, art direction, and brand personality still matter.

We kicked off with a discussion about how too many websites today feel like “colored-in wireframes.” They’re functional but lack soul. The shift toward product-thinking has stripped personality from digital experiences. As Andy put it, “Everything looks like Bootstrap.”

Yet, personality plays a critical role in how users connect with your brand. Whether it’s a SaaS dashboard or a marketing homepage, how a product feels impacts engagement, trust, and even long-term retention. People stick around when something makes them feel something—even if they can’t quite explain why.

There’s a practical side to aesthetics too. Good design improves usability not just through layout but also by boosting mood. A more pleasant experience reduces cognitive load, making interfaces feel easier to use.

That means aesthetics aren’t just about making things pretty; they’re a lever for user performance and satisfaction. It’s not fluff; it’s function wrapped in emotion.

Andy gave a great example from his time working on a cybersecurity app. Hardly a glamorous field, yet he found space to inject moments of brand personality through microinteractions, onboarding flows, and visual consistency. Even in utilitarian tools, design can reflect a brand’s values and improve the user experience.

As he put it: “You don’t need to delight, but you do need to differentiate.”

The problem, we all agreed, starts in education. Many young designers are trained to focus on flows, not feelings. They're brilliant at getting users from A to B but haven’t been taught how to make that journey enjoyable or memorable.

Andy argued that curiosity is the missing ingredient. Design isn’t just about function, it’s about communication. And communication thrives on references, storytelling, and creativity. He showed us how keeping a library of visual influences, whether it’s old magazine layouts, album covers, or supermarket packaging, can help inject new life into projects.

Websites are easy to build these days. What clients are really paying for is the ability to tell their story well. That’s where we, as designers, add value.

Andy’s take? Spend 95% of your budget on creativity and 5% on implementation. Tools like Squarespace can handle the build, what matters is how it looks, feels, and communicates. That’s where your edge lies.

And when clients say, “But we already have a brand,” the job becomes about interpreting that brand, stretching it into a full visual language, not just slapping a logo onto a template.

So if you’ve felt the creative spark dimming lately, maybe it’s time to step away from your Figma files and pick up an old design annual, flick through a vintage magazine, or just take a walk with curiosity as your guide.

This week we didn’t highlight specific articles, so no recommended reading to share. That said, the conversation itself was rich with references; from Blue Note album covers to 'Smash Hits' magazine layouts—and might inspire you to go digging through your own design bookshelf.

We didn’t have a listener question either, but the discussion turned to one that’s always on designers’ minds: How do I handle client feedback without compromising the design?

Andy’s advice was simple but brilliant: only give clients choices over things they can’t mess up. Stakeholders will always want to contribute; so let them. But steer them toward harmless decisions. Let them choose between two acceptable color variations or headline treatments, but don’t give them free rein over critical layout or concept work unless you're okay with every option on the table.

Another smart tip: give clients creative choices using metaphors. Instead of asking “Do you want this to feel formal or informal?” ask “If your brand were a movie or celebrity, who would it be?” It’s a great way to pull out emotional nuance without falling into clichés like “trustworthy” and “professional” (which, let’s face it, everyone says).

And finally, validate your design decisions with user testing. Don’t let testing dictate the design, but do use it to confirm you’re on the right track. That way, you move from subjective opinions to informed decisions and you keep the project moving forward.

And to close the show, here’s Marcus’s joke (we apologize in advance):

Scientists have found that cows produce more milk when the farmer talks to them.

Apparently, it’s a case of in one ear and out the udder.

We’ll leave you to groan in peace.

Thanks for listening, or reading, if you’re one of our show notes faithful. If you enjoyed Andy’s insights, be sure to check out his work over at Stuff & Nonsense. Until next time!

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This week, we catch up on Paul’s latest adventures—from a memorable dinner with Todd “the accessibility guru” where we talked WCAG 3, to a deep dive into the shifting landscape of design job titles. We’ll share an app that brings real form fields into your Figma prototypes, unpack why “product designer” is suddenly on everyone’s profile, and wrap up with a classic Marcus joke to send you on your way.

We’ve been wrestling with Figma’s built‑in prototyping limitations—particularly the lack of real form fields—and this week we discovered Bolt. Bolt lets you import a Figma frame URL and instantly spin up an interactive prototype complete with working inputs and text fields. That means you can run realistic usability tests without hand‑coding forms or cobbling together workarounds.

