SUMMARY
Purpose: UX Goals help define the outcomes users want to achieve — not just what they do — aligning product features with real user needs.
Design Thinking Phase: Define
Time: 45–60 min session + 1–2 hours analysis
Difficulty: ⭐⭐
When to use:After initial user research, before ideation or prototypingWhen aligning cross-functional teams on what “success” means for the userTo prioritise features that drive meaningful outcomes over vanity metrics
What it is
UX Goals are outcome-driven statements that articulate what users are trying to achieve, not just what they’re doing. They bridge user needs with actionable product direction, often framed as verbalised desired outcomes such as “feel in control of my finances” or “quickly book an appointment without calling”.
📺 Video by NNgroup. Embedded for educational reference.
Why it matters
UX Goals anchor design decisions in user motivations and desired outcomes. They help design teams avoid feature creep and advocate for utility and usability instead of designing around marginal wants. Clear UX Goals also improve collaboration across product, design, and engineering by aligning on what success looks like from a user’s perspective — not just business KPIs.
When to use
- At the start of MVP scoping to exclude non-essential features
- During prioritisation discussions when business goals clash with UX
- To evaluate if existing designs truly enable users to accomplish what they came to do
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
UX Goals can be extracted from existing research or developed collaboratively in cross-functional workshops. Here’s a high-level approach:
- Review findings from user interviews, journey maps, or usability sessions.
- Identify recurring patterns around user frustrations, motivations, and workarounds.
- Rewrite behavioural observations into goal-framed statements. Useful format: “The user wants to [DO SOMETHING] so they can [ACHIEVE SOMETHING].”
- Disambiguate functional goals (“book appointment”) from emotional goals (“reduce stress before hospital visit”).
- Sort goals by frequency and impact to prioritise design opportunities.
Example Output
- “Be able to book a session without downloading a new app” (functional goal)
- “Feel confident that my private info is secure when joining online sessions” (emotional goal)
- “Quickly reschedule an appointment without calling support” (functional goal)
Common Pitfalls
- Confusing goals with tasks: “Upload a document” is a task. The goal is “reassure the user that they’ve provided all necessary paperwork”.
- Overloading technical jargon: Goals should read like plain language, ideally mirroring terms users themselves use.
- Ignoring emotional dimensions: Many UX goals are rooted not only in utility but in confidence, trust, or peace of mind.
10 Design-Ready AI Prompts for UX Goals – 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 User-Centred UX Goals from Interview Notes”
Generate User-Centred UX Goals from Interview Notes
Context: You are a UX researcher preparing findings from early interviews for a fintech app.
Specific Info: You have interview notes from 8 sessions focused on onboarding frustrations, trust issues, and alternatives users have tried.
Intent: Extract clear UX goal statements reflecting what users want to ACHIEVE, not just what they do.
Response Format: A bullet list with 1–2 functional and 1–2 emotional goal statements per user.
If any themes are unclear, ask questions to clarify patterns or gaps.
Then, suggest one follow-up research area to go deeper.
