Leveraging a variety of skills across your org can actually boost the user experience
A product leader’s role isn’t just to hire a great UX’er. It’s also to see UX as a holistic function that cuts across departments. I will bet you dollars to donuts that when product leaders start tapping into their team’s non-UX skills and unique expertise, they’ll be surprised by how much those skills can transform the user experience.
And with that, product leaders can build effective UX teams.
You hear that? That’s me beating the drum about how UX is crucial to driving product success. But while UX should own the experience, cross-team collaboration can amplify the UX team.
In this article, I’ll explore why UX is everyone’s job, and how product leaders can unlock incredible value by integrating skills from across their teams.
Uncover UX potential in unexpected places to build effective UX teams
Sometimes, a team’s most valuable UX insights come from unexpected places.
Skill mapping is when you actively look at each team member’s experience beyond their current job title. Not just UX researchers and designers, but also project managers, business analysts, engineers… think anyone on the team.
By understanding the unique capabilities of each person, product leaders can create a UX strategy that’s more resilient, adaptive, and ultimately more aligned with real-world needs.
Consider a common example: a team member with a background in customer service. Product leaders often overlook these skills for UX, assuming they’re less relevant. However, customer service reps usually have firsthand knowledge of user frustrations, common pain points, and the language that resonates most with users. These insights can inform content choices, error messaging, and proactive support features—components that are essential for a smooth, user-centric experience.
By taking a close look at team members’ past roles and experiences, product leaders can uncover hidden skills that add depth to the UX process. Skill mapping—where you map out the unique experience each team member brings—can reveal untapped UX potential that might otherwise go unnoticed and ultimately help build effective UX teams.
How we did it
One example of this is our work on a B2B virtual meeting product. We were brought in as the UX experts on a diverse team, and several had strong foundations in customer service and sales.
These team members’ previous experience handling user pain points and troubleshooting helped our team understand common user frustrations and expectations. Their input helped guide decisions around user flows, content placement, and support features, creating a product that proactively addressed the needs of new and returning users.
Takeaway for product leaders
Skill mapping is a powerful way to surface insights that might otherwise be overlooked. By creating an open environment where team members are encouraged to share relevant past experiences, product leaders can find valuable perspectives to inform the UX process. This approach not only broadens the team’s problem-solving capabilities but also builds a more inclusive, collaborative culture.
Translating technical expertise to usability
Engineers and developers bring a wealth of technical knowledge to the table. When these professionals get involved in the UX process, they can pinpoint potential technical bottlenecks before they become issues, balancing user-friendliness with technical feasibility.
In addition, technical experts can propose ideas for innovative features that could improve usability but might not be obvious to a designer.
For example, in B2B SaaS products, engineers might propose ways to simplify data migration or automate repetitive tasks within the product. By encouraging collaboration between UX and engineering, product leaders can build effective UX teams AND create a seamless user experience that performs well and aligns with the product’s technical goals.
How we did it
In many B2B products, users need to handle complex data without being overwhelmed by it. This was the case with a consulting company that needed a custom portal for analyzing insurance data. By involving developers early in the design process, the team could translate technical expertise into features that improved the portal’s usability.
The developers contributed unique insights into data handling that simplified complex processes, creating a streamlined user experience. Their technical perspective led to a design that allowed users to easily filter, search, and analyze data, eliminating the frustration that often comes with managing large datasets. The result was a tool that empowered the consulting company’s team to make data-driven decisions more efficiently, improving overall workflow.
Takeaway for product leaders
This example illustrates the value of bringing technical team members into UX discussions. By working closely with developers who understand backend complexities, you can prevent usability issues, save development time, and create more robust, user-friendly products.
Healthcare professionals bring empathy and detail-oriented design to health tech
In health tech, understanding end users on a deep level is crucial—whether they’re healthcare providers or patients.
Team members with healthcare experience often have a heightened sense of empathy and attention to detail, which is invaluable in designing products that need to accommodate complex healthcare workflows or sensitive patient data.
Former healthcare professionals, such as nurses or administrators, can help anticipate where users might need extra support or guidance, which is especially valuable when designing for patient-centric apps. For example, they can advise on how to display critical information in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the user, helping balance usability with informational accuracy.
How we did it
A prime example comes from our work on the Austin Diagnostic Clinic website redesign. Over several years, the team integrated feedback from professionals with healthcare experience to create a patient-focused site that would stand out in a competitive healthcare market.
Healthcare professionals at ADC, who had interacted with patients and understood their common pain points, were instrumental in shaping a user-friendly, empathetic design. Their insights helped prioritize critical information and create an intuitive navigation structure, ensuring that patients could easily find the resources they needed.
Takeaway for product leaders
When a product leaders needs to build effective UX teams, don’t overlook subject-matter experts.
Involving healthcare professionals in the design process can lead to a UX that resonates more deeply with end users. Their understanding of patient and clinician perspectives enhances empathy in design, which is especially important in health tech where user needs can be complex and sensitive.
Cross-functional collaboration – turning skills into strategic UX assets
Cross-functional collaboration is where the magic happens in UX.
Product leaders play a pivotal role in setting up an environment where these varied skills can interact and complement one another. By facilitating collaboration across departments, leaders can encourage team members to bring their unique insights to the table and help shape a well-rounded UX approach.
To build effective UX teams, you can structure a cross-functional team to ensure regular touchpoints between UX designers, product managers, data analysts, and developers.
For example, including data analysts in UX meetings can reveal insights into user behaviors, and that can help to tailor designs that resonate with actual user patterns. Marketing and sales can provide direct feedback on how users respond to product messaging, shaping user flows and feature prioritization.
How we did it
Creating an intuitive user experience in healthcare requires input from multiple functions, each bringing a unique perspective. The redesign of the Central Health healthcare website is a prime example of how collaboration across departments can transform UX into a strategic asset.
With insights from patient advocates, marketing, and UX designers, the team worked to make the website patient-focused. Each department shared its unique understanding of the audience, leading to a design that provided clear, accessible information and prioritized patient needs.
This cross-functional approach helped unify the project’s goals and ensured that the redesigned site would support the healthcare district’s mission effectively.
Takeaway for product leaders
By creating a culture of cross-functional collaboration, product leaders can harness each department’s strengths to enhance UX and build effective UX teams. Regular touchpoints between departments—like marketing, design, and data analysis—can shape a product that truly resonates with users.
Conclusion: Turning non-UX skills into a competitive advantage
UX is no longer just about design –it’s a strategic asset that should involve the entire product team. This is why when product leaders need to build effective UX teams they should do beyond UX job titles.
Product leaders who leverage the full spectrum of their team’s past skills can drive experiences that are not only user-friendly but also deeply aligned with real-world needs. Whether it’s a former marketer shaping user flows, a developer refining usability, or a healthcare professional enhancing patient empathy, these past skills bring fresh perspectives and actionable insights that can be pivotal for UX success.
When product leaders view UX as a collaborative, cross-functional effort, they’re able to design products that truly meet user needs and make an impact. And in a competitive market, this holistic, inclusive approach can set you apart, ensuring your product resonates with users and delivers long-term value.
