What Is a User Experience Designer? The Roles and Responsibilities

By Dr. Novadean Watson-Williams and Stefanny Florez  |  03/04/2025

In an increasingly competitive digital world, user experience (UX) designers and user interface (UI) designers have become essential. These designers make it possible for:

• Users to experience more gratifying interfaces, interactions, and accessibility
• Businesses and organizations to stand out, compete, and be efficient
• Everyone to promote a brand

UX Designers and UI Designers Are Different

Although some people in information technology use the term “UX designer” and “UI designer” interchangeably, they are different in reality. UX designers focus on the overall user experience, while UI designers are primarily concerned with the look and feel of an interface. From the seamless navigation to overall customer satisfaction, a good user experience can transform the use of a product, service, or process into something remarkable for its users. 

The Many Roles of UX Designers

UX designers ensure that a user experiences rewarding UI interactions when using products, services, and processes. The roles of UX designers include:

• Conducting extensive user research via interviews, surveys, and other tailored observations to examine and capture users’ requirements
• Developing user personas and journey maps to understand and anticipate user interactions
• Using information architecture to organize and structure content and create wireframes and sitemaps
• Developing interaction design with interactive elements, user flows, functionality buttons, menus, forms, styling, color, and graphics to provide ease of use and generate intended behaviors
• Using interactive prototypes to assess anticipated results and quality intended and to determine the appropriateness of UX design
• Assessing the user experience by conducting usability testing to identify flaws, defects, bugs, and other problems that need addressing
• Creating a consistent, easy, and intuitive learning experience with a limited learning curve and minimum user effort
• Collaborating with design teams and other experts in the industry to deliver an exemplary user experience

Necessary UX Design Skills Needed by UX Designers

There are some essential skills that UX designers must exercise to create a user-centered design and to provide users with the best experience while using an app, exploring a website, or interacting with various technologies. The necessary UX design skills that UX designers require commonly entail:

• Employing strategic collaboration skills and graphic design skills
• Conducting user research, usability testing, and user testing on various platforms, including mobile apps
• Capturing the " user="" feel"
• Satisfying real users with a rewarding experience during the entire user journey
• Using coding skills with whatever computer language is required. Sharan Phillora of Maze observes, "The best UX/UI tools offer a structured framework for organizing data, mapping the user journey, and bringing your design concepts to life."
• Using industry standard tools such as graphic design software
• Adding new features through the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality
• Building products, services, and processes with a UI and UX design focus
• Creating user flow and eye-catching visual designs
• Conducting usability testing and heuristic evaluations to identify potential issues and improve accessibility
• Requesting and receive feedback

Ray Slater Berry, a writer, content marketer, and social media expert contends, "Good UX design can make or break the relationship you have with your customers." A user-centered approach is the focus of exceptionally good UX designers.

The Process That a User Experience Designer Follows

UX designers typically follow several phases to ensure a final product, service, or process is effective, functional, and adaptable to user needs. These phases are:

• Planning
• Analysis
• Design
• Development
• Testing
• Implementation
• Maintenance

Planning

During the planning phase, UX designers establish a solid understanding of project goals, objectives, and scope of the project and solidifies stakeholders' expectations. UX designers conduct extensive research to identify:

• The user problems to be solved
• The user personas
• The information architecture
• The required tools

UX designers also examine the technical skills needed and financial feasibility of the project and identifies risk and challenges to the user and stakeholders. UX designers also assist in the development of a project plan that contains details of the requested task(s), timeline, resources, target audience, and budget. Key activities in this phase include:

• Assessing the problem and implementing a process to identify user(s) and key stakeholders needs
• Understanding stakeholders' goals, constraints, and the basic structure of the organization
• Reviewing and capturing UX and UI development and implementation requirements
• Conducting user research
• Determining key outcomes and deliverables

Analysis

In the analysis phase, UX designers focus on identifying user pain points and opportunities for improvement. UX designers use research and analysis tools to gather data on user behaviors, preferences, and needs. For UX designers, this analysis is essential for supporting the decisions that will be made in the next phases of the user experience design process.

At this stage, UX designers will analyze the needs of the stakeholders. Key activities in this phase include:

• Conducting further needs assessments
• Reviewing collected research
• Conducting surveys, interviews, and observations
• Conducting Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analyses
• Conducting benchmarks, what-if analyses, and path analyses
• Examining differentiation approaches
• Using UX/UI metrics

Design

During the design phase, the UX design process becomes more detailed. UX designers create the initial visual representations of the interface and define a product’s structure during the UX design process.

This work may include wireframes, prototypes, and mockups, which help visualize how users will interact with the product, service, or process. The design focuses on user personas, usability, aesthetics, and accessibility, ensuring the user experience is smooth and meets the goals set in the analysis phase. Key activities in this phase include:

• Reviewing collected research
• Sketching a visual design
• Wireframing
• Creating user flows
• Flowcharting

Development

Once a design is approved, development begins. Although this phase is typically handled by a development team, UX designers collaborate closely with UI designers and developers to ensure the final interface and designs reflect previous design decisions.

