Nielsen Norman Group

What separates a design system that gets adopted from one that gets worked around? It's not how the file is organized. It's whether the system solves real problems for the people who use it and whether the team behind it has the strategy to maintain that relevance over time. In our latest article from Huei-Hsin Wang, she breaks down why lean design-system teams often outperform larger ones and what it actually takes to make that model work rather than just survive: → Shared context across the team (no one is out of the loop because the loop is short) → Prioritization driven by actual product-team needs, not internal scope creep → Contribution models that extend impact without requiring more headcount And if any of that resonates, her course, Architecting and Managing Effective Design Systems, goes beyond the tools and covers how to align your system with business strategy, build feedback loops, and track adoption in ways that demonstrate real impact. Because it’s one thing to have a Figma file, but it’s another to know the system is in order and being used effectively. Upcoming Sessions on June 23-24 and July 23 Learn more about the course → https://bit.ly/495IWSI Read the full article → https://bit.ly/4uhlPNm #DesignSystems #DesignOps #UXDesign #NNGroup

What actually happens when a company prioritizes users over short-term returns? Eric Ries has spent years researching exactly that question. His answer, from his new book Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad... and How Great Companies Stay Great says that organizations that stay true to their mission don't just feel better — they perform better over time. In this episode of the NN/G UX Podcast, Ries breaks down: → Why "builders intuition" is a competitive advantage, not a soft ideal → How governance structures shape whether a company can stay mission-driven → Practical questions every employee (and job seeker) can ask to assess organizational health Watch the full episode now: https://bit.ly/3RL6Ywc And grab your copy of his book. It just released today!! https://amzn.to/4dewZMW #UXStrategy #ProductDesign #NNGroup #Leadership #LeanStartup

How to earn user trust and not lose it along the way when designing AI solutions - this is just one of many things that I learned in this knowledge-packed training on Designing AI Experiences from Nielsen Norman Group. Highly recommend to anyone working with AI! 🚀

Nobody teaches you how to lead. You learn how to do the work. But no one gives you a framework for translating your design decisions into business terms, navigating competing stakeholder priorities, or earning the kind of trust that gets your ideas actually implemented. Most practitioners figure this out the hard way — through setbacks, miscommunications, and projects that stalled because the influence wasn't there. These three live online courses cover what no degree program teaches: → UX Leader: Essential Skills for Any UX Practitioner https://bit.ly/4nvY95o → Design Tradeoffs and UX Decision-Making https://bit.ly/4eMxYVR → Mastering Influence https://bit.ly/4dsIn6y Enroll at https://bit.ly/4wGpW7x #UXLeadership #UXTraining #ProductDesign #DesignLeadership #UXCourses

Why do users abandon forms with too many fields? Why does button placement matter? Well, there are UX laws for that. These 5 principles shape almost every interface decision you'll ever make: Fitts's Law → https://bit.ly/4uRzydU Hick's Law → https://bit.ly/49Lx0ph Jakob's Law → https://bit.ly/4wzLti1 Miller's Law → https://bit.ly/4fptlkK Tesler's Law → https://bit.ly/4uPYFxx Swipe through for 5 UX laws every designer should know and will get your design off the ground. Explore even more foundations in our basic training course, where we'll cover the core concepts, processes, and vocabulary that every practitioner — new or experienced — should have locked in. → https://bit.ly/4uVvWri #UXTips #UX #UI #UXUI #UXBasics

Just because they're empty states doesn't mean they should be empty of value. Empty states are one of the most overlooked teaching moments in a product. Instead of a blank screen, tell users what the space is for, how to fill it, and give them a clear next step. A good empty state turns confusion into confidence. Don’t create empty states that get empty stares. Go in-depth on empty states in this article from Kate Kaplan → https://bit.ly/4deJHeI #UI #UXUI #EmptyStates #UXTip #InteractionDesign

Great ResearchOps class over the past two days, Nielsen Norman Group. Thank you! I left with stronger language for discussing this work with my team and practical tools we can apply quickly. The real-world examples, templates, forms, and research repository samples were especially valuable. Always appreciate learning experiences that turn big concepts into actionable practices. LinkedIn network - If you’re looking to build skills in UX design or research, Nielsen Norman Group continues to be my go-to recommendation. I appreciate that their classes are grounded in the research and client work they actively do, which makes the learning feel practical, relevant, and immediately usable. When I need to learn something new, or want my team to level up in a specific area, they’re one of the first places I look... https://www.nngroup.com/

You don't always need research participants to find usability problems. Heuristic evaluation is a structured expert review method that lets a small team catch significant usability issues, without any user recruiting. Here's why it works: → It's grounded in established usability principles, not guesswork → It scales to your team size and timeline → It produces actionable findings fast Now, it's not a replacement for user research. But it's one of the most efficient tools you can use when bandwidth, timeline, and resources are limited. Read our quick guide to running your own: https://bit.ly/4dg96mU Or go deeper with Hoa Loranger in her course → https://bit.ly/4nJzjPP #UXResearch #HeuristicEvaluation #Usability #UX