| "Apple/Google/TurboTax/Zillow does it this way." |
Copying patterns without understanding context |
Cargo Cult UX |
| "Oh, I can do this in a couple of hours." |
Complexity is being wildly underestimated |
Hofstadter's Law |
| "We've spent 2 hours discussing button colors." |
Debating trivial details while major problems remain |
Bikeshedding |
| "Can we add just one more feature?" |
Scope is spiraling out of control |
Kitchen Sink |
| "We removed the button because users complained." |
Solving symptoms instead of causes |
Streisand Effect |
| "The UI looks modern now." |
Cosmetic polish hiding deeper problems |
Lipstick on a Pig |
| "The homepage looks amazing, but the workflow is terrible." |
Style and substance are disconnected |
Mullet UI |
| "Can we make it look more Dribbble-y?" |
Designing for screenshots instead of usability |
Dribbblization |
| "Let's perfect every single pixel first." |
Obsessing over microscopic details |
Pixel Peeping |
| "We combined the best parts of six different apps." |
Incoherent stitched-together experience |
Frankenstein Design |
| "We'll replace the placeholder content later." |
Designing without real content context |
Lorem Ipsum Trap |
| "Why does this app feel so empty?" |
Lack of meaningful content or affordances |
Empty Fridge Syndrome |
| "Users just need to explore more." |
The interface intimidates users |
Dark Forest UX |
| "It almost feels human… but weird." |
Near-realistic interactions becoming unsettling |
Uncanny Valley |
| "Before we fix this, we should rewrite the backend." |
Solving increasingly unrelated problems first |
Yak Shaving |
| "Let me explain my problem to the duck." |
Talking through a problem clarifies thinking |
Rubber Ducking |
| "We'll promise less so expectations stay low." |
Intentionally lowering expectations |
Sandbagging |
| "Let's digitize the current workflow exactly as-is." |
Preserving flawed legacy processes |
Paving the Cow Path |
| "We'll clean up the UX later." |
Accumulating long-term usability debt |
Design Debt |
| "Every fix creates another problem." |
Constant reactive problem chasing |
Whack-a-Mole |
| "Users keep bouncing between pages." |
Navigation friction and poor findability |
Pogo Sticking |
| "The AI is working perfectly in the demo." |
Humans secretly powering the system |
Wizard of Oz Testing |
| "We ran the experiment. Nobody remembers the result." |
Tests without organizational learning |
A/B Cemetery |
| "Leadership just dropped in and changed everything." |
Executives disrupting workflows without context |
Executive Seagull Effect |
| "It works for me." |
Internal users are not representative users |
Dogfooding |
| "The ideal flow works perfectly." |
Edge cases and failures are ignored |
Happy Path |
| "Nobody thought about what happens if this fails." |
Failure states are neglected |
Sad Path |
| "Everyone will obviously understand this." |
Assuming others think like you |
False Consensus Effect |
| "Let's get feedback from everyone." |
Too many opinions diluting decisions |
Design by Committee |
| "The workshop was amazing." |
Performance of UX without meaningful outcomes |
UX Theater |
| "We'll release it slowly to see what breaks." |
Controlled rollout minimizing risk |
Canary Release |
| "The highest-paid person prefers this option." |
Authority outweighing evidence |
HiPPO |
| "Users will tolerate the little issues." |
Small quality problems eroding trust |
Broken Windows UX |
| "We already invested too much to stop now." |
Escalating commitment to bad decisions |
Sunk Cost Fallacy |
| "See? Users loved the prototype." |
Only noticing evidence that supports beliefs |
Confirmation Bias |
| "The first number we heard became the target." |
Initial information disproportionately shaping decisions |
Anchoring Bias |
