User experience is not just what shows up on the screen. It is the entire attitude and reaction a user has towards your product — before, during, and after use.
User experience design is the art of studying user behavior and psychology to provide an advanced experience that aligns your business goals with user expectations. The actual UX is the attitude or reaction a user has towards your product — not just the screens they see, but the entire journey before, during, and after product use.
The stakes are high. If your product is unavailable or frustrating to use, users form a negative view immediately. If your product gains their confidence and delights them, they keep coming back and even invest time and money. Understanding how to design for this progression is critical to your success as a product manager.
User intent and behavior require structured observation
Your actual job in UX design is to understand why users do what they do — their intent, motivation, and behavior. This is rarely as simple as listening to what users say. Users often cannot explicitly articulate their needs, or they report socially desirable answers rather than true motivations.
One framework I use to make sense of user observations plots two axes:
- Explicitness of behavior: How clearly can users explain their needs? Sometimes users can say exactly what they want. Other times, their needs are implicit in their actions.
- Specificity of needs: How concrete or abstract are the needs? Some needs are very specific, like “I want a button to save my cart.” Others are broad, like “I want to feel secure using this app.”
This matrix helps you identify which needs are explicit and concrete — easy to translate into features — and which are implicit or abstract, requiring more investigation or creative solutions.
The trap is to rely only on explicit user feedback. The better PMs observe behavior patterns, contextual cues, and even contradictions to uncover latent needs. This is the difference between building a product users say they want and building one they actually use.
The UX hierarchy: inspired by Maslow’s psychological framework
UX design is not a single dimension. It is a stack of layers, each building on the previous one. I use a hierarchy inspired by Maslow’s pyramid to explain these layers, from the most basic to the most aspirational:
| Layer | What it means | Indian-context example |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | The product or page must work and be accessible | A mobile app that crashes frequently or shows 404 pages causes immediate frustration and distrust. |
| Usability | Users can navigate and use the product easily | Buttons must be legible, controls intuitive. For example, a site with pink text on a pink background is unreadable. |
| Supportive Features | Subtle aids that help users complete tasks | On a checkout page, a floating textbox reminding users to complete payment provides gentle guidance. |
| Confidence | Users trust your product enough to invest time and money | Amazon’s users add items to cart, create wishlists, and pay for Prime memberships because they trust the platform. |
| Desirability | Emotional delight features that keep users engaged and loyal | Dash buttons on Amazon let users reorder frequently bought items instantly, making them feel valued. |
Availability is non-negotiable. If your site is down or unusable, no other UX layer matters. This is the baseline of any digital product.
Usability focuses on clarity and ease. Users should never get lost or confused. Navigation should match their mental model.
Supportive features act as hand-holders. These are not core functionalities but reduce friction and improve task completion rates.
Confidence is about trust. When users trust your product, they are willing to invest effort, time, and even money.
Desirability adds emotional connection. These are the delighters that make users feel special and encourage loyalty.
Indian users are especially sensitive across these layers due to diverse literacy levels, language preferences, and cost sensitivity. For example, Meesho’s vernacular content and simple UX help build confidence among tier-2 and tier-3 users who might distrust complex English interfaces.
Measuring UX is essential for better decisions
You cannot improve what you do not measure. UX metrics provide insight into how users interact with your product and where they encounter friction.
UX metrics fall broadly into two categories:
- External metrics: These measure behaviors outside your product, such as brand sentiment, net promoter score, or customer support tickets.
- Internal metrics: These focus on user actions within your product, such as click paths, button usage, or frequency of the back button.
For example, if users frequently use the back button, it signals they are not finding the information they want easily and are forced to backtrack. This is a clear sign of poor usability.
By combining quantitative metrics with qualitative insights from user research, you can identify features to improve or remove. This leads to leaner product management — focusing your team’s efforts where they will have the most impact.
UX design is a science and an art — PMs must care deeply
Many PMs think UX is just about the final screens or wireframes. That is the visible tip of a deep iceberg.
Behind those screens are hours of research into user behavior, psychology, and data. Great PMs understand the why behind user actions, anticipate needs, and design flows that feel intuitive and satisfying.
UX design also requires collaboration. You work with designers, researchers, and engineers to translate insights into flows, prototypes, and eventually shipped features.
The trap of relying only on what users say
Henry Ford famously said, “If I’d asked customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.” Steve Jobs echoed this — users often don’t know what they want until you show it to them.
This is why attitudinal research — what users say — often diverges from behavioral research — what users actually do. Attitudinal research can be biased by social desirability or users’ incomplete understanding of their needs.
For example, users may say they want more features, but behavior shows they use only a few core functions. Great PMs spot these gaps and design for actual behavior, not just stated preferences.
User research methods complement UX design
User research is critical to product decisions. It helps you test hypotheses, validate assumptions, and uncover unexpected insights.
Research methods fall along three dimensions:
- Attitudinal vs Behavioral: What users say vs what users do.
- Qualitative vs Quantitative: Depth of understanding vs breadth of data.
- Context of Use: Lab tests vs real-world usage.
You rarely rely on a single method. Instead, combine qualitative interviews with quantitative analytics to get a fuller picture.
From observation to action: synthesize and prioritize
Collecting data is not enough. You must synthesize insights into actionable priorities.
Ask yourself:
- Did the research validate or invalidate our hypotheses?
- What unexpected insights emerged?
- Which UX layers are causing the most friction?
- What features can we improve, remove, or add?
This process guides your roadmap and design decisions.
UX design in the Indian context requires special attention
India’s diversity poses unique challenges:
- Literacy and language: Interfaces must be legible and accessible in multiple languages and scripts.
- Device and connectivity: Many users are on low-end smartphones with intermittent internet.
- Cultural expectations: Trust and confidence are built differently; Indian users value local context and support.
For example, Flipkart’s app is optimized for low bandwidth and vernacular content. Meesho’s UX focuses on non-technical users selling via WhatsApp.
Your UX design must be inclusive and empathetic to these realities.
Test yourself: UX design for a tier-2 e-commerce startup
You are the PM for a tier-2 e-commerce startup based in Jaipur. The app is crashing frequently during peak hours. User feedback says the app is slow and confusing. The CEO wants to add new features like video shopping and social sharing. You have a limited engineering team and a tight budget.
The call: What UX layers do you prioritize fixing before adding new features? How do you convince leadership to focus on these issues?
Your reasoning:
Where to go next
- If you want to learn how to conduct user research effectively: User Research Methods
- If you want to translate user insights into product vision: Product Vision and Strategy
- If you want to measure product success with metrics: Metrics and KPIs
- If you want to understand ethical considerations in UX: Ethical PM
- If you want to improve your UI design collaboration skills: Design Collaboration