In an era when “UX designer,” “UI designer,” “product designer,” and “service designer” all coexist, you might feel like you need an advanced diploma just to understand your own role. We certainly do. Let’s unpack what each title really implies, why the trend toward “product design” worries us, and how you can bring crystal‑clear definitions into your next job posting or team conversation.

Even if you’re happy wearing multiple hats, inconsistent naming can cause real headaches:

• Employer confusion: Hiring managers may post for a “product designer” but expect the traditional UX responsibilities you’ve mastered.
• Scope creep: Without clear boundaries, you’ll end up doing support tickets one week and sales decks the next—often without the title or compensation to match.
• Perception gaps: Outside the design bubble, “designer” still conjures images of pretty pictures, not strategic problem‑solvers.

Getting titles straight not only sets expectations for you, it helps stakeholders understand the value you bring.

Lately, many companies are retiring “UX designer” in favor of “product designer.” On the surface, this feels like career progression: a broader focus that spans UI, analytics, and even marketing. Yet we see two risks here:

1. Internal focus: “Product designer” can imply you’re optimizing existing features and metrics, rather than uncovering latent user needs.
2. Ambiguous boundaries: When design expands outward, it often steps on the toes of customer success, support, and even engineering roles.

If your title leans toward “product,” make sure you and your team agree on whether that includes user research, email flows, or post‑launch monitoring.

Here’s how we interpret the four most common titles—and how they overlap:

UI designers focus on the look and feel of your screens. Their goal is to reduce friction and make interactions intuitive. Think pixel perfection, animation timing, and responsive layouts. They might not set research objectives, but they’ll ensure that every button state feels just right.

UX designers own the end‑to‑end experience. From SEO‑driven landing pages to post‑purchase emails, they obsess over every touchpoint. If you care about conversion funnels, user flows, or cross‑channel consistency, you’re in the UX camp.

Product designers straddle the middle: they build interfaces and track success metrics, but they’re also tasked with aligning features to business goals. In healthy organizations, they champion user advocacy and roadmap prioritization, but that balance can tip too far toward internal KPIs.

Service designers operate backstage. They optimize the processes and systems—think support scripts, training materials, or fulfillment pipelines—that empower on‑stage teams to deliver seamless experiences. Their scoreboard? Operational efficiency and scalability.

Labels alone won’t solve confusion. Here’s how we recommend making roles crystal clear:

Define scopes explicitly

In every job description or team charter, list the deliverables you own—and those you don’t. For example, “Responsible for wireframes and prototypes, not email automation.”

Align on success metrics

Agree on the KPIs or user outcomes tied to each role. If you’re a UX designer, maybe it’s task completion rates; if you’re a service designer, it might be first‑response times.

Foster cross‑role collaboration

Schedule regular syncs between UI, UX, product, and service designers so everyone sees the handoffs and dependencies. That shared visibility prevents silos.

Revisit titles periodically

As your organization evolves, carve out time every six months to discuss whether roles—and their titles—still reflect who does what.

By naming responsibilities clearly and encouraging open dialogue, you’ll reduce friction, align expectations, and help everyone—from junior hires to C‑suite—understand what “designer” really means in your organization.

Here are two go‑to resources for leveling up your UX practice:

A free community and weekly webinar series led by Jared Paul that challenges conventional UX metrics and dives into real‑world best practices.

An extensive repository of user‑research reports covering ecommerce, web forms, mobile patterns, and more—now searchable via AI to surface exactly the studies you need.

“I never wanted to believe my dad was stealing from his job as a road worker. But when I got home, all the signs were there.”

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This week’s episode takes a deeper look at how we define good user experience—and argues it’s time we move beyond the narrow focus of usability. We explore how friction can sometimes enhance an experience, and why emotional design is essential if we want to create interfaces that stick in users’ minds.

We also review a new batch of AI-powered design tools and uncover where they currently fall short. Plus, we look at how AI can still be incredibly useful for user research—when used the right way.

Finally, we answer a question from our Agency Academy about giving feedback in a way that doesn't crush your colleagues, and Marcus closes out with one of his typically pun-tastic jokes.

We explored two sides of AI in this episode—one disappointing, one surprisingly powerful.

While on the road (and supposedly on holiday), Paul trialed four AI-powered tools that promise to design and code entire websites based on your prompts. The tools included:

• UXPilot
• V0
• Polymet
• Loveable

All four are generating excitement among many, but from a UX perspective, we found them underwhelming. Results were inconsistent at best—white text on white backgrounds, bland copy, missing CSS, and difficult-to-edit layouts. Even with carefully crafted prompts, they failed to deliver production-ready (or even prototype-ready) experiences.

If you’re curious, they’re cheap enough to try—but don’t expect them to replace designers or developers anytime soon.

On the flip side, we’ve found AI incredibly useful for online user research, especially when time or resources make traditional methods tough.

Paul used Perplexity to perform sentiment analysis across:

• Social media mentions
• Review sites like Trustpilot
• Online forums like MoneySavingExpert

He asked it to uncover what users liked, disliked, questioned, or hesitated over when it came to purchasing insurance. The results? Incredibly insightful—and backed up with linked sources to verify accuracy.

You can also ask it to find testimonials that support key selling points, making it great for conversion optimization.

If you're short on research time, tools like Perplexity offer a fast and surprisingly effective way to better understand your audience.

It all started in a casino. Well, sort of.

While walking through a bank of overly-themed slot machines in Vegas, Paul had a realization: if a UX designer created a slot machine, it would probably be terrible. We’d remove all the friction. Strip away the flashing lights. Replace the reels with a simple “Win or Lose” button. It would be technically better, but emotionally dead.

And that’s the problem.

Too often in UX, we treat usability as the holy grail. We remove friction, optimize flows, and tidy up interfaces. But we sometimes forget the _emotional layer_—the personality, surprise, or joy that makes a product memorable.

When we fixate only on usability, we risk creating something that is forgettable. Efficient, yes. Effective, perhaps. But emotionally flat. That’s not what builds brand loyalty. That’s not what users remember.

It’s like eating a plain rice cake. Technically food. But not something you'd write home about.

We need to learn from other industries. Slot machine designers understand user psychology on a visceral level. They’ve mastered the art of creating anticipation, excitement, even obsession. Not that we should copy their manipulative tactics—but we can learn from how they invoke emotion.

Same goes for print designers, who often embrace bold creative expression. Or the restaurant industry, where service, ambiance, and delight matter as much as the food.

It’s not just about delight for delight’s sake. Emotional state directly affects cognitive load. When someone is stressed, even the simplest interaction feels hard. When they’re relaxed or entertained, they glide through even complex tasks.

We need to design for these emotional states. A well-designed interface doesn’t just help users complete a task. It shapes how they feel about doing it.

Consider the Mailchimp example. Back in the day, their UI was full of little delightful moments—from their chimp mascot Freddy to playful animations. None of it was strictly necessary. But it made the product feel human, friendly, and approachable. And it mattered.

We should be testing and measuring more than just usability.

Some suggestions:

• Use semantic differential surveys. Give users a list of emotional adjectives and ask which ones best describe the experience.
• Monitor sentiment through social listening. Tools like Perplexity can help uncover how people feel about your product online.
• Track qualitative feedback. Those smiley-face buttons at airport security? They can work for digital experiences too.
• Use metrics beyond task completion. Net Promoter Score (NPS), emotion mapping, and post-task satisfaction ratings all provide deeper insights.

UX isn’t just about helping users complete a task quickly. It’s about how people feel while doing it—and how they remember that experience afterwards.

The best designs don’t just work. They resonate.

We found two fantastic reads this week that both hit close to home.

• The Path to Design Leadership by Hang Le (who led teams at Dropbox, among others) outlines what real design leadership looks like. It’s not just about managing people or reviewing work—it’s about shaping business strategy, improving design quality, and driving cultural change. A must-read if you're looking to lead through influence, not just seniority.
• Product Waste by Rich Mironov offers a powerful way to frame design’s business value. It argues that 50% of product effort results in waste—features nobody asked for, used, or needed. Reducing this waste (even slightly) creates opportunities to redirect resources toward real innovation. We also love how this supports our recommendation to run a Strategic User-Driven Project Assessment as a way of reducing risk and waste.

"How can I provide feedback on site improvements without offending the person who originally designed it—especially if they’re sitting in the room?" — Paul, from the Agency Academy

A common challenge—especially when you're trying to improve a product while preserving team morale.

Here’s how we approach it:

Start by acknowledging the difficulty of the situation. We’ve been on the receiving end of feedback ourselves, and it never feels great—even when it’s valid. So open by saying something like, “Look, I know giving feedback on work is tough, especially when the person who made it is right here—but I promise this isn’t about blame, it’s about improvement.”

Next, set the tone early: “Every website is a compromise.” Between budgets, legacy systems, stakeholders, and tight deadlines, no one gets to implement a perfect vision. Acknowledge that and it’ll help lower defense.

