Understand the Full Context
When executives demand features, it might feel abrupt, but there’s often more to the story. The idea may have gone through multiple layers of communication—often called a game of telephone—where UX wasn’t included.
For instance, your Product Manager (PM) might be acting on information from the Vice President, who didn’t share the entire context with them. Similarly, the CEO might have provided incomplete information to the VP. If you don’t ask questions, you might never uncover the true reasoning behind these demands.
As a design leader, one of your first steps when faced with such a request should be to dig deeper to understand both the context and stakeholders’ motivations.
Using the stakeholder-as-user method is crucial for gaining insight into their motivations. However, designers often hesitate to ask questions due to fear of how it might be perceived.
You’re Solving Problems with Design
“Ask, be curious. My favorite expression is, ‘Help me understand, or I want to learn. Will you teach me?’ Approach your inquiries with genuine curiosity and respect. The better you understand the end goal, the better solution you can design, and the better designer you will become.” — Mara Thorsrud, UX Brand Director
Many designers worry that past experiences might lead them to be told, “Why are you asking this? Just build what we say!” This concern is heightened if your UX team isn’t well-trusted within the organization.
However, it’s important to recognize that there’s a reason professionals usually provide estimates.
Consider this: engineering teams often collaborate with product management to classify problem sizes, whether through “T-shirt sizes,” estimating hours to resolve an issue, or tracking burn-down hours. This is standard practice in many businesses.
As a designer, you should take a similar approach—though your estimates won’t be based on development time. Instead, estimate how likely a design decision is to influence user behavior regarding the problem at hand.
Address Flawed Logic with Hypotheses
Designers typically don’t have the authority to outright dismiss ideas or label them as poor. Instead, you can organize design suggestions into hypotheses that summarize what you’re building and why.
For example, let’s say your PM believes that “building an AI-based tool will attract customers because we will appear cutting edge.” Summarizing their thoughts into a hypothesis can help them reconsider their perspective. Use this formula:
“If we [change this Feature], users will [change their behavior] because [expected rationale], which will help us achieve [this product goal].”
For instance, you might formulate the hypothesis like this: “Right now, this is our hypothesis as I understand it: If we [build a new AI tool], users will [stop using our competitors and start using us] because [we have something shiny and new], which will help us meet our goal of [250,000 users for Q3].”
The goal here isn’t to assign blame but to highlight the logical inconsistencies and demonstrate that your understanding is incomplete or flawed.
When you present this hypothesis, it may prompt the VP to clarify your company’s unique selling point or share other insights. Alternatively, you might present evidence indicating that users rarely switch products, especially due to a competitor’s new feature. This approach could lead to discussions on refining strategy.
Remember, as the “User Expert,” you’re expressing uncertainty about how certain decisions will influence user behavior in ways that align with business goals.
If you identify a flawed hypothesis, consider discussing the costs required to validate it and propose an alternative approach.
Design Cannot Be a Cost Center in 2025
One key realization I’ve had after speaking with numerous designers in 2025 is that design teams cannot operate merely as a cost center if they wish to thrive.
In an uncertain economy, many organizations are looking to cut costs. If your team is perceived solely as a cost with little added value, it may be at risk of downsizing.
Instead of simply complying with executive whims or questioning their requests to the extent that you become a perceived roadblock, aim to help executives recognize the shortcomings of their ideas.
When they come to this realization independently, they may discard those ideas without even realizing you guided them in that direction.
Ultimately, demonstrating how design can save money (and prevent poor ideas from becoming reality) might be the key strength you offer to executives.
