Why Some UX Insights Should Never Become Metrics
- Philip Burgess
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader
When I first started working in user experience, I was eager to quantify every insight I gathered. It seemed logical: if something is important, it should be measurable. But over time, I realized that not every UX insight fits neatly into a metric. Some insights lose their meaning or even mislead when forced into numbers. This post shares why some UX insights should remain qualitative and how turning them into metrics can sometimes do more harm than good.
The Temptation to Quantify Everything
In product teams, there’s often pressure to prove the value of UX work through numbers. Metrics like task completion rates, time on task, or Net Promoter Score are common. These numbers help stakeholders understand progress and justify investments. But this focus on metrics can push teams to convert every insight into a number, even when it doesn’t fit.
For example, during a usability test, a participant might express frustration about a feature feeling “confusing” or “unfriendly.” While you can count how many users said this, the real value lies in understanding why they feel that way. Reducing this rich feedback to a percentage misses the nuance and can lead to superficial fixes.
When Metrics Oversimplify Complex User Feelings
User experience is about human emotions, motivations, and behaviors. These are complex and often contradictory. Metrics tend to simplify this complexity into a single number, which can hide important details.
Take the example of a mobile app’s onboarding process. A metric might show that 80% of users complete onboarding. That sounds good, but it doesn’t reveal if users felt overwhelmed or rushed. Maybe they completed it because they had no choice, but their frustration could lead to churn later. Without qualitative insights, this metric alone gives a false sense of success.
Examples of UX Insights That Should Stay Qualitative
Emotional reactions
Users’ feelings like frustration, delight, or confusion are hard to measure accurately. Instead, capturing stories or quotes provides richer context.
Contextual behaviors
How users interact with a product depends on their environment, mood, or goals. These factors are difficult to quantify but critical to understand.
Unspoken needs
Sometimes users don’t articulate their needs directly. Observing body language or hesitation during testing reveals insights that numbers can’t capture.
Ideas for innovation
Creative suggestions or “wish lists” from users often don’t translate into metrics but inspire new directions.
How Forcing Metrics Can Lead to Wrong Decisions
I once worked on a project where the team focused heavily on reducing the average time users spent on a checkout page. The metric suggested faster checkout was better. But qualitative feedback revealed users wanted more reassurance and information before buying. By rushing them, the team actually increased anxiety and abandoned carts.
This shows how relying solely on metrics can lead to decisions that harm the user experience. Metrics should support, not replace, qualitative insights.
Balancing Metrics and Qualitative Insights
The best UX research combines both numbers and stories. Here are some tips to keep insights meaningful:
Use metrics to track clear, objective outcomes like error rates or task success.
Reserve qualitative methods like interviews and observations to explore user feelings and motivations.
Share user quotes and stories alongside metrics to provide context.
Avoid creating metrics for insights that are inherently subjective or complex.
Regularly revisit metrics to ensure they still reflect real user needs.
Final Thoughts
Not every UX insight should become a metric. Some insights lose their power when reduced to numbers. By respecting the qualitative nature of many user experiences, we can design products that truly meet users’ needs. Metrics are useful tools, but they work best when paired with rich, human stories.
If you’re a UX professional, try to balance your data with empathy. Focus on understanding users deeply, not just counting their actions. This approach leads to better products and happier users.
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