In this phrase, the initial prototype is turned into a functional interface with additional modifications to transition the design to the testing phase. Key activities in this phase include:

• Reviewing collected research
• Keeping the UX designers’ focus
• Creating the visual design
• Prototyping

Testing

During the testing phase, UX designers conduct various types of user testing to check:

• Usability
• Integration testing
• The product, service, or process testing
• Acceptance

This work validates the software against user/stakeholder requirements. This phase is also used to address any defects, bugs, inconsistencies, user frustration, and user confusion.

The testing phase gathers feedback from real users. Key activities in this phase include:

• Coding
• Evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the design created for a product, service, or process
• Assessing the ideal customer experience
• Examining the visual design appeal and how it is integrated into the product, service, or process requirement
• Conducting frequent user research through usability testing
• Reviewing and addressing any errors and inconsistencies

Implementation

To guarantee successful UX design implementation, UX designers must ensure that the end user can use a product, service, or process in a relevant and realistic manner. Additionally, any problems should be re-examined to determine if the solutions (design and developments) are appropriate based on the needs assessments. Key activities of this phase include:

• Providing detailed design specifications and assets to the development team
• Managing effective deployment

Maintenance

As with any system implementation, maintenance is critical for continued design success. This process requires consistent monitoring and assessment of user flows, the delivery of the product, service or process, and the expected results or return on investment.

According to DigiCode, “A well-maintained UI/UX design not only boosts user satisfaction but also strengthens your brand reputation in a competitive digital landscape.” Key activities of this phase include:

• Making regular updates
• Welcoming and implementing ad-hoc feedback
• Remaining relevant and current
• Immediately addressing any concerns or errors to maintain the integrity and consistency of the design

Questions That UX Designers Consider as They Work

Clearly, creating a good user experience is a critical activity for UX designers. This activity promotes the efficient and effective use of time and effort by mapping users' movements and actions while those end users are using a website or app.

Designers map the flow of their users to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the interactive elements associated with the starting and ending points of a user's journey or experience. They use user flow mapping techniques to further adapt to user's expectations and address concerns as they navigate various software, apps, or a website.

Ideally, UX designers must consider these UX design questions as they work:

• Is it user-friendly and does it meet user needs?
• Does it address accessibility for users with disabilities?
• Is it easy to navigate?
• Does the content make sense?
• Does it use innovative UX design and UI design?
• Does it inspire? Is it positive and pleasant?
• Is it fast, convenient, and gratifying?
• Are its visual elements appealing, interactive, and interesting?
• Is it responsive and does it allow user feedback?
• Does it promote user retention?
• Does it offer fun through gamification?
• Does it provide the user with a unique experience?
• Is the number of clicks the user needs kept to the minimum?

Real-Life Examples of UX Design Work

There are many examples of good UX design in different industries. One well-known example of UX designers’ work is the search engine Google®. Many users have enjoyed a very clean Google homepage experience since Google first launched its Chrome search engine in 1998.

Interestingly, the efforts of Google's UX designers and UI designers have been rewarding. Google Chrome has increased its browser popularity over time, as W3Schools notes.

Lionel Sujay Vailshery with Statista observes that Google Chrome still accounts for over 65% of internet browsing in the global market as of August 2024.

Another example of UX designer work is booking service Airbnb®, which offers an efficient, user-friendly booking experience. Travelers can easily navigate it and find accommodations. Ray Slater Berry notes that the UX design and UI design strategies employed by Airbnb focused on UX research and incorporating those findings into the design process.

A successfully designed and recognizable brand that is often celebrated and emulated is Apple®. It launched one of the most prominent and historical design features, the graphical user-interface (GUI) in the late 1970s.

Today, Apple serves as the benchmark for providing appealing visual design, user flows, and information architecture. Apple’s exceptional UX design and UI design on its iPhones, iPads, and iOS platforms makes the user experience delightful and easy, regardless of what device or software is used.

The Ultimate Goals of UX Designers

UX designers strive to understand and improve user interactions, which not only contributes to customer satisfaction but also to the market success of a product, service, or process. In a world where user expectations are constantly rising, UX designers can make a significant difference to a business. Additionally, demand for these professionals continues to grow as businesses recognize the impact user satisfaction had on their success.

User experience remains critical to the success of any company or organization. Consequently, UX designers are valuable in maintaining the users’ commitment, loyalty, and dedication to using a product, service, or process.

Information Technology Degrees at American Military University

For interested adult learners interested in acquiring the skills and knowledge to pursue a career path as UX designers or software developers, American Military University (AMU) offers two degrees:

• An online Bachelor of Science in Information Technology
• An online Master of Science in Information Technology

Taught by expert instructors, the courses for these information technology degrees include user experience, an introduction to Python®, human relations communication, object-oriented design, and web development fundamentals. Other courses include enterprise database systems, research methods in information systems and technology, and information technology project management.

For more information on these degrees, visit AMU's information technology degree program page.

Google is a registered trademark of Google, LLC.
Airbnb is a registered trademark of Airbnb, Inc.
Apple is a registered trademark of Apple, Inc.
Python is a registered trademark of the Python Software Foundation.