There are many things that are often overrated in a product or service. The UX is not one of them. In fact, some would argue that it’s greatly underrated, at least when it comes to the value it brings. Nowadays, there is a lot of emphasis on the back-end technology that goes into something. Oftentimes we hear “AI-powered” and “data-driven” as well as other buzzwords that we have come to associate with strong value-adds. However, even the best engine is but a single module in a vehicle, usually insufficient to make a car stand out.

The UX is like the design and “look-and-feel” aspects of the car example. It’s usually part of the User Interface (UI) - User Experience combo as the two go hand in hand. But the interface, in my view, is just one part of the UX. There is also a functionality-related element to it that is as important.

There are certain apps & online services that I consider staple tech and that I would install on my phone as soon as I get a new device or have done a hard reset on an existing one. One such app I was so enthusiastic about that I would recommend to friends and even consider using as a revenue stream, becoming a vendor of sorts on its platform. The reason was that it was very easy to use and it worked almost seamlessly. Lately, however, there were authentication issues with it, not related to my losing a password (this very rarely happens as I’m very meticulous about this sort of thing, borderline OCD about it). The issue was clearly on the site’s end (as well as on the app). I’m not going to mention which site this was since anyone who has used it lately probably has had similar experiences (if not, it’s probably going to happen sooner rather than later). However, the lesson I derived from this experience applies to many situations where UX is involved, particularly when it comes to functionality-related matters.

In a world where cyber-security is becoming more and more relevant, and privacy matters more than slick design, perhaps it’s high time UX professionals of online products take it into more serious consideration. It’s easy to forgive a mediocre website design or a broken link (which are also important parts of UX), but if the authentication protocols aren’t implemented properly, this may be enough to render an existing customer (even a happy one) part of the site’s user attrition. What are your thoughts and experiences on this matter?