What is a UX vision?

A UX vision is a product team’s shared understanding of the desired user experience resulting from expected, actual or reflected use.

Sticky notes with descriptions such as “sparend” (economical) on a table in a UX vision workshop.
Photo: Marvin Kampermann Photography

UX starts before use and lasts long after.

User experience therefore covers more than the moment someone operates a product. It includes the expectations before and the memories afterwards.

“A person’s perceptions and responses that result from the use and/or anticipated use of a product, system or service.”

Definition of user experience according to ISO 9241-210

How exactly should people talk about your product?

A UX vision describes the words and images users ideally use to characterise your product. These descriptions turn into three to five UX factors that the team deliberately works towards.

  • “It’s fun!”
  • “I can trust it.”
Pale cards with handwritten German UX qualities such as “schnell” (quick), “klar” (clear), “flüssig” (fluid) and “verständlich” (easy to understand) arranged on a dark table.
Collected descriptions of a desired user experience.

Products are built by teams – so teams need a shared goal.

Designing a product is almost always a team effort. The team therefore has to agree on what experience the product should enable.

A UX vision makes this goal explicit: it connects what you know about users and product with selected UX factors, measurable goals and the planned features.

Which factors matter depends on the product.

A web shop above all needs to be trustworthy and offer good content, a word processor useful and dependable, a game immersive and stimulating. The page shows common UX factors as an example and how you can measure them.

Explore the UX factors

The tools for developing your UX vision

  1. Understand the product

    Product Vision Interview

    Gets to the point of why your product is valuable.

  2. Develop the UX vision

    UX Vision Canvas

    Connects users, product, UX factors, measurement and features.

  3. Rate features

    UX Poker

    Estimates how user stories affect your UX factors.

All tools at a glance

Want to use the canvas with your team?

I support you in running it. Send me a short note about what you are working on and who will take part.

  • Workshop facilitation

    I facilitate your workshop with the UX Vision Canvas – from what you know about users to measurable UX goals.

  • One-day training

    Your team learns what UX visions are, applies several techniques for developing them to examples and discovers what else a UX vision can be used for.