How to show design impact without perfect data

Whether you're trying to get hired, promoted, or simply demonstrate your value, the pressure to "show impact" is constant. But here's the reality: most designers work in organizations where tracking is incomplete, data access is limited, or metrics simply don't exist for their work.

The good news? You don't need perfect data to show your value. What matters more is awareness: understanding how your work connects to business outcomes, even when you can't measure it precisely.

I'd rather work with someone who doesn't have data but understands what their work affects, than someone who has all the data but doesn't know what to do with it.

The three-layer framework

When you don't have perfect data, use this three-layer model to tell a compelling story about your design's impact:

1. Behaviour

   — The user actions your design influences

2. Product Goals

   — The aggregate metrics those behaviours feed into

3. Business Impact

   — The ultimate business outcomes those metrics drive

If you can articulate a plausible connection across these three layers, you demonstrate strategic thinking, even without exact numbers.

Layer 1: Start with behaviour

Behaviour is where you have the most control. These are the smallest, most measurable user actions your design should influence.

Examples of behaviours to track:

• Button clicks
• Page visits
• Form submissions
• Feature interactions
• Task completions

These are your leading indicators. You can change them with your designs. You can measure them precisely. And most importantly, you can own them.

What if you can't track behaviour?

If you can't track behaviour directly, capture other positive signals:

• Observations from usability tests: "Users completed the task 3x faster in testing"
• Before-and-after screenshots: Visual documentation of improvements
• Support chat volume: "Support tickets about this feature dropped 40% after the redesign"
• Customer feedback: Quotes and testimonials from users
• Survey responses: User satisfaction scores or NPS improvements

Start scrappy. Improve over time. Even imperfect signals are better than no signals at all.

Layer 2: Connect to product metrics

Once you understand the behaviours your design influences, connect them to the product metrics your team cares about.

These behaviours usually feed into metrics like:

• Onboarding completion rates
• Engagement scores
• Feature adoption
• Activation rate
• Time to value
• Task completion rates

For this kind of tracking, you typically need something more sophisticated than basic analytics. If your team isn't invested in measuring the success of their work, you'll struggle to implement it.

The connection pattern

Here's how behaviours connect to product metrics:

Layer 3: Understand the business goal

Most design work ultimately supports one of these three business goals:

• Revenue — Increasing subscriptions, upgrades, or purchases
• Retention — Keeping users engaged and reducing churn
• User growth — Acquiring new users or expanding into new markets

You won't be able to tie your designs to exact dollar amounts. That's fine. Demonstrating awareness of how your work fits into the broader business context is valuable in itself.

Leading vs lagging indicators

Understanding the difference between leading and lagging indicators helps you frame your impact:

Your design changes directly impact leading indicators. Over time, those leading indicators influence lagging indicators. You might not be able to prove the direct connection, but you can articulate the pathway.

How to communicate impact without data

When you lack robust data, the key is to always go beyond "what" and talk about "why". Here's the framework:

The what → why → impact framework

Even without data, the middle example shows strategic thinking. You understand the "why" behind your design decisions and can connect them to business goals.

Questions to ask before your next project

If you've struggled to access data in the past, make it a priority in your next project. Start by asking:

• What's the behaviour we're trying to change? Be specific about the user action you want to influence.
• What event could we track to measure it? Define the exact metric or event that would indicate success.
• Is anyone already tracking it? Check with data analysts, product managers, or engineering teams.
• Who can help me start capturing it if not? Identify who you need to partner with to set up tracking.
• If we succeed in changing behaviour, what product metric will that impact? Connect behaviours to product-level metrics.
• What business goal does that product metric support? Link to revenue, retention, or growth.

By showing up as someone who pushes for more accountability and measurement, the way you're perceived will change. You'll be seen as strategic, not just tactical.

The case study mindset

I once had a call with a product manager who told me she was considering leaving her job because "I'm not building a case study here." That's a powerful mindset.

I'm not saying quit your job, but it's worth asking yourself: Am I just checking things off a task list, or am I building a case study?

When you approach each project with a case study mindset, you naturally think about impact, measurement, and documentation. This shift in perspective helps you:

• Focus on outcomes, not just outputs
• Advocate for better tracking and measurement
• Document your process and impact
• Build a portfolio of strategic work
• Demonstrate value even without perfect data

Safeguard your achievements

Keep a project diary that you won't lose access to if your role is terminated. For each project, document:

• Success metrics: What you were trying to achieve and why
• Before and after screens: Visual documentation of changes
• Key research insights and activities: User interviews, usability tests, data analysis
• Takeaways and lessons: What went wrong, what you learned
• Notes about your role: Who you collaborated with, what you owned

I keep everything in one big Figma file (in my personal account) with a page for each project. Set aside time in your calendar to update it regularly. Eventually, this will become your portfolio or case study documentation.

Putting it all together: a practical example

Let's say you redesigned a checkout flow, but you don't have access to revenue data. Here's how to frame it using the three-layer model:

This framing shows strategic thinking. Even without exact revenue numbers, you're connecting your design work to business outcomes through a clear, logical pathway.

Remember: awareness beats access

The most valuable designers aren't necessarily the ones with access to perfect data. They're the ones who understand how design fits into the bigger picture: who can articulate the connection between their work and business outcomes, even when they can't measure it precisely.

Focus on building awareness. Understand your business model. Know your product metrics. Track what you can. And when you can't track everything, tell a compelling story that shows you understand the impact pathway.

That awareness, combined with good design work, is what separates strategic designers from pixel pushers.