For decades, principles relating to usability, predictability, and efficiency have guided UX design, ensuring that users can complete their tasks with minimal cognitive effort. With traditional, direct-manipulation graphic user interfaces (GUIs), users take action, then the system responds in consistent, expected ways.

However, generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) disrupts this UX design paradigm by introducing an interaction model that is based on the specification of intent-based outcomes. [1] Instead of following predefined workflows, users describe what they want, and the AI generates variable results—often with unpredictable or emergent outcomes. [2, 3, 4]

This UX design paradigm shift that we’re currently experiencing challenges long-standing UX design heuristics such as consistency, predictability, and seamlessness. Designing for GenAI requires a new approach—one that embraces transparency, adaptability, and user control, empowering users to navigate uncertainty, iteration, and co-creation rather than expecting deterministic outputs. Read More

While wireframes, prototypes, and interactive design prototypes often steal the spotlight, solid UX design documentation remains the unsung hero in creating a successful user experience. Neglecting documentation can lead to inconsistent branding, confused stakeholders, and products that fall short of their full potential.

But let’s be honest: creating documentation doesn’t sound nearly as glamorous as crafting sleek user interfaces or conducting user interviews. Nevertheless, its impact is undeniable. Clear, well-structured UX design documentation acts as the glue that binds vision, design, and execution together. It bridges the gaps between teams, ensures design consistency, and helps maintain clarity from ideation to deployment. Read More

Offering a seamless user experience is essential to set your company and its products and services apart in the competitive landscape and establish lasting customer relationships. However, offering an enhanced user experience to your target audience might not be as easy as it sounds.

The interests and preferences of the audience segments you intend to serve change over time, along with the market dynamics. Furthermore, every company competes with many players in their respective industries, who keep optimizing their processes. Therefore, it is of critical importance that you keep an eye on the user experience you offer and identify areas for improvement. But measuring the user experience can be tricky. You must identify the right metrics that reflect your actual performance. In this article, I’ll guide you on how to measure your user experience in the right way, helping you identify your desired level of user engagement. Read More

In the realm of Software as a Service (SaaS), digital dashboards often serve as the central location in which users can interact with data, make decisions, and monitor key metrics. However, many dashboards fall short of delivering the value that users expect. All too often, they’re cluttered with features, lack a clear purpose, and overwhelm rather than inform. As product designers, our responsibility goes beyond simply presenting data, We must design dashboards that prioritize users’ goals, reduce their cognitive load, and help them turn raw data into actionable insights.

In this article, I’ll explore some strategies that can help product teams move from creating feature-heavy dashboards to value-driven dashboards. I’ll offer practical tips that enable UX designers to craft design solutions that truly resonate with users. Read More

The second decade of the 21st century was a buoyant one for the UX Design discipline. Thanks to the work of organizations such as IDEO and dynamic academics such as Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur—authors of the famous Business Model Canvas—the UX design profession and its design-thinking approach became strongly associated with the fields of innovation and business strategy.

While the newfound prominence of UX design was not without merit, it also led to some misconceptions about the limitations of UX design professionals and their academic backgrounds in dealing with the intricacies of competitive and corporate strategy—and more broadly, the practical workings of enterprises. Read More

In early 2025, the buzzword dominating in corporate circles is agentic artificial intelligence (AI). Many organizations are now creating new departments and special initiatives; and any article that talks about AI regularly includes the term. But what exactly is agentic AI, and how do we, as UX designers, approach it?

Agentic AI represents a significant evolution from traditional AI models. Instead of merely automating individual tasks, agentic AI systems can operate semi-independently, executing a multitude of tasks that require decision-making, analysis, and adaptation. This shift allows businesses to assign AI agents to collections of functions and even to cover entire roles with minimal human intervention.

But the transformation goes beyond automation. It signals a fundamental shift in computing itself. We are progressing from a world of fixed, app-based user experiences to a dynamic, learning-driven ecosystem in which AI agents proactively assist and respond to users and evolve over time. Read More

When thinking about service design, we might envision seamless customer experiences, digital products for consumers, or frictionless interactions. But what if the customer isn’t a consumer but a refugee seeking asylum, a scientist trying to communicate his research, or a volunteer struggling to find a meaningful role within a nonprofit. In the corporate world, service design can be a huge competitive advantage. In the nonprofit world, service design can be a force multiplier—yet organizations often overlook its value.

Magda Jagielska, a Customer Experience System Manager at Rockwell Automation, joins me for this column. We’ll take a rare detour outside the large, for-profit, enterprise environments that my columns typically cover. I believe that Magda’s insights can benefit any UX design professional, working within any context. Magda will describe her experiences applying service design within two nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) focusing on science communications. Her goals were to enhance customer engagement, reduce inefficiencies, and create lasting impact. Magda will take it from here. The rest of this column is in her words. Read More

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) dashboards play a crucial role in business management: transforming raw data into actionable insights. ERP dashboards let users monitor key metrics and efficiently make well-informed decisions. However, a poorly designed ERP dashboard can lead to confusion and hinder users’ productivity—thus undermining its primary objective.

In this article, we’ll look at the essentials of effective ERP dashboard design, highlighting strategies and best practices for ensuring an easy-to-use experience. Whether you’re designing dashboards for internal teams or customizing them for clients, the principles I’ll share can help you create dashboard designs that are both highly functional and visually appealing. Read More

Poor user adoption causes 70% of digital-transformation initiatives to fail. Despite their making heavy investments in enterprise software, many organizations struggle with user adoption because employees find their systems too complex or hard to learn and use.

Enterprise software must cater to diverse user needs while providing powerful functionality. Without a well-designed user experience, businesses risk low engagement, reduced productivity, and costly implementation failures. In this article, I’ll explore why UX design is the driving force behind successful enterprise-software adoption, covering some essential design principles, implementation strategies, and the measurable impacts of easy-to-use software on employees’ performance and business efficiency. Read More