Maximizing UX bandwidth

Bandwidth constraints are a common problem at any software company, and are particularly prevalent for user experience teams, which are often implemented only after a software company has grown. Thanks to spending cuts, hiring freezes, and layoffs due to COVID-19, many UX teams have been forced to cut back on staff and other resources, though their backlog of design work is unlikely to undergo similar reductions.

When engineering departments lack bandwidth, features don’t get built. When UX departments lack bandwidth, features often get built poorly. As many executives do not understand what UX teams do or the long-term value that they provide, adequately staffing UX teams can be a significant challenge for any UX manager.

While many UX teams struggle to keep up with product and engineering demands, the ideal number of UX practitioners has been a topic of debate. Prominent product leader Marty Cagan in a short 2007 article argued for a ratio of one visual designer for every 4 interaction designers for every 8 product managers for every approximately 64 engineers, for a final ratio of one UX resource for approximately every 13 engineers. The authors of Lean UX advocate for 10 person or smaller teams with both a visual and a UX designer. A 2017 investigation by TechCrunch found many companies, including LinkedIn, Uber, and IBM, aiming for a 1:8 designer to engineer ratio, with companies like Netflix even aiming for 1:4. While the numbers may vary, if you find your UX team without the capability to follow a good user-centered design process for features and products being built, then you likely have a bandwidth problem.

As the first designer at a growing tech startup with a department of more than 40 engineers, I’m familiar with the struggles that come with limited UX bandwidth. Over the years, I had had to manage my time carefully, as well as making clear arguments around the need to add additional designers. Below are some of the strategies I learned to both optimize my UX team’s bandwidth and effectively grow the UX team.

Optimizing the team you have

Considering that many technology companies today are under hiring freezes, it’s more important than ever to optimize the resources that you do have. As resource constraints are a common challenge for UX teams around…