If someone gets defensive, listen. Then reflect their concern back: “Absolutely, tight deadlines would make that tough.” That empathy often disarms tension more than anything else.

We also make sure to start with praise. Highlight what’s working. That way, when the critique comes, it lands better.

And most importantly: keep the focus on the future. Instead of what went wrong, talk about what could be improved moving forward. Frame your feedback as collaborative enhancement.

And yes—if all else fails, a bit of humor (carefully deployed) can help lighten the mood. Just maybe don’t start with “Who built this shitshow?”

Why are mountains funny? Because they’re _hil_arious.

Thanks for joining us for another episode. If you’ve got a question you’d like us to tackle, or a joke to offer up, drop us an email at [email protected]. And if you’re not already in our Slack community or the Agency Academy, come say hello.

Until next time—don’t just design for usability. Design for memory.

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On this week's Boagworld Show, we're exploring how UX design leaders can take control of their roles within organizations, why UX agencies might feel doomed (but probably aren't), and how AI is reshaping the way we code and collaborate. We'll dig into practical strategies for UX leaders, share insights on the changing landscape for UX agencies, and provide guidance for navigating AI in your workflows.

This week's recommendation is UXPressia, a powerful yet easy-to-use visualization tool. UXPressia helps teams collaboratively create customer journey maps, personas, and impact maps. Although the visual output isn't necessarily designer-quality, it excels at engaging stakeholders and team members in user research activities. It's particularly useful for empowering non-designers to contribute meaningfully to UX strategies.

As UX professionals, many of us often find ourselves caught in cycles of endless implementation, working on tasks dictated by others rather than strategically influencing user experience. If you're feeling overworked, understaffed, and under-appreciated, it's time to redefine your role. Here’s how you can proactively take control and transform your position from pixel-pusher to strategic UX leader.

Senior management frequently sets high-level organizational objectives that, while seemingly vague, offer essential clues to aligning your UX efforts strategically. Start by identifying those broader goals—whether increasing efficiency, targeting new demographics, or enhancing sustainability—and ask yourself how UX can meaningfully contribute. Present these alignment opportunities to your manager, framing your UX role around supporting company-wide goals. This shifts your focus from reactive tasks to proactive strategic initiatives.

Rather than dwelling on resource limitations, carefully evaluate what’s already at your disposal:

• Budgets and Software: Identify any discretionary funds or tools available.
• Internal Staff and External Support: Consider tapping into colleagues from other departments or engaging reliable external agencies. Establishing preferred supplier lists helps manage quality and ensures that external agencies align with your UX standards.
• Autonomy and Training: Use your authority to delegate smaller UX tasks, freeing yourself to focus on strategic planning and education.

This perspective allows you to create impactful strategies within existing constraints. For instance, shifting your role to training internal teams on basic UX practices like user research and testing can extend your influence without increasing headcount.

True UX leadership isn’t just about completing projects; it’s about cultivating a user-centered culture throughout your organization. Here's how:

• Education and Empowerment: Provide training materials and workshops to build UX capabilities within other departments.
• Policies and Standards: Establish clear UX standards and guidelines, creating a framework everyone in your organization can follow.
• Metrics and Accountability: Introduce meaningful UX metrics that encourage internal competition and drive continuous improvement. For instance, turning analytics into league tables among departments can spark healthy competition and motivate better user experiences.

Transforming your role into that of an internal UX consultant positions you to make a broader impact, aligning user-centric design with the overarching organizational strategy.

By following these steps—clarifying your objectives, leveraging your resources, and expanding your influence—you can redefine your role as a UX design leader, shifting from mere execution to strategic empowerment.

Jacob Nielsen recently wrote an intriguing article titled "Future is Lean, Mean and Scary for UX Agencies". Nielsen predicts challenging times ahead for UX agencies, primarily driven by a shift towards more robust internal UX teams and the rapid rise of AI. However, we believe the narrative is somewhat skewed toward Nielsen's experience with larger organizations. While internal teams are expanding, they often remain overstretched, and the role of specialized UX agencies is still crucial. AI will indeed reshape the industry but likely as an enhancement rather than a replacement, empowering both in-house and external UX teams to deliver more sophisticated solutions rather than merely cutting costs.

Question: How should agencies handle clients who approach them with projects partially completed using AI-generated code, expecting it to be quick and cheap to finalize?

This is a growing challenge as clients become increasingly confident in AI capabilities, sometimes overestimating what AI can deliver without professional oversight. Here's our approach to handling this:

Clients may assume AI-generated code is nearly complete, but the reality is often different. AI-generated code may appear functional but frequently lacks:

• Accessibility and Security: AI can produce code that seems correct but fails to meet essential standards.
• Performance Efficiency: AI doesn't guarantee optimal performance, and expert human oversight is crucial.

