Every few months, someone publishes a stat like "every $1 invested in UX returns $100."
That number is nonsense. Your CFO knows it.
Real design ROI is messier, harder to prove, and more valuable when you get it right.
What Actually Works
Before/After with Controlled Variables
At USAA, we redesigned a claims submission flow. No changes to policy, pricing, or marketing. Measured completion rates for 60 days before and after.
Result: 34% improvement. Confidently attributed to design.
A/B Testing with Dollar Conversion
Variant B converts at 4.2% vs. Variant A at 3.8%. With 100,000 monthly visitors and $50 average order: that's $20,000/month impact.
Real math. Executives can verify it.
Cost Avoidance
At Apple, a design change reduced average handle time by 30 seconds per call. Millions of calls per month. Significant labor cost savings.
Finance departments love cost avoidance. It hits their budget directly.
Correlation Tracking
Track design changes alongside business metrics over time. After 6+ months, patterns emerge. Not proof—evidence that accumulates into credibility.
How to Say It
Formula: [Specific change] → [Metric that moved] → [Business outcome]
"We simplified the form from 12 fields to 6. Completion rate increased from 54% to 72%. That's approximately 4,500 additional applications per month."
Note what I didn't say: "Design delivered $450,000 in value."
Let leadership do that math. The more conservative you are, the more they trust you.
What Not to Do
- Don't inflate numbers. You'll get caught.
- Don't use industry benchmarks as your results. "UX delivers 100x ROI" means nothing about your work.
- Don't ignore attribution. If marketing also changed, don't claim credit.
Build your system: