4 ms·

Why are UX designers getting the heat? The PM is the one forcing their hand.

• andrepd 1y ago
  Just following orders amirite
• mystified5016 1y ago
  Like everyone else, UX designers have a choice to follow unethical orders or refuse them. Yes yes, labor market, visas, etc. It's still a choice to do something evil, even if you're coerced.
  • exsomet 1y ago
    There are degrees of evil though, surely? I am not sure you’re making a reasonable or realistic argument when you are saying that someone should risk or give up their job, personal security, and stability of their family rather than implement a button to turn off iPhone notifications. I don’t disagree with the principle at all, but if it’s ever going to change the conversation has to start somewhere rational. “Destroy your life because your UI offends me” isn’t it.
    • dogleash 1y ago
      Nick Naylor: [out loud] "I just need to pay the mortgage." Nick Naylor: [to self] The Yuppie Nuremberg defense.
  • nkrisc 1y ago
    There's a difference though between "unethical" and just "shitty experience". A shitty experience is not inherently unethical. As a UX designer, I never did anything I believed to be unethical, but I did design many things that I thought were a shitty experience. I voiced my concerns, suggested some alternatives, and was told do design it to work the shitty way. If they want to pay me to design a shitty experience, then OK, the money's the same either way. I just made sure to save the emails/documentation/etc. in case anyone tried to blame it on me when it failed or users complained. If the order came down from high enough up the org, a UX manager or director might also go on the record opposing it to cover for those under them in the org. I think of it like hiring someone to replace all the beautiful hardwood floors in your home with thick, orange shag carpet. It's a bad idea and it will probably hurt the resale value of your home, but there's nothing unethical about the contractor accepting the work and taking your money as long as everything's done properly and to code.
  • lud_lite 1y ago
    I'd be out of work entirely if I quit every job when I saw something disgusting. There are levels though.
• nurettin 1y ago
  Programmers are pretty innocent, but UX Designers by trade should disallow dark patterns that worsen User's eXperience, right?
  • ryandrake 1y ago
    Programmers are the ones implementing these designs, so they at the very least share culpability.
    • nurettin 1y ago
      Not really your job to question where to put the button, since you get these tasks one by one, but there's always regret when you see the end product.
• urbandw311er 1y ago
  PM has a product strategy for sure, but it’s still downstream of the main business strategy and will be based off that. So your ultimate accountability here rests with some greedy CEO or investor.
  • rib3ye 1y ago
    The PM usually has autonomy to hit their goal in the method they see fit. The CEO/investor, while greedy, doesn't usually dictate execution (unless they are Steve Jobs).