UX
What UX is and isn't
Most people think they know what UX is. They don't. And you can usually tell within a few minutes of using a product.
Why UX is not the visual layer, where it usually breaks down, and what actually changes when the structure underneath is rethought properly.
In short
Why UX is not the visual layer, where it usually breaks down, and what actually changes when the structure underneath is rethought properly.
Where this starts to break
But as soon as you started using it, things began to unravel. Journeys took longer than expected. Decisions appeared at the wrong points. The flow felt like it had been built around internal glossaryProcessA process is a defined sequence of steps used to achieve a specific outcome.Open glossary term rather than what the user was actually trying to achieve. Nothing was obviously broken, but nothing felt easy either. It required more effort than it should have, and that's always where users start to disengage.
UX isn't about how something looks. It's about how it behaves when someone tries to use it. In most of the work I've been involved in, the biggest issues haven't come from visual design. They've come from how things have been structured underneath: different teams owning different parts of the journey, glossaryLegacy SystemA legacy system is an outdated system that is still in use, often due to its critical role.Open glossary term shaping the flow, compliance and business rules layered on top. None of those things are wrong in isolation, but when they all surface directly in the experience, the result is glossaryFrictionFriction refers to anything that slows users down or makes it harder for them to complete a task. It can be caused by poor design, unnecessary steps, unclear messaging, or technical issues.Open glossary term. The user ends up navigating the organisation instead of completing their task.
UX isn't about how something looks. It's about how it behaves when someone tries to use it.
The same pattern in different contexts
At Co-op Bank, years of glossaryInfrastructureInfrastructure refers to the underlying systems and resources that support applications and services.Open glossary term and glossaryIncremental ChangeIncremental change is the practice of improving something through small, continuous steps rather than large replacements. It lowers risk and compounds over time, and cannot on its own move past a structural limit.Open glossary term had created journeys that technically worked but felt heavy and unintuitive. Across the NHS, the problem existed at a much larger scale: hundreds of sites, inconsistent structures, different teams all approaching content and journeys in their own way. With Travelbag, the issue was different again. Users were comfortable browsing but when it came to committing to a high-value purchase, hesitation crept in because the experience didn't do enough to glossaryBuildA build is the process of compiling and packaging code into a runnable application.Open glossary term trust at the right moments. Different contexts, same underlying issue: the experience wasn't structured in a way that supported the user.
The reason the glossaryPatternA pattern is a reusable solution to a design problem that recurs across products and contexts. It captures an approach already shown to work, so a team solves the problem once rather than every time it appears.Open glossary term repeats across such different organisations is that it has an organisational cause rather than a design one. Wherever a journey crosses several owners, each owner optimises their own section, and nobody is accountable for the seams between them. The user is the only person who experiences the whole thing.
Where UX tends to get misunderstood
UX is often brought in after the key decisions have already been made (once journeys are defined and glossarySystemA system is a collection of interconnected components that work together to achieve a specific function or outcome.Open glossary term are in place) with a brief to improve what's there. At that point, the scope naturally shifts towards glossaryRefinementRefinement is the ongoing work of clarifying, breaking down, and sizing backlog items before they enter development. It is where ambiguity gets resolved while resolving it is still cheap.Open glossary term. You can make things clearer and remove some glossaryFrictionFriction refers to anything that slows users down or makes it harder for them to complete a task. It can be caused by poor design, unnecessary steps, unclear messaging, or technical issues.Open glossary term, but you're still working within a structure that may be fundamentally flawed. That's why UX sometimes gets reduced to surface-level improvements. Not because that's what it is, but because that's the point at which it's introduced.
The misunderstanding is reinforced by how the work gets bought. A brief to improve the glossaryInterfaceAn interface is the point of interaction between a user and a system, where inputs are made and outputs are received. It can be visual, physical, or conversational.Open glossary term has a clear scope and a predictable cost. A brief to establish whether the journey should work this way has neither, so the first is what gets commissioned and the second is what would have moved the numbers.
It also shapes who the work is judged by. glossaryRefinementRefinement is the ongoing work of clarifying, breaking down, and sizing backlog items before they enter development. It is where ambiguity gets resolved while resolving it is still cheap.Open glossary term is assessed on how it looks in a review. Structural work is assessed on what happens weeks later in the glossaryDataData is raw, uninterpreted information collected and stored so it can be analysed, processed, or used to inform decisions. On its own it carries no meaning; context and interpretation are what make it useful.Open glossary term, which is a slower and less flattering glossaryFeedbackFeedback is the system response that informs users about the result of their actions. It helps users understand what has happened and what to do next.Open glossary term loop.
Key takeaway
The biggest UX gains usually come from rethinking the structure underneath the experience, not polishing the surface.
Where UX actually works
The real impact comes earlier, before the shape of the experience has been locked in. That's where you can look at what's actually happening (why the journey exists in its current form, what the user is being asked to do, whether that effort is necessary) and challenge assumptions before they become embedded.
On the NHS work, that meant moving away from simply improving content and instead rebuilding the structure and serviceInformation ArchitectureImprove navigation, content structure, and findability so users can understand where things are and how to move through them.Open service from the ground up. At Co-op, it meant working within legacy glossaryConstraintsConstraints are limitations or restrictions that impact how a product or solution can be designed or built.Open glossary term while reshaping journeys so they felt more intuitive and less demanding. With Travelbag, it meant recognising that users weren't just completing a transaction. They were making a significant financial decision, and the experience needed to support that. In each case, the value didn't come from how things looked. It came from how they were rethought.
None of this requires a different skill set so much as a different point of entry. The same questions asked at the point a journey is being agreed cost an hour and change the shape of the work. Asked after it has been built, they cost a rebuild and usually get declined.