Clients may think professional review of AI-generated code is simple, but developers often find reviewing unfamiliar code more time-consuming than writing from scratch. Educating clients about this reality is essential. Position yourself clearly by explaining:

• AI is powerful but requires human expertise to ensure the code is accessible, performant, and secure.
• Reviewing AI-generated code is inherently complex, frequently taking longer than starting anew.

Clarifying these points upfront can manage expectations and reinforce your value as professionals who ensure quality and reliability beyond what AI alone can achieve.

"I asked the librarian if they had any books on paranoia. She whispered, 'They're right behind you.'"

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On this week's Boagworld Show, we delve into the powerful concept of invisible user research - tackling how to conduct essential UX work even when stakeholders resist investing in formal research. We explore the often-overlooked impact of UX debt, crown a new champion among user-testing apps, and surprisingly, find ourselves nodding along with McKinsey on the strategic role of design leaders.

This week, we're excited about Useberry, a versatile user-testing platform that covers a wide range of UX research tasks like card sorting, tree testing, five-second tests, preference tests, and single-task usability studies. It's particularly appealing due to its comprehensive features, straightforward user interface, scalability, and affordable pricing model. With a free tier for small tests and scalable packages allowing incremental purchases up to 2000 responses per month, Useberry makes rigorous user research accessible without heavy upfront costs.

One of the biggest hurdles in UX is convincing stakeholders of the importance of investing in user research. Often, organizations resist due to perceived cost, time constraints, or simply misunderstanding its value. However, this doesn't mean UX practitioners should abandon research altogether. Instead, we're advocating the concept of "invisible user research," embedding research seamlessly into the workflow without explicitly seeking permission or additional budgets.

Invisible user research is all about reframing how you incorporate research activities. Instead of flagging them as separate tasks, integrate research directly into your design activities. For example, avoid creating separate budget line items for user research; instead, simply extend your design phase slightly to accommodate quick, effective tests and validation steps.

Leverage everyday moments in your project timeline to slip in valuable research:

• Stakeholder meetings: If stakeholders question the design or argue over choices, propose a quick user test as a neutral way to resolve debates. For instance, if a stakeholder believes users might miss an essential CTA, perform a quick five-second test. You'll have concrete data within hours.
• Feedback delays: When awaiting feedback on your designs, use that downtime productively. Conduct small, targeted surveys or quick polls to fill knowledge gaps.
• Routine presentations: When stakeholders request updates or progress presentations, add a quick round of user research to validate your work and strengthen your position.

Stakeholders often push back against research for several common reasons, but here's how you can respond effectively:

• "It's too costly or time-consuming": Highlight how small-scale tests (like quick surveys or five-second tests) take minimal time and cost very little.
• "Our users are too busy or inaccessible": Utilize surrogate groups, such as customer support teams or sales representatives who interact daily with users.
• "Your research is biased or insufficient": Emphasize that even limited testing is more reliable than subjective opinions. Additionally, use tools like ChatGPT to ensure questions are unbiased and clearly phrased, or offer to conduct further rounds of testing to reassure stakeholders.

Positioning invisible user research as efficiency gains or risk management can be particularly persuasive. Explain that catching design issues early prevents costly revisions later. Frame user research as a routine activity that ensures project success, rather than as an optional extra.

Finally, remain pragmatic. Rather than adhering rigidly to a formalized research process (extensive discovery phases, multiple rounds of card sorts, or lengthy reports), opt for quick, targeted interventions tailored to immediate needs. This responsive approach ensures research stays relevant, actionable, and minimally disruptive to the workflow.

By adopting invisible user research, you embed essential UX validation into everyday project activities, ensuring user-centered outcomes without needing formal approval at every turn.

We have three great articles recommended for strategic UX leaders:

• Are You Asking Enough of Your Design Leaders? from McKinsey emphasizes treating design leaders as strategic partners at the executive level, advocating for a more impactful role beyond implementation tasks.
• How to Bring Value as a Design Leader Without Getting Hands-On outlines practical ways to effectively lead UX teams by stepping back from hands-on design tasks and focusing on team support and organizational communication.
• UX Debt by Nielsen Norman Group introduces the concept of UX debt, akin to tech debt, highlighting how design shortcuts during development can accrue and negatively impact user experiences, providing strategies for managing and mitigating this debt effectively.

