Summary: The more you involve and manage stakeholders in UX and Service Design projects and programmes, the more growth you can get from UX ROI. If your stakeholders are absent, you’ll run into the classic misunderstood or misappropriated (badly managed) experience as a UX resource or team.
Stakeholder managed, UX maturity up!
UX and service design maturity levels directly correlate with how well an organization engages and manages stakeholders. The more effectively stakeholders are involved, the higher the UX maturity.
UX Maturity & Stakeholder Engagement
Organizations with low UX maturity often treat design as a tactical function. Designers are brought in late, their insights are ignored, and decision-making is driven by assumptions rather than user research. This happens when stakeholder engagement is weak—executives, product owners, and other departments don’t understand or prioritize user-centered approaches.
As UX maturity grows, teams develop structured stakeholder engagement strategies. They align with business goals, create shared ownership of user insights, and influence decision-making. At the highest levels, UX is embedded in strategy, and stakeholders advocate for user needs alongside designers.
Signs of Low UX Maturity & Poor Stakeholder Management
- UX teams struggle to get buy-in from leadership.
- Decisions are based on opinions rather than research.
- Design is treated as a last-minute fix.
- Siloed teams with minimal collaboration.
Signs of High UX Maturity & Strong Stakeholder Engagement
- UX has executive sponsorship and strategic influence.
- Cross-functional teams collaborate on user research.
- Stakeholders understand and value service design principles.
- UX insights drive decision-making across the business.
How to Improve Stakeholder Engagement for Higher UX Maturity
- Map Your Stakeholders – Identify who influences UX and service design decisions.
- Educate & Advocate – Regularly share UX research and demonstrate its business impact.
- Involve Early & Often – Engage stakeholders from the start to build shared ownership.
- Use Data & Storytelling – Combine metrics with user stories to make insights compelling.
- Establish Processes – Create feedback loops that integrate stakeholder input into UX workflows. Redesign your UX process where needed.
The Bottom Line
If UX and service design are struggling, look at stakeholder management. Organizations that fail to engage stakeholders stay stuck in low UX maturity. Those that embed UX into decision-making through strong stakeholder relationships will see continuous improvement and impact.
Go Deeper: Join us FREE on March 7th 2025, for Stakeholder Management tactics part 2
