Testing prototypes is an inherent part of finalizing designs. Nobody wants to wonder why users are not utilizing an app the way it should be utilized or why they can’t seem to complete a purchase on your website. And nobody wants to rework something that’s already been shipped. 

UX designers are under a lot of pressure to produce designs that add value to users’ lives. But without input from your users, it’s nearly impossible to design an experience that actually helps alleviate their pain points. If you’re pressed for time and/or don’t have the help of a researcher, getting the user input essential to design a great product can certainly be a challenge.

As a UX designer, getting your leadership to support your major projects can be as much about talking the talk as it is about walking the walk. As much value as your work may provide, you also have to know how to sell it in a world of competing priorities and looming deadlines.

Even as UX design and user research are becoming a more prominent focus in today’s leading companies, it can still be tough to get executive leadership onboard with user research-related initiatives. We know the struggle.

This post originally appeared on UsabilityGeek.

As marketers, we’re always hoping for more traffic, conversions, and leads.

Understanding the steps users take as they interact with your brand and how they feel along the way is crucial to managing in today’s digital experience landscape. Putting yourselves in the customer’s shoes and see what the end-to-end experience is like can be made possible through a customer journey mapping tool. By visually representing this process, you can begin to understand which of your company’s touchpoints bring joy and which causes frustration for the customer.

We all know that user feedback is important, that goes without saying. It should be the primary source of information you look to if you’d like to improve your user’s experience and your product itself.

Sometimes it feels like apps, tools, and services we use are an extension of the work that we do. That’s especially true if you work in UX, product management, or any sort of design. UX tools do a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to user research and design.

This post originally appeared on Design Thinking and was written by Paulina Wójciak and Sarah Cantu.