[Survey on ROI of UI/UX Investment] Over 90% of Teams Have Been Asked by Management to Explain ROI, Yet Less Than Half Feel Confident They Did So Adequately

Engineerforce Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yoshiaki Iida), an IT company specializing in UI/UX design, announces the results of a survey on the actual state of ROI from UI/UX investments and criteria for selecting external partners. The survey targeted 111 professionals involved in planning, developing, and improving UI/UX for their company's products or services within the past year.

01｜ 91.9% have experienced being asked by management to explain ROI, yet only 45.1% feel they explained it adequately

02｜ 94.6% agree that selecting a vendor capable of supporting effectiveness measurement and improvement after launch is important when outsourcing UI/UX development

03｜ The top requirement for a co-piloting vendor is “continuous support for KPI improvement even after release,” selected by 61.0%

Download the full survey report here: https://engineerforce.io/resources/uiux_invest/

Survey Overview

Survey Title: Survey on the Actual State of ROI from UI/UX Investment and Criteria for Selecting External Partners

Methodology: Online survey planned by IDEATECH’s research marketing platform “Resappy®︎”

Survey Period: May 22–25, 2026

Valid Responses: 111 professionals who implemented UI/UX investment for their own products or services in the past year and were involved in UI/UX planning, development, and improvement

* Percentages are rounded to the second decimal place, so totals may not sum to exactly 100.

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Most Common UI/UX Investment in the Past Year: “Ongoing UX Improvement and Usability Enhancement” at 55.9%

When asked “Q1. Please describe the UI/UX investments you implemented in the past year. (Multiple answers allowed)” (n=111), responses included “Ongoing UX improvement and usability enhancement” at 55.9%, “Large-scale redesign of existing UI/UX” at 51.4%, and “User research and behavioral analysis” at 41.4%.

Q1. Please describe the UI/UX investments you implemented in the past year. (Multiple answers allowed)

- Ongoing UX improvement and usability enhancement: 55.9%

- Large-scale redesign of existing UI/UX: 51.4%

- User research and behavioral analysis: 41.4%

- Design system construction and refinement: 36.0%

- UI/UX design for new products or features: 35.1%

- Accessibility improvements: 27.9%

- Data analytics infrastructure setup: 19.8%

- Other: 0.0%

- Don’t know/No answer: 0.9%

About 90% Believe They Can Quantitatively Measure the Impact of UI/UX Investment

When asked “Q2. Do you believe your company can quantitatively measure the impact of its UI/UX investment?” (n=111), 40.5% responded “Strongly agree” and 48.6% “Somewhat agree.”

Q2. Do you believe your company can quantitatively measure the impact of its UI/UX investment?

- Strongly agree: 40.5%

- Somewhat agree: 48.6%

- Somewhat disagree: 8.1%

- Strongly disagree: 1.8%

- Don’t know/No answer: 0.9%

Top Reasons for Inability to Quantitatively Measure Impact: “Lack of Necessary Data” and “Resource Shortage” Tied at 54.5%

For respondents who answered “Strongly disagree” or “Somewhat disagree” to Q2, we asked “Q3. Please explain why you cannot quantitatively measure the impact of UI/UX investment. (Multiple answers allowed)” (n=11). Responses included “Cannot obtain data necessary for measurement” at 54.5%, “Lack of resources (time/personnel) for impact measurement” at 54.5%, and “Evaluation metrics are not shared between management and frontline teams” at 36.4%.

Q3. Please explain why you cannot quantitatively measure the impact of UI/UX investment. (Multiple answers allowed)

- Cannot obtain data necessary for measurement: 54.5%

- Lack of resources (time/personnel) for impact measurement: 54.5%

- Evaluation metrics are not shared between management and frontline teams: 36.4%

- Takes too long for effects to appear, making measurement difficult: 36.4%

- Don’t know appropriate metrics to measure impact: 27.3%

- No tools or systems in place internally for impact measurement: 27.3%

- Outsourced vendor does not support impact measurement: 9.1%

- Other: 0.0%

- Don’t know/No answer: 0.0%

91.9% Have Been Asked by Management to Explain ROI of UI/UX Investment

When asked “Q4. Have you ever been asked by management to explain the ROI (return on investment) of UI/UX investment?” (n=111), 91.9% answered “Yes” and 7.2% “No.”

Q4. Have you ever been asked by management to explain the ROI (return on investment) of UI/UX investment?

- Yes: 91.9%

- No: 7.2%

- Don’t know/No answer: 0.9%

Less Than Half Are Confident They Adequately Explained ROI to Management

For those who answered “Yes” to Q4, we asked “Q5. Do you feel you adequately explained the ROI of UI/UX investment to management?” (n=102). 45.1% responded “Strongly agree” and 44.1% “Somewhat agree.”

Q5. Do you feel you adequately explained the ROI of UI/UX investment to management?

- Strongly agree: 45.1%

- Somewhat agree: 44.1%

- Somewhat disagree: 8.8%

- Strongly disagree: 1.0%

- Don’t know/No answer: 1.0%

94.6% Consider It Important to Select a Vendor That Supports Measurement and Improvement After Launch

When asked “Q6. When outsourcing UI/UX development to an external partner, do you think it is important to select a vendor that can support effectiveness measurement and improvement after launch?” (n=111), 39.6% responded “Strongly agree” and 55.0% “Somewhat agree.”

Q6. When outsourcing UI/UX development to an external partner, do you think it is important to select a vendor that can support effectiveness measurement and improvement after launch?

- Strongly agree: 39.6%

- Somewhat agree: 55.0%

- Somewhat disagree: 5.4%

- Strongly disagree: 0.0%

- Don’t know/No answer: 0.0%

Top Requirement for a Co-Piloting Vendor: “Continuous Support for KPI Improvement After Release”