This week, we tackle a listener's common frustration: "How can I convince stakeholders to fund user research when they view it as unnecessary?"

The reality is, stakeholders often view user research as an optional expense rather than an essential investment. To combat this, you need to reframe the conversation:

• Highlight risk management: Show stakeholders how user research mitigates potential risks and prevents costly mistakes. Emphasize that decisions grounded in user data can avoid expensive rework later.
• Tailor your argument: Speak directly to stakeholder motivations. If you're addressing a finance person, stress the cost savings from preventing development errors. For marketers, highlight how understanding users leads to stronger market positioning. For developers, stress efficiency and reducing rework.
• Normalize research: Integrate user research as a standard part of your workflow, removing it as a separate line item in budgets. Stakeholders often accept research implicitly when it's framed as part of design processes rather than as additional, discretionary tasks.

By subtly repositioning user research within your existing processes and clearly communicating its practical, immediate benefits, you significantly increase the likelihood of stakeholder buy-in.

And finally, Marcus's inevitable joke of the week:

"I accidentally drank a bottle of invisible ink last night. Now I'm in A&E, waiting to be seen."

Thanks for joining us—we'll catch you next time!

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This week, we’re tackling a biggie—how to avoid the pitfalls of metrics. We’ll explore why tracking the wrong numbers can send your entire organization in the wrong direction and what you should be focusing on instead.

We also have a fantastic Figma plugin to make your mockups more realistic, a thought-provoking read on AI’s impact on UX, and a listener question on handling the ever-growing number of software subscriptions. Oh, and of course, Marcus has a joke. But don’t get your hopes up.

This week, I came across Quick Fill, a Figma plugin that helps you populate your designs with realistic-looking data. We’ve all been there—presenting a mockup to stakeholders, only to have them fixate on the fact that every name and profile picture is identical. Quick Fill solves that by auto-generating realistic text, names, addresses, and other useful content to make your designs feel more natural.

Not only does this improve stakeholder buy-in, but it also helps you spot design issues early on. Ever built a UI that looks perfect until you enter a name like “Marcus Brian John Lillington” and suddenly everything breaks? This plugin helps catch those issues before they reach development. Highly recommend giving it a go.

Metrics can be an incredibly powerful tool—but only if you track the right things. Too often, businesses latch onto the easiest numbers to measure rather than the ones that truly reflect success. And that’s where things start to go wrong.

A classic mistake is tracking surface-level engagement over meaningful outcomes. For example, an insurance company might focus on the number of quotes they generate rather than the number of actual policies sold. I’ve worked with companies who obsess over lead generation, but when you dig deeper, half of those “leads” never convert into paying customers. If you optimize for the wrong metric, you optimize for the wrong behavior.

Then there’s the McNamara Fallacy, which essentially states that we measure what’s easy rather than what’s important. It’s easy to track the number of form submissions. It’s harder to track customer satisfaction, lifetime value, or the real impact of UX improvements. But those harder-to-measure metrics are the ones that truly matter.

Another issue is the obsession with short-term metrics. Quarterly targets and monthly reports drive short-term decision-making, often at the expense of long-term strategy. A UX redesign might cause a temporary dip in conversions as users adjust, but if you panic and roll everything back immediately, you’ll never see the long-term benefits.

It’s also important to balance different types of metrics. I always recommend tracking at least three key categories:

• Conversion metrics (sales, sign-ups, or other key actions)
• Usability metrics (error rates, time-on-task, Net Promoter Score)
• Engagement metrics (return visits, time spent, interactions)

If you only track one type, you risk making short-sighted decisions that improve one number at the expense of everything else.

See Also: What is Success? How To Define Key Performance Indicators

So, what’s the solution? First, stop relying on a single “magic” number to measure success. No one metric will ever tell the full story. Instead, combine different data points to get a more holistic view.

Second, give things time before making decisions based on data. A website redesign, pricing change, or new feature will take time to bed in. I always tell clients to wait at least two weeks before reacting to data shifts—longer if it’s a major change.

Finally, use qualitative data to understand the “why” behind the numbers. Metrics can tell you what’s happening, but they won’t explain why users are struggling. That’s where usability testing, surveys, and direct feedback come in.

This week’s must-read articles focus on the evolving role of AI and its impact on UX.

1. Generative AI – The Power and the Glory – This article explores both the immense potential and the significant challenges that come with generative AI. It breaks down the current state of the technology and where it’s headed.
2. Enhancing the Experience of Using AI – A deep dive into how we can make AI tools more user-friendly, highlighting best practices for designing AI-driven experiences that feel intuitive and useful.

Both pieces offer valuable insights into the future of AI and UX. If you're keen to understand how AI is shaping our field, these are must-reads.

Sarah G. asks:

“In an age where literally every tool requires a subscription, how do companies of one decide what they really need—and how do they afford it all?”

Great question, Sarah. This is something I struggle with myself, and over time, I’ve developed a few key strategies:

• Keep a spreadsheet – Track everything you’re subscribed to, including renewal dates and costs. It’s easy to forget about that random tool you signed up for six months ago.
• Set calendar reminders – Before a renewal, ask yourself if you’re still using it. If not, cancel.
• Look for multi-purpose tools – I love specialized apps, but sometimes, an all-in-one tool can save money. Notion, for example, replaces my project management software, CRM, and notes app.
• Avoid annual subscriptions (unless you’re certain) – Monthly payments may seem pricier, but they give you flexibility. There’s always a better tool around the corner.
• Only pay for what saves you time – Every tool should earn its keep. If it doesn’t save you significant time or money, it’s probably not worth it.

And of course, listening to this podcast keeps you up to date on the best tools so you don’t waste money testing duds!

To end on a high (or low, depending on your tolerance for dad jokes):

“I'm giving my chimney away for free. You could say it's on the house.”

Yep. That happened.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for tuning in, and as always, if you have questions or topics you’d like us to cover, drop us a message. See you next time!

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Welcome to another packed episode! This week, we're diving into three topics we think you'll find fascinating. First up, we're exploring why face-to-face meetings still matter in our digital world. Then, we'll share our favorite A/B testing tools (since Google Optimize is no longer with us), and finally, we'll look at how AI is reshaping UX with some eye-opening insights from Nielsen Norman Group.

With Google Optimize's departure, many of you have been asking what tools we're using now for AB testing. Let's break down our top three picks that we've thoroughly tested:

We love VWO's generous free tier - you get 50,000 test sessions without spending a penny. Perfect if you're running a smaller site or just getting started with testing.

Here's a tool that keeps things simple but powerful. Beyond basic A/B testing, you get heat maps and scroll tracking to really understand how your users behave. It won't break the bank either.

Looking for something focused purely on A/B testing? Check Mango might be your answer. It's lean, cost-effective, and does one thing really well - no fancy extras to distract you.

We've found each of these tools reliable for improving conversion rates and user experience. The key is picking the one that matches your needs and budget.

Let's talk about something Marcus is passionate about - the power of in-person connections. Yes, we're living in a digital world, but there's something special about being in the same room with colleagues and clients that Zoom just can't replicate.

Back in November 2019, when Marcus moved to his current location, having a direct train to London was a huge draw. Regular business trips were just part of life. Then everything changed. Suddenly, those London trips became rare, replaced by meetings with American clients. This shift taught him something important - while digital tools are brilliant for staying connected, they can't fully replace those in-person moments.

Marcus shares something from his experience at Headscape. Their office used to buzz with energy - spontaneous chats, brainstorming sessions, and that special camaraderie you only get from sharing a physical space. When they went remote during the pandemic (mainly for practical reasons), something changed. The friendly vibe started to fade. Sure, their Zoom meetings were productive, but that magic of face-to-face connection? It was missing.

So what did they do? They started scheduling regular meetups. Last November's two-day retreat in Bath was a game-changer. Not only did they nail their strategic planning (something that never quite works over Slack), but they rekindled those genuine connections that make their team special. Those coffee break chats, the shared laughs during brainstorming - you just can't get that through a screen.

Marcus even asked AI about the benefits of meeting in person. It highlighted things like non-verbal cues, stronger relationships, and better focus. While good video calls can tick some of these boxes, they often miss that deeper emotional connection that comes from being together.

For those of us in UX and conversion optimization, this isn't just theory - it affects how we work. When you're designing experiences that connect with users, you need to understand human interaction at its core. Being in the same room lets you pick up on those subtle cues - a raised eyebrow, a slight hesitation - that often lead to our best insights.

As remote work grows, we need to be intentional about bringing people together. Even occasional face-to-face events can help fight the isolation that comes with too much digital communication. While technology keeps us connected, nothing beats a real handshake or sharing a meal with colleagues.

Feeling the digital burnout? Try organizing an in-person meetup. Whether it's coffee with your team or a proper retreat, these real-world connections can spark the creativity and warmth that virtual meetings sometimes lack. Remember - while digital tools are essential, real relationships need real interaction.

