Are you brave enough to face the uncomfortable reality of user behavior?
Have you done in-depth user research? Have you talked directly with people who use or would use the product you’re working on? Have you watched them trying to complete a task, hitting roadblocks, getting confused, frustrated…? 😓
Often the results of this research aren’t “pretty”. They don’t show that our product is perfect, that users understand everything, or that our business assumptions were 100% correct. Sometimes the truth is… inconvenient. Uncomfortable for the team, the managers, the client. Especially if they’ve invested a lot of time, money, and emotion into an idea or feature.
In moments like these, you have to gather the courage and present the truth, even when you feel strong resistance. Just like in a great courtroom scene…
🎬 A Few Good Men (1992)
Colonel Jessup, brilliantly played by Jack Nicholson, is convinced that certain truths are too complex or dangerous for “ordinary” people to understand or accept. In the heat of a tense cross-examination led by the young lawyer Kaffe (played by Tom Cruise), Jessup explodes with one of the most famous quotes in film history after being pushed to admit the uncomfortable fact:
“You can’t handle the truth!”
He believes the truth is too heavy, too ugly, to be handled. That it’s better for it to remain hidden or unspoken.
In the UX world, we are often the ones who have to present the “truth” — the truth about the real needs and behavior of users. And we often encounter the same attitude as Colonel Jessup — teams who can’t (or don’t want to) “handle the truth” about how users actually perceive their product.
💔 Why the “truth” about users is sometimes hard to “swallow” and how to present it?
The Convenient Illusion: Just like The Matrix had the blue pill for a comfortable illusion, sometimes in business it’s easier to believe your own assumptions about the user than to face the reality, which might require changes or show you were wrong.
Time and Effort Invested: People get attached to their ideas, especially if they’ve put a lot of time and effort into creating them. Hearing that users don’t understand or use something in the expected way can feel like personal criticism or failure.
Fear of Consequences: Showing problems with the user experience can mean needing additional resources, changing plans, delaying the process. These are the “consequences” of the truth that some prefer to avoid.
As UX advocates for the user, our job is to present the facts — without excuses and without sugarcoating, but with empathy and strategy.
💡 How to present the “truth” when it’s hard to accept?
- Base it on undeniable facts: Your “truth” needs to be backed by strong evidence — videos of real users, clear analytical data, quotes from interviews, usability test results. Facts are hard to deny.Present it with empathy (for the team): Understand that this might be tough news for others. Don’t blame them. Frame problems as opportunities for improvement. “See where our users are struggling. How can we help them?”Focus on business benefits: Connect user problems directly to business goals. How do user difficulties impact conversions, retention, revenue? When the “truth” shows something is costing money or customers, it becomes harder to ignore.Bring them closer to the user: Invite the team to watch user test recordings, to read feedback directly. Personal exposure to the user’s experience is the most powerful way to understand the “truth”.Not just problems, but solutions: Present the “truth” along with ideas or suggestions on how to address the problem. Frame it as the next step in development, not the end of the road.Be persistent: Sometimes it takes time for an uncomfortable truth to be accepted. Repeat key findings, show data again, look for allies in other teams.
Presenting the “truth” about the user is perhaps the most important and most difficult part of a UX designer’s job. It requires courage, diplomacy, and the skill to connect user reality with business goals. But this very “truth” is the foundation for creating products that aren’t just a pretty facade, but actually work and serve the people they were created for.
Don’t be afraid to present the truth. It might be hard to “swallow” at first, but it’s vital for the health of the product and the long-term success of the business. Be the voice of the user, even when that voice brings inconvenient news!
What about you? What’s the hardest user “truth” you’ve had to present in your work? How did you handle it? Share in the comments! 💬👇
You can’t handle the (UX) truth! was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
