SUMMARY
Purpose: ROI Estimation helps prioritise UX and product initiatives by comparing expected effort and cost against likely impact and business value.
Design Thinking Phase: Ideate
Time: 45–60 min session + 1–2 hours analysis
Difficulty: ⭐⭐
When to use:When multiple ideas are competing for limited team bandwidthTo align UX priorities with broader product or business goalsBefore starting roadmap or sprint planning
What it is
ROI Estimation (Return on Investment) is a prioritisation method that evaluates design and feature ideas based on their potential value versus the required cost or effort. It brings a layer of business accountability into UX planning by measuring impact such as user satisfaction, revenue growth, or time saved.
📺 Video by NNgroup. Embedded for educational reference.
Why it matters
UX teams often juggle more ideas than they can realistically build. ROI Estimation empowers design leads to advocate for high-impact work using language that resonates with business stakeholders — value, efficiency, and evidence. It helps teams say “no” to good ideas so they can focus on great ones.
When to use
- During post-ideation to compare and shortlist candidate ideas
- When negotiating priorities with product owners or execs
- To defend UX enhancements that don’t generate direct revenue but improve usability or retention
Benefits
- Rich Insights: Helps uncover user needs that aren’t visible in metrics.
- Flexibility: Works across various project types and timelines.
- User Empathy: Deepens understanding of behaviours and motivations.
How to use it
- Start with a list of proposed design initiatives — these might be from ideation, user feedback, or team brainstorming.
- For each initiative, estimate likely “Impact” (qualitative or quantitative metric such as conversions or time saved) and “Effort” (resources, design/dev hours, risk).
- Use a simplified scoring system (e.g. 1–5 scale or High/Med/Low) for both Impact and Effort.
- Plot them on a 2x2 matrix: High-Impact, Low-Effort work goes top priority. High-Effort, Low-Impact work may be deprioritised.
- Align your rankings with stakeholders, ideally using real examples, insights, or customer quotes as supporting evidence.
Example Output
Here’s a simplified example of a prioritisation table created during a UX planning session for a fictional ecommerce platform:
| Initiative | Impact | Effort | ROI Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-Click Reorder Button | High | Low | High |
| Revamp Product Reviews UI | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Animated Onboarding Screens | Low | High | Low |
Common Pitfalls
- Overvaluing aesthetics: Designers may overrate cosmetic changes that lack measurable impact.
- Estimating in isolation: Cross-functional input is key — bring in product, dev, and marketing for effort estimates and business impact.
- No follow-up: Good ideas may move down the list but not vanish forever — archive them for future discovery rounds.
10 Design-Ready AI Prompts for ROI Estimation – UX/UI Edition
How These Prompts Work (C.S.I.R. Framework)
Each of the templates below follows the C.S.I.R. method — a proven structure for writing clear, effective prompts that get better results from ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or any other LLM.
C.S.I.R. stands for:
- Context: Who you are and the UX situation you're working in
- Specific Info: Key design inputs, tasks, or constraints the AI should consider
- Intent: What you want the AI to help you achieve
- Response Format: The structure or format you want the AI to return (e.g. checklist, table, journey map)
Level up your career with smarter AI prompts.Get templates used by UX leaders — no guesswork, just results.Design faster, research smarter, and ship with confidence.First one’s free. Unlock all 10 by becoming a member.
Prompt Template 1: “Generate ROI Rankings for UX Enhancements”
Generate ROI Rankings for UX Enhancements
Context: You are a UX lead preparing for quarterly product planning.
Specific Info: You’ve collected 10 feature or design ideas from research and feedback. Your team needs to prioritise based on business impact and estimated effort.
Intent: Rank each initiative by ROI and explain the reasoning behind high vs low placements.
Response Format: Return a table with columns for Initiative, Impact (High/Med/Low), Effort (High/Med/Low), ROI Rank, and Notes.
If key business goals or strategy context is unclear, ask for clarification first.
Then suggest one priority idea that deserves stakeholder attention.
Prompt Template 2: “Create a Priority Matrix from UX Concepts”
Create a Priority Matrix from UX Concepts
Context: You are a senior product designer preparing a review session with stakeholders.
Specific Info: You’ve mapped out 6 new UX suggestions but need to categorise them to balance quick wins and strategic efforts.
Intent: Help visualise which ideas are high ROI using a classic 2x2 (Impact vs Effort) prioritisation matrix.
Response Format: Return a matrix-style table with quadrant labels (e.g., "Quick Wins", "Major Projects") and place ideas into appropriate sections.
If any user or business goal is unclear, ask for clarification first.
Then suggest one potential follow-up exercise for the team.
Prompt Template 3: “Estimate ROI for Accessibility Improvements”
Estimate ROI for Accessibility Improvements
Context: You’re a UX researcher advocating for accessibility fixes in a mature B2B SaaS product.
Specific Info: The business has limited time and is unsure how to prioritise these changes.
Intent: Build a business case for accessibility improvements using effort vs impact framing (e.g., legal risk, user base expansion).
Response Format: Provide a prioritised list with effort estimates, impact rationale, and potential business ROI.
If business context is missing, ask for metrics or regulatory constraints relevant to the target markets.
Prompt Template 4: “Compare Two Competing UX Projects by ROI”
Compare Two Competing UX Projects by ROI
Context: You're a design lead deciding between two separate UX initiatives for the next sprint.
Specific Info: Both options address user friction, but serve different personas and revenue streams.
Intent: Evaluate which project has greater return on impact vs delivery effort.
Response Format: Return a side-by-side comparison with factors like reach, complexity, strategic alignment, and expected ROI score.
Ask clarifying questions if the personas or success metrics are ambiguous.
Then recommend the stronger choice with rationale for presentation to leadership.
Prompt Template 5: “Score Feature Ideas for Design Sprints”
Score Feature Ideas for Design Sprints
Context: You’re a UX/UI Designer kicking off a design sprint and choosing where to focus.
Specific Info: You’ve gathered 8 ideas but need to shortlist based on potential business and user impact.
Intent: Assign relative ROI scores to features and flag which should be prototyped first.
Response Format: Deliver a table with columns for Feature, Impact Score, Effort Score, ROI Score, and Priority Recommendation.
Ask about sprint objectives or target user segment if not provided.
Prompt Template 6: “Position UX Debt Items in a ROI Matrix”
Position UX Debt Items in a ROI Matrix
Context: You're a product designer mapping out long-standing UX debt across your product’s checkout flow.
Specific Info: There are multiple design inconsistencies and usability issues with varying effort to fix.
Intent: Prioritise which UX debt items to tackle first based on effort vs impact readiness.
Response Format: Return a matrix-style breakdown and clear next steps for top candidates.
Ask for clarification about known blockers or user-reported issues.
Prompt Template 7: “Evaluate Experimental UX Ideas for High ROI Potential”
Evaluate Experimental UX Ideas for High ROI Potential
Context: You’re in a product trio review and want to assess three “wild card” concepts generated in ideation.
Specific Info: None are roadmapped but may address latent needs.
Intent: Score each idea in terms of effort-to-learn versus likely business/user impact.
Response Format: Table or ranked list, with experiment hypothesis and ROI recommendation.
Prompt for missing success criteria if undefined.
Prompt Template 8: “Translate UX Research Insights into ROI Opportunities”
Translate UX Research Insights into ROI Opportunities
Context: You’ve just completed synthesis from 12 user interviews focused on dashboard usability.
Specific Info: Themes include user confusion, delayed task completion, and missing data shortcuts.
Intent: Suggest high-impact improvements and connect them to measurable ROI.
Response Format: Give improvement ideas with potential time savings, increase in task completion rate, and aligned effort estimates.
Ask about technical feasibility if unclear.
Prompt Template 9: “Facilitate a UX Prioritisation Workshop”
Facilitate a UX Prioritisation Workshop
Context: You’re leading a cross-functional workshop to prioritise design concepts for Q3.
Specific Info: Attendees include peers from product, engineering, and support.
Intent: Provide an agenda and frameworks (like MoSCoW or Impact/Effort Grid) to align on high ROI ideas.
Response Format: Step-by-step facilitation guide with sample scoring models and decision aids.
Ask for rough number of participants or time available if critical.
Prompt Template 10: “Assess Team-wide Design Tasks for Lean ROI”
Assess Team-wide Design Tasks for Lean ROI
Context: You’re a design manager overseeing multiple design tasks across junior and mid-level designers.
Specific Info: Different team members are working on onboarding flows, error states, and responsive layouts.
Intent: Map tasks to effort-benefit ratios and reassign or delay work as needed.
Response Format: Return a prioritised task list with suggested owner, effort rating, and business alignment notes.
Request clarification if project goals or deadlines aren’t provided.
Recommended Tools
- Figma: Useful for mapping UX ideas visually and collaboratively
- Miro: Ideal for building visual impact–effort grids and real-time workshop facilitation
- Notion: Maintain a dynamic ROI backlog linked to research and delivery timelines
- Airtable: Score and sort UX ideas using formulas and custom fields
