The 4 agreements in UX

I love to read, and one of my favorite books in the “self-improvement” section is The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom.

I won’t go into too much detail, but the author states there are 4 things you should do to be a better human and have a better life.

  1. Be impeccable with your word.
  2. Don’t make assumptions.
  3. Don’t take things personally.
  4. Always do your best.

In thinking about how I can apply those values to UX Design.

  1. Being impeccable with your word. Is the text necessary? Does the text help the user? I had a professor who once said— “Never write what you want to say. Write what people need to hear”.
  2. Don’t make assumptions. Don’t assume everyone is going to use your product as intended. Use data to validate theories, get in there and do some user testing with actual people.
  3. Don’t take things personally. You are not your customer, design to help them achieve their goals easily.
  4. Always do your best. What can we do to increase performance, perception, or profitability?