🔍 Not every insight needs an action

Hey designer!

What is your usual routine after usability testing?

When I was in my junior designer years, I used to treat every user quote like a top priority.
Every pain point? Must fix it.
Every complaint? Must redesign it.

It made synthesis overwhelming—and worse, it made it hard to know what truly mattered.

Over time, I learned an important truth about UX research:
Not every insight needs an action.

Here’s the simple but powerful process I now follow to separate the noise from the real signal:

🧠 My insight prioritisation framework

1️⃣ Tag all raw notes
When collecting feedback, I tag each note based on its nature:

• Pain point

• Unmet need

• Delight/moment of joy

• Confusion

• Barrier to completion

This tagging system makes synthesis organised from the start.

2️⃣ Group similar insights
After tagging, I group similar comments and patterns together.
If three users stumble on the same form field, that's a pattern.
If one user makes an off-hand comment, it’s probably an outlier.

3️⃣ Define potential impact
I ask:

• How serious is this issue?

• Would fixing it meaningfully improve the experience?

High impact = prioritise.
Low impact = document but don’t act immediately.

4️⃣ Map to user goals + business value
Does this issue prevent users from achieving key goals?
Does fixing it align with business objectives (conversion, retention, trust)?

If yes — it moves up the list.
If not — it’s worth noting, but maybe not changing.

5️⃣ Only then — suggest changes or actions
I don’t jump straight to solutions anymore.
I present insights in a structured way so the team can see why we should act (or not).

Sometimes the most strategic move is understanding the user’s experience—not changing it.

🧩 Why This Matters

This framework helps me deliver research that feels focused, trustworthy, and truly valuable.
It shows stakeholders that our UX decisions are intentional—not reactive.

Because here’s the truth:
👉 Not every bump in the road requires a new design.
👉 Not every complaint requires a fix.

Some things just need understanding.

And understanding is the heart of great design.

Want to try this framework for yourself?

I am beyond excited to share my first Figma template - User Feedback Analysis Framework, which is now available in Figma community.

You can find it following the link below and use straight away:

That’s all for this week! Stay tuned for more insights - learn how to transform and evolve your design workflow.

Talk soon,

Lisa

P.S. Have a specific challenge in your design workflow? Hit reply—I’d love to hear about it!

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