Month one, issue four - you're officially part of the inner circle now! Since today's topic is all about understanding what users really think vs. what developers assume, I'm sharing my UX Discovery Call Playbook with you. It's the step-by-step guide I use to help founders figure out where their products are actually confusing users. Grab it at the bottom after you've read about why letting developers design your UX is costing you customers...
I was on a call with a client yesterday when she casually dropped something that made me wince:
"We do not have any UX designer as of now... we give a very rough concept to the developers and they will come out with whatever looks best for the screen."
My heart literally sank. Because I knew exactly what was coming next - confused users, frustrated developers, and a founder wondering why nobody 'gets' their brilliant product.
If you're nodding along thinking "that sounds familiar," we need to talk. Because this approach is costing you far more than you realise - in user adoption, in development time, and ultimately in your product's success.
I’ll be frank — developers are brilliant at what they do. Truly. But expecting them to also be UX designers is like asking your dentist to perform heart surgery. Different specialties exist for a reason.
The real problem with developer-led design
When developers create interfaces based on "rough concepts," they're making hundreds of micro-decisions about how your users will interact with your product. And they're making these decisions through the lens of what's easiest to code, not what's easiest for your users.
You'll recognise these warning signs:
Navigation that makes perfect sense to the developer but confuses actual users
Features buried three clicks deep because they were "added later"
Terminology that reflects the database structure rather than user language
Workflows that follow the system architecture rather than user goals
The result? Products that technically "work" but that users struggle to use effectively.
What to do when you can't afford a dedicated UX designer
I get it. Not every startup can afford a full-time UX designer (though I'd argue you can't afford not to have one). But there are ways to improve your product's usability even with limited resources: