Business Design: The Missing Skill in Product Teams

Not long ago, I worked on a product team where velocity was high — but impact was low.

We had great UI, strong research, and a roadmap full of features.
But something critical was missing: a clear understanding of how the product created value — not just for users, but for the business.

That’s when I realized: we weren’t just missing strategy.
We were missing business design.

What Is Business Design?

Business Design is where product thinking meets business modeling.
It’s not just about what we build, but why it matters — economically, operationally, and strategically.

It answers questions like:

• Who are our real customers and segments?
• What value are we exchanging with them?
• What’s our revenue engine — and is it viable long term?
• How does this product support our broader service or brand ecosystem?

In short: business designers help connect desirability (UX), feasibility (tech), and viability (business).

Real-World Example: Turning UX Insight into Business Impact

On a recent project, we were improving a feature aimed at increasing user engagement.

Our UX team identified pain points. Our developers delivered fast.
But adoption remained flat.

That’s when I stepped in as a Business Analyst to ask different questions:

• What metric actually matters here?
• Who’s willing to pay for this feature, and why?
• Are we solving a real operational need — or just improving the surface?

We mapped the value proposition, reviewed unit economics, and co-created a simplified business model canvas.

Result? We repositioned the feature toward a different customer segment, tweaked the pricing, and aligned marketing around the actual value.

Adoption rose by 52% in 6 weeks.
Not because we redesigned the screen — but because we redesigned the thinking behind it.

Why Product Teams Need Business Design

Many product teams over-invest in usability and under-invest in business alignment. The result: beautiful features that don’t move the needle.

By integrating business design, teams gain:

• Strategic clarity: Know why a feature exists and who it serves.
• Faster validation: Kill weak ideas early by testing value, not just usability.
• Cross-team alignment: Help design, product, and business speak the same language.

Business Designers often bridge gaps between Product Managers, UX Designers, and even Operations — bringing a systemic view to decisions.

How to Start Thinking Like a Business Designer

Even if “Business Designer” isn’t your title, here’s how to build that mindset:

1. Use business tools early — like value proposition canvases, business model canvases, or customer segmentation.
2. Design with viability in mind — ask how the product supports business goals.
3. Collaborate cross-functionally — bring in finance, operations, and marketing into early-stage design discussions.
4. Prototype revenue models, not just features — explore different ways value can be created and captured.

Final Thought

In a world where UX and tech skills are table stakes, business design is the next superpower for product teams.

Because no matter how usable a product is — if it doesn’t work for the business, it won’t survive.

So next time you’re designing a feature, ask:
“What value are we creating, and who is it for?”

That question might be the most impactful one in the room.