{"id":19198,"date":"2020-06-12T12:06:33","date_gmt":"2020-06-12T10:06:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/?p=19198"},"modified":"2021-12-21T11:46:24","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T09:46:24","slug":"the-only-guide-to-ux-ethics-youll-ever-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.testingtime.com\/en\/blog\/the-only-guide-to-ux-ethics-youll-ever-need\/","title":{"rendered":"The only guide to UX ethics you\u2019ll ever need"},"content":{"rendered":"

Table of contents<\/span><\/h2>\n

1. UX design ethics: a ridiculously simple guide<\/a>
\n1.1 The user\u2019s rights vs. the company\u2019s interest: who should win?<\/a>
\n1.2 Ethics in User Experience Design<\/a><\/p>\n

2. The categories of UX ethics<\/a>
\n2.1 Category 1: The personal ethics<\/a>
\n2.2 Category 2: Misdirected intent<\/a>
\n2.3 Category 3: Benevolent intent<\/a><\/p>\n

3. How to create ethical UX designs: 5 tips<\/a>
\n3.1 Start your UX projects with the right mindset<\/a>
\n3.2 Always provide multiple options to choose<\/a>
\n3.3 Explain what will happen<\/a>
\n3.4 Be transparent about privacy<\/a>
\n3.5 Make cancelling easy<\/a><\/p>\n

4. UX ethics: final thoughts<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>1. <\/span>UX design ethics: a ridiculously simple guide<\/span><\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s imagine you\u2019re an entrepreneur who owns an exciting startup. During yesterday\u2019s launch, you\u2019ve got another idea on how to get more clients. Your friend, who\u2019s also managing a business, told you he was able to get more leads with this new awesome app. Obviously, you want to check it out, too. What kind of business owner doesn\u2019t want leads, right?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, you go to that tool\u2019s website. You read everything. Seems like it\u2019s worth the try. You decide to sign up for the free version. Just to try it out. Suddenly, a big, red pop-up window fills the entire screen. It says that the premium version is 10 percent off today so you should sign up for it instead. <\/span>\u201cHmm… Okay, this sounds good, but I\u2019d like to try it out first…\u201d <\/span>You look around but the button that closes that pop-up window is nowhere to be found. Instead, there\u2019s the \u201cYes, sign me up now\u201d button. That\u2019s it.<\/span><\/p>\n

You have two choices: close the tab in your browser and forget about it or sign up for the paid version without the free trial. Do you think that\u2019s fair to you as a potential customer? If \u201cno\u201d is your answer, you\u2019ve just been introduced to the dark side of UX. Because many companies use techniques like these to get more customers, the topic of ethics in UX has been hot recently. In this post, let\u2019s take a close look at UX ethics and how to stay ethical when designing digital products.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s get back to the example for a second. What happened there was that you as a hypothetical user were given only one choice. That choice might be good for your company, of course, so the whole situation left you feeling a bit frustrated. Let\u2019s now take a look at this situation from the perspective of ethics.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>1.1 The user\u2019s rights vs. the company\u2019s interest: who should win?<\/span><\/h3>\n

On the one hand, there\u2019s you, a potential client, who, in business terms, is a lead, ready to sign up for the free trial of an online app. You\u2019ve spent some time on the pricing page, which was registered by the system as long enough. When you started moving your mouse up the screen, it perceived it as an attempt to leave. That\u2019s when that annoying pop-up appeared. It had only one way out: sign up for the paid version of the app.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, there\u2019s a business. Its website lists the pricing for each tool and has buttons to sign up for different services packages: the free one and the premium one. Obviously, the premium one has a better chance to help the user. So, the company tries to convince you to sign up for it. The folks at that company might be thinking they\u2019re acting ethically because the paid version will help the user with their business. But how ethical is their move to convince you to sign up and pay right away?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You might just close the window and forget about it, of course, but is their lead generation technique \u201cethical\u201d? Shouldn\u2019t you as a user be entitled to having a choice instead of following the designer\u2019s goals, which, essentially, are the company’s goals? One could say that UX ethics range from complete freedom to navigate to making all important decisions for them. Here\u2019s one ethical interpretation of the situation where a company\u2019s interests and the user\u2019s interests are involved.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>1.2 Ethics in User Experience Design<\/span><\/h3>\n

Promoting a product or a company is a big part of the work of a UX designer. That person needs to find ways to show the advantages of buying that product to customers. If they buy it, the product is likely to change their behaviour or influence their personal or professional life somehow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The way the UX design presents the product is very important. If the designer chooses the company\u2019s interests over those of the users, he or she creates an ethical problem. Clicking on that signup button might not seem like such a big deal. But think about this. By signing up for a premium account, the user has to give away:<\/span><\/p>\n