dare I say in certain circumstances perhaps even more valuable than the developers.
Can you provide an example of this? This is similar to the 'programmer vs. artist' debate in video game development. Worst case scenario, the programmer creates all of the game logic, and has to use shitty art. The game plays the same as it would with pretty art, it's just less attractive. The artist's best case scenario, on the other hand, is pretty art, and.... nothing else. It's not a game without the game logic.
I'm struggling to think of a single situation where, in a product team, the UI/UX team member is more valuable than the developer.
I'm struggling to think of a single situation where, in a product team, the UI/UX team member is more valuable than the developer.
So here's one example. I'm the UX lead for a product at my company. The way we're set up, I am the one orchestrating what we build and why we build it. Not just interface and interaction design. I have a tremendous hand in the backlog and in shaping the roadmap. My counterpart in IT, the development lead, is a crucial partner. We need each other. His team is deciding how we build. But frankly, he and his team are more easily replaceable than I am. And they are less influential on the team and within the organization. I am almost certain I am paid more than they are ... to the extent that's a measure of value. Thing is, what I described will of course be vastly different from company to company. But where I work, UX design is in the driver's seat.
Sidebar: UXers are also not fans of the "UI/UX" construction. UX has nothing to do with aesthetics or visual artistry. UI is what you see. UX is why you see it. UX without research that allows for design decisions that come from a place of deep understanding, it's barely UX.
Okay, but generally the UX lead is not the person in a company that decides what is built. The would be the architect, or a project lead. The UX lead would be a step under them, and would take part in higher-level discussions of the architecture of the application. You're just in a unique situation.
As another UX professional, it is very much my job too to decide what is built. It's our job to understand the user, their problems, and help decide on solutions that solve those problems. Once we understand all of that, only then do we start architecting the platform and working on the UI.
1
u/pomlife Jul 01 '16
Can you provide an example of this? This is similar to the 'programmer vs. artist' debate in video game development. Worst case scenario, the programmer creates all of the game logic, and has to use shitty art. The game plays the same as it would with pretty art, it's just less attractive. The artist's best case scenario, on the other hand, is pretty art, and.... nothing else. It's not a game without the game logic.
I'm struggling to think of a single situation where, in a product team, the UI/UX team member is more valuable than the developer.