UX Expert is Not Part of the Core Team
Gabriel Steinhardt
Founder, Author, Public Speaker. Developer of the Blackblot Product Manager's Toolkit® (PMTK) Methodology
Responding to a UX and PM Query
Question: “I saw the Product Definition Team Model and wondered why the UX Expert is not part of the core team.”
The Blackblot Product Definition Team Model represents the flow of information that creates a product: market problem, solution design and architecture, and engineering/development work.
The Blackblot Product Definition Team Model comprises the roles responsible for the flow of information, primarily Product Planner (problem), Product Architect (solution), and Lead Developer (Work).
User Experience (UX) is an occupational domain broadly responsible for shaping the sensory, behavioral, and emotional aspects of a user’s interaction with the product.
In lay terms, UX is responsible for the product externals and developers for the product internals.
The UX Expert primarily interacts with the Lead Developer.
The UX Expert creates UX design specifications, which are added and become a part of the Lead Developer’s collective technical specifications documents for the product.
From a methodological standpoint, the UX Expert provides a specialized design component just as would a developer providing an Application Programming Interface (API) or database specification.
This is why the UX Expert and roles of similar standing are not core to the Blackblot Product Definition Team Model.
Question: “I know many product leaders think UX Design belongs to the solution space, but this is a common mistake.”
This is not a mistake.
A common mistake is that UX belongs to problem space.
Recommended by LinkedIn
UX does reside in the solution space, and that is methodologically supported. Please see the PMTK Foundation Rules.
UX activities are integrated into Product Development.
UX is organizationally located under the Engineering unit, with Development and Quality Assurance.
Question: “More often than not, a UX Expert will greatly contribute to defining product functionality.”
Yes, that is correct.
Depending on the product, the UX Expert may interact with the Product Architect.
The UX Expert’s input may also relate to personas and use case scenarios.
The UX Expert’s input will likely be integrated into the Product Architect’s Product Requirements Document (PRD).
However, it must be emphasized that a contributing role is not an ownership role.
There are many designated and potential contributors.
For more information, see The User eXperience (UX) Domain chapter on page 159 in the second edition of “The Product Manager’s Toolkit: Methodologies, Processes, and Tasks in Technology Product Management” book.
Learn More…
Blackblot is the developer of the PMTK® methodology and the premier provider of private training, certification, tools, and expert services for market leaders and innovators worldwide. Blackblot is an IS0 9001:2008 certified business.
Vice President Disruptive Innovation at Hexagon Geosystems
1yI like the content of the article, but I disagree on the statement “it must be emphasized that a contributing role is not an ownership role” (unless I misunderstood). UX, in my view, need to have both decision and veto power, otherwise we can’t make it accountable for the “usability” of the product and the overall quality of the user experience. In addition, a company need to have a common user experience approach across products. By definition, the product management should focus to “products” and so nobody is taking care of the overall product portfolio user experience alignments. If we have user experience like Apple of Microsoft Office today, is because there is an higher authority (UX) that care about the overall experience above the single iPhone, iPad or Word, Excel, etc Product Managers.