Want to understand how AI is changing our field? Here are three must-read pieces from Nielsen Norman Group:

• Redefine Your Design Skills to Prepare for AI. A practical guide to evolving your design skills for the AI era.
• A Shift From Command-Based Interactions to Outcome-Based Interactions. Jakob Nielsen explores how we're moving from traditional interfaces to more outcome-focused systems. It's fascinating stuff that might change how you think about user interactions.
• We Must Embrace AI and Shift to a More Strategic Role. A compelling look at how AI is pushing us to become more strategic in our UX roles.

These articles offer practical insights for staying ahead in our rapidly evolving industry.

Paul Edwards asked us something interesting in the Agency Academy:

"I would love to hear about what automations people have set up. I'm going down that road and need some inspiration."

Let's share how we've streamlined our daily work:

We use Clean.Email to keep our inboxes tidy by automatically unsubscribing from newsletters we don't need. For regular responses, Spark helps us set up template replies—a real time-saver.

Ever catch yourself typing the same things repeatedly? TextExpander and TypeText are lifesavers, letting us insert common content with just a few keystrokes. No more copy-paste errors!

Buffer and CoSchedule handle our social media scheduling, while Klaviyo and Mailchimp manage our email sequences. Post once, reach everywhere—that's the dream, right?

Zapier is our secret weapon. When someone signs up for a workshop through Stripe, it automatically triggers a thank-you email. And Notion? It keeps our podcast production flowing smoothly, notifying me as soon as Marcus uploads the edited audio.

We even automate image compression with TinyPNG and use smart templates for proposals. It's all about finding those repetitive tasks that slow you down and asking, "Could a computer do this for me?"

If you have any other tools or resources you'd like to link, feel free to let me know!

Here's Marcus's dubious contribution this week:

"I'm a member of a golfing WhatsApp group. One day, a husband asks his wife, 'If I died, would you date another man?' She replies, 'Of course I would.' He continues, 'Would you let him move into our house?''Yeah, of course I would.' 'Would you let him sleep in our bed?' 'Yeah, of course.'Then he asks, 'Would you let him use my golf clubs?'She answers, 'Definitely not.' He asks, 'Is that because they're personal to you?' And she replies, 'No, it's because he's left-handed.'"

Thanks for joining us! Whether you're exploring A/B testing tools, planning your next team meetup, or looking to automate your workflow, we hope today's show gave you some practical ideas to try. See you next time!

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In today's episode, we dive deep into how UX professionals can effectively demonstrate their value within organizations, especially during challenging times when the shine has come off UX and attention has shifted to AI.

We kick off by exploring some exciting form analysis tools that can revolutionize how we optimize web forms. Tools like MouseFlow, Zuko, and EXATOM offer powerful insights into form performance, helping identify where users struggle and drop off.

Zuko particularly caught our attention with its focused approach and reasonable pricing, making it an attractive option for teams looking to improve their form conversion rates.

The main segment focuses on practical strategies for UX professionals to demonstrate their value within organizations. We explore several key approaches:

• Show, Don't Tell: Create tangible assets like prototypes and user journey visualizations rather than getting bogged down in documentation. This could include creating proofs of concept under the radar to excite senior stakeholders and help remove roadblocks.
• User Exposure: Get stakeholders in front of users through open usability sessions and compelling "horror videos" of user testing. Consider making session attendance mandatory for project stakeholders, like gov.uk does.
• Collaborative Workshops: Engage stakeholders through exercises like customer journey mapping and the "user attention points" exercise. The latter helps stakeholders understand the importance of prioritization by giving them limited "attention points" to allocate across page elements.
• Internal Education: Become an educator through newsletters, lunch-and-learn sessions, and guerrilla marketing tactics like creating mouse mats with personas or mugs with design principles.
• Data-Driven Approach: Establish meaningful KPIs and consistently encourage testing. Start by simply suggesting "Why don't we test that?" whenever there's disagreement in meetings - over time, this mindset can become part of the organizational culture.

From our Agency Academy discussion, we tackle the thorny issue of when and how to offer discounts as an agency or freelancer. We explore the importance of having clear policies around discounting and ensuring any discounts come with reciprocal benefits.

We wrap up with a look at a guide to efficient web design workflow, published on the Wix blog, which introduces an interesting approach to breaking down complex fixed-price projects into more manageable sub-projects.

To end on a lighter note, here's this week's joke (courtesy of Marcus):

A Roman soldier walks into a bar and holds two fingers up. He says "five beers, please."

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