my FIVE-STEP CYCLE of
USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN
USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN
My process is simple, scalable, and always applicable — regardless of task, scale, budget, or schedule
ask these 2 questions:
Can it be better? And if so, is it worth the investment?
The question that kicks it all off. Can it be better?
When asked, it’s most often in service of improving upon a small part of, or all the way up to the entirety of one’s own service or product — or that of a competitor’s. Sometimes, it’s asked by a insightful entrepreneur identifying a need the market isn’t addressing, or seeing an opportunity to disrupt a whole industry (or its top incumbent). The question can also come from current users and customers via surveys and feedback forums. Visit any SaaS or software forum and you'll see countless posts essentially asking the question: “Can it be better?”
And, if it can, then the follow-up question is whether it's actually worth the resources and investment to fix or improve it.
These two questions should be asked often, repeatedly, and indefinitely.
When asked, it’s most often in service of improving upon a small part of, or all the way up to the entirety of one’s own service or product — or that of a competitor’s. Sometimes, it’s asked by a insightful entrepreneur identifying a need the market isn’t addressing, or seeing an opportunity to disrupt a whole industry (or its top incumbent). The question can also come from current users and customers via surveys and feedback forums. Visit any SaaS or software forum and you'll see countless posts essentially asking the question: “Can it be better?”
And, if it can, then the follow-up question is whether it's actually worth the resources and investment to fix or improve it.
These two questions should be asked often, repeatedly, and indefinitely.
answers
Surface-level research to answer previous two questions.
If an improvement idea is both from an employee and is more theory-than-fact (rather a direct plea from users or a no-brainer necessity), there are ways to ascertain if the problem actually exists.
Giving surveys to "willing" customers is an option, but it may be more accurate to analyze ALL the user data of the alleged issue with conversion funnel analytics, heat-maps, and user-recordings.
If the issue seems real and a fix would improve KPIs, the next step is to compare the predicted gains against design/development cost estimates.
If it needs fixing and is worth it, go forth!
Giving surveys to "willing" customers is an option, but it may be more accurate to analyze ALL the user data of the alleged issue with conversion funnel analytics, heat-maps, and user-recordings.
If the issue seems real and a fix would improve KPIs, the next step is to compare the predicted gains against design/development cost estimates.
If it needs fixing and is worth it, go forth!
Common Tools
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
HOTJAR
FULLSTORY
SURVEY MONKEY
TYPEFORM
WEB FORUMS
HOTJAR
FULLSTORY
SURVEY MONKEY
TYPEFORM
WEB FORUMS
problems
In-depth research to identify specific problem areas to
be resolved.
be resolved.
To propose the best solutions, we must know precisely what the problems are.
While we already have surface-level data to know it could be better, we might still not know exactly why it's broken. If not, more in-depth tools may be needed, such as surveys (if we hadn't already) or running a campaign on UserTesting.com.
But the best results will be with the testers in the same room as you. It's well-known that body language and facial expressions reveal more truths that screen-recording, audio, and post-interviews alone cannot.
While we already have surface-level data to know it could be better, we might still not know exactly why it's broken. If not, more in-depth tools may be needed, such as surveys (if we hadn't already) or running a campaign on UserTesting.com.
But the best results will be with the testers in the same room as you. It's well-known that body language and facial expressions reveal more truths that screen-recording, audio, and post-interviews alone cannot.
Common Tools
GOOGLE ANALYTICS
HOTJAR
FULLSTORY
SURVEY MONKEY
TYPEFORM
WEB FORUMS
Additional Tools
USERTESTING.COM
SAME ROOM FOCUS GROUPS
FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEWS
HOTJAR
FULLSTORY
SURVEY MONKEY
TYPEFORM
WEB FORUMS
Additional Tools
USERTESTING.COM
SAME ROOM FOCUS GROUPS
FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEWS
Solutions
Iterative design & testing loop for one or more new solutions.
Once the exact problems have been identified, we can now work to propose multiple solutions.
And so begins an iterative, back-and-forth process of design and feedback, employing an amount of processes appropriate to the project's scale.
Likely demographics can be explored upfront with "user personas", but the goal is to use continuous internal and external testing/feedback to narrow from a wide range of low-fidelity concepts, such as proposals, sitemaps, sketches, and wireframes — to progressively higher-fidelity, final options, such as layouts and prototypes of varying interactivity.
And so begins an iterative, back-and-forth process of design and feedback, employing an amount of processes appropriate to the project's scale.
Likely demographics can be explored upfront with "user personas", but the goal is to use continuous internal and external testing/feedback to narrow from a wide range of low-fidelity concepts, such as proposals, sitemaps, sketches, and wireframes — to progressively higher-fidelity, final options, such as layouts and prototypes of varying interactivity.
Common Tools
USER PERSONAS
WRITTEN PROPOSALS
SITEMAPS
WIREFRAMES
LAYOUTS
PROTOTYPES
Common Software:
SKETCH
ADOBE PS, AI, XD
INVISION & MARVEL
POWERPOINT
WRITTEN PROPOSALS
SITEMAPS
WIREFRAMES
LAYOUTS
PROTOTYPES
Common Software:
SKETCH
ADOBE PS, AI, XD
INVISION & MARVEL
POWERPOINT
executions
Assisting & guiding developers to deploy new experience(s).
Once final options are approved (whether simply layouts or interactive prototypes), those and other assets must be handed off to developers.
For better developer execution, UX Design must play a guidance role. Graphics, style guides, and comprehensive design behavior documentation should also be delivered — so they can build quickly, consistently, and ideally with autonomy.
Designers must also be ready to fulfill additional developer requests until the new experience (or series of them for A/B testing) is deployed.
Once we're live, start over again at 1. QUESTIONS!
For better developer execution, UX Design must play a guidance role. Graphics, style guides, and comprehensive design behavior documentation should also be delivered — so they can build quickly, consistently, and ideally with autonomy.
Designers must also be ready to fulfill additional developer requests until the new experience (or series of them for A/B testing) is deployed.
Once we're live, start over again at 1. QUESTIONS!
Common Tools
LAYOUTS & PROTOTYPES
WEB STYLE GUIDES
VISUAL ASSET LIBRARIES
DESIGN DOCUMENTATION
A/B TESTING
Common Software:
SKETCH
ZEPLIN
PHOTOSHOP
ILLUSTRATOR
POWERPOINT
WEB STYLE GUIDES
VISUAL ASSET LIBRARIES
DESIGN DOCUMENTATION
A/B TESTING
Common Software:
SKETCH
ZEPLIN
PHOTOSHOP
ILLUSTRATOR
POWERPOINT
