User experience is a fairly new term in the industry compared to other related roles such as developer or graphic designer. Believe it or not, after about a decade I still find the opportunity to explain it in many settings, including professional environments. The role itself is very closely tied to many aspects of a project, brand, or company, often working closely with decision makers, partners, stakeholders of all roles, and of course, users.
The textbook definition of user experience (UX) is, according to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9241-210 standard:
“A person's perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, system or service”.
This definition highlights that user experience is inherently subjective, dynamic, and context-dependent, covering the entire spectrum of interactions a user has with a company, its services, and its products.
Key Aspects of the Definition:
Totality of Experience: UX covers everything from how a user hears about a product, their initial interaction, to long-term usage, including post-purchase support and troubleshooting.
Perceptions and Responses: This includes the user’s emotions, beliefs, preferences, and physical/psychological responses during and after interaction.
Beyond the Interface: While the user interface (UI) is part of the experience, UX is broader and covers how a product functions and fits into the user's life, not just how it looks.
Anticipated Use: The experience starts before usage, such as when researching a product or seeing an advertisement.
Common Misconceptions (What UX is Not):
UX is not UI: User Interface (UI) is the visual component (buttons, layout), while UX is the overall feel.
UX is not Usability: Usability is a component of UX (is it easy to use?), while UX is more holistic (is it enjoyable, useful, and desirable?).
UX is not Technology: UX is human-centered rather than technology-focused.
User experience roles come in a few different varieties depending on the size and mission of a company or brand and where in the timeline the UX person has been introduced. User experience people often wield soft skills and have some knowledge of technical skills if only because they have worked so closely with other departments. It's common for a more technical oriented role to evolve into a UX role and vice versa depending on skillset and comfort. For example, I started developing websites as a pre-teen, and as I continued persuing development and design I began leaning closer to user experience and committed.
UX people are part of the concept, discovery, planning, and development for not only software and websites but physical products and services as well. In reality, particularly in start ups and small businesses, a user experience team may consisted of only one person or a small group and may require partaking in both the soft skills and aspects like prototyping and developing user interfaces. A large UX team is of course ideal, and may consist of a UI designer/developer, interaction designer, UX writers, UX designers, prototypers, graphic designers, usability testers, researchers, and more. A UX team may work alongside customer experience or service and employee experience teams depending on the organization and somehow, somewhere, there is one UX person doing the job of all three. If you know of one you should gift them a spa day.
Sources: Google Gemini (2026), Nielsen Normal Group, Research Gate, Katrina Elliott :P