Everywhere you look right now, UX teams are under pressure. Pressure to boost KPIs. Pressure to reduce friction. Pressure to prove value — fast. And don’t get me wrong—outcomes matter. Good design should drive results. But lately, I’m seeing a growing, quieter crisis in the UX world:
We’re starting to design for dashboards, not humans.
What Does “Designing for Metrics” Look Like?
- A “successful” checkout flow that’s technically faster—but leaves users feeling rushed or confused.
- A signup journey that gets 20% more conversions—but onboarded users don’t stick around.
- A healthcare portal that meets usability testing numbers—but doesn’t address the real anxiety patients feel.
In all of these cases, the numbers look good.
But the experience feels hollow.
The problem is simple:
When metrics become the goal, the user becomes the means.
And that’s not why UX exists.
Why This Is Happening
The pressure is real:
- Companies are fighting for profitability.
- Teams are being asked to “prove” UX value in hard numbers.
- AI-driven dashboards make surface-level wins look seductive.
But here’s the danger:
You can optimize every micro-metric and still miss the macro-mission.
The best UX doesn’t just make actions easier.
It makes users feel better about the journey they’re on.
What We Need to Remember
Metrics are signals, not goals. – They show us where friction lives—but they don’t tell us why users care.
Trust is the real KPI. – If users don’t trust the experience, they won’t stick with it—no matter how optimized the flow is.
Context is everything. – A fast checkout means nothing if the purchase feels insecure. A simple signup isn’t a win if users feel tricked later.
What Worries Me Most
If we continue down this path—chasing metrics at the cost of meaning—we risk eroding the very thing that made UX matter in the first place.
We become conversion optimizers, not experience architects.
We become data chasers, not human advocates.
We lose the soul of our craft.
And users?
They’ll feel it.
They already do.
The Future I Want to Build
Imagine a world where UX teams report on:
- Moments of earned trust
- Genuine user confidence
- Long-term loyalty and emotional resonance
Where the best KPI isn’t just “faster” or “more clicks”—
It’s “users feel empowered, not manipulated.”
That’s the UX I still believe in.
And it’s the future I want to build—with teams who know the difference.
#FinalThought
Great UX doesn’t just show up on a dashboard.
It shows up in human trust, loyalty, and belief.