HiPPO Effect in Product Design
No, this article is not about hippopotamus. It’s about Highest Paid Person’s Opinion (HiPPO), how it affects product design decisions, and how product designers can overcome the potentially dangerous impact of this behavior.
True nature of the HiPPO effect
HiPPO effect occurs when a senior executive or influential stakeholder makes product decisions based on their personal preferences, assumptions, or gut feelings rather than data, user research, or best practices.
For example, when you propose a new feature, this person can say something like “I don’t like it. I envision that this feature should work like this” and offer his own solution which radically differs from what you offer. This solution is based mainly on his/her beliefs of how something should look/work and is not based on actual research findings.
If we look closer at HiPPO effect, we will see that most of the time, its based on two things — confirmation bias and authority bias manipulation:
Confirmation bias is the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories.
Authority bias manipulation is about leveraging status or perceived expertise to sway opinions unfairly.
These two things can be in different proportions — sometimes confirmation bias dominates authority bias manipulation, and sometimes authority bias manipulation dominates confirmation bias.
How HiPPO effect beat Coca-Cola and Microsoft
New Coke, released in 1985, is a classic example of the HIPPO effect leading to a bad outcome. Back in 1985, Coca-Cola executives, including then-CEO Roberto Goizueta, decided to reformulate their iconic drink based on internal taste tests. The new formula, called “New Coke,” was launched, replacing the original recipe. The decision was heavily influenced by executive opinions and competitive pressure rather than deep consumer insights.
No need to mention that people didn’t like it. In fact, this led to a massive backlash — consumers revolted and even boycotted Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola was forced to bring back the original formula as “Coca-Cola Classic” just three months later.
Another notable example now from the tech world is Windows 8. Microsoft’s top executives, including then-CEO Steve Ballmer, pushed for a radical redesign of Windows with Windows 8, emphasizing a touch-first interface. They wanted to compete with tablets (like the iPad) and forced a touch-based UI onto desktop users, even though most were using a mouse and keyboard.
The shift to a dual-interface system (Metro UI for touch and traditional desktop for legacy apps) confused users and made the OS harder to use. Due to overwhelming criticism, Microsoft had to bring back the Start button in Windows 8.1 and eventually abandoned the design with Windows 10.
Why can the HiPPO effect cause problems for product designers?
The HiPPO effect has a direct impact on design outcomes. Because HiPPO ignores user needs and is purely driven by his/her assumptions, it can lead to solutions that are not aligned with real user problems or market needs.
Because HiPPO has power, the product team will usually accept his/her recommendations without arguing, which will encourage confirmation bias — decisions will be influenced by selective data that supports the HiPPO’s views rather than objective insights. In a long-term perspective, product teams will hesitate to propose new ideas if they conflict with what the HiPPO believes.
How to overcome the HiPPO effect in product design
Many people say that to overcome the HiPPO effect, you need to leverage data & research — present UX research, A/B test results, and analytics to support design decisions, etc. I would say that this works in some cases, but not all the time. Remember that HiPPO ignores data and is driven by his/her assumptions. So, at the end of the day, research findings won’t impress this person much.
Based on my experience, there are only two strategies that can help the HiPPO effect:
1. Involve the HiPPO in design process right from the beginning
HiPPO should feel a sense of co-creation of your product. It’s possible to achieve this by actively involving this person in the design process. Even though the actual contribution of HiPPO to the project might be minimal, the feeling of belonging will have a positive impact on your project and will increase your chances of selling the design to HiPPO at the end of the project.
2. Focus on ROI for your design
When selling you design to HiPPO, always focus on how it impact business bottom line. This will work on the HiPPOs who come from the business domain — they can be impressed by numbers such as growth of conversion rate, revenue, etc.
HiPPO effect and design culture
I firmly believe that you can face the HiPPO effect in various organizations — from early startups to large enterprise companies. The HiPPO effect is, unfortunately, just part of the social behavior that some people demonstrate. And there are no universal recommendations on how to avoid it in product design.
Yet, you will have fewer chances of facing the HiPPO effect if you’re joining a company with high design maturity.
Companies that are at Level 5 or 6 promote a culture of inquiry — encourage leadership to ask questions and challenge assumptions rather than dictate solutions.
