Are you designing the right thing?

In UX, one of the most powerful questions we can ask is: “Are we designing the right thing?”

It sounds simple, but it’s one of the hardest to answer. In fast-moving product environments, it’s easy to focus on delivering features quickly and aligning with the roadmap. But designing the right thing means stepping back to connect every decision to a larger purpose — ensuring we’re solving the right problem, for the right reason.

UX and Product: A Shared Mission

UX and Product development go hand in hand. Designers bring the roadmap to life, while product teams ensure alignment with business strategy. But roadmaps are often feature-led — and UX, at its best, is purpose-led.

That’s where collaboration matters most. Before jumping into feature design, we should ask:

• What is the long-term goal behind this work?

• How does it fit into the broader business strategy?

• Is there a target state this feature contributes to?

These questions reframe delivery into discovery. They help ensure that we’re not just shipping outputs, but designing outcomes that move the business — and our users — forward.

Designing with Intent: The Target State Mindset

Every feature should be more than a standalone fix. It should have a place in a bigger story — one that evolves toward a future vision.

Designing with a target state in mind helps bridge the gap between today’s needs and tomorrow’s goals. It means:

• Reframing requirements into opportunities

• Assessing if the solution scales and aligns with the future vision

• Designing patterns and frameworks that can evolve

This approach reduces design debt, strengthens consistency, and ensures our work builds toward a cohesive experience — not just a collection of features.

Aligning on the “Why” Before the “What”

Clarity of purpose drives good design.
That starts with alignment — not just with designers, but across product, tech, and business partners.

When teams align on why we’re solving a problem, the what and how naturally follow. This shared understanding:

• Guides prioritization and trade-offs

• Strengthens design rationale

• Builds confidence that what we’re creating matters

The Bottom Line

Designing the right thing is about intent. It’s about connecting user needs and business goals through a clear, future-oriented lens.

When UX and Product align on the long-term “why,” we stop designing for the next release — and start designing for what comes next.