In my career as a user experience designer and researcher, I’ve interviewed or tested scores of end users through the years, and I see a trend show up over and over. Users have often told me that they KNOW that…
Tag: UX
UX 101, UX Articles
ROI and Usability: a case study
UX Articles
Lessons in #UX: Don’t design features, enable users
UX Articles
Simplify your projects by using a #UX Checklist
UX Articles
Lessons in #UX: Users don’t care about “UI design”
We live in a bubble. When I say “We”, I refer to my fellow travelers in user experience design. We read tech articles on new software releases, we look at design sites and study style guides from Apple, Amazon and…
Technology, UX Articles
Ten great resources to make you better at #UX
I’ve been doing user experience design for more than a dozen years now, and I’m still learning. Part of why I’m still learning is the technology that users interact and engage with is evolving at a fairly rapid clip, and…
Apple, Technology, UX Articles
Lessons in #UX: How to design the best wearable experience
There are two big topics in technology right now: The Internet of Things and Wearables. While I have some very distinct opinions on the former, I’ll leave that for another day. Today I’d like to discuss the space called “wearables”.…
UX Articles
#UX Trends in 2015: My predictions
I was unable to make the deadline to contribute to the “UX Trends” article UX Magazine recently published due to other commitments (curse you, international business travel!), but I am never one to let good content go to waste. So,…
UX Articles
Embrace user stories to simply align agile and #UX
One of the big topics of conversation in UX circles the past few years has been “Lean UX”, an approach focused on minimizing and reducing design documentation in order to focus more on what is being designed instead of the artifacts. I’m…
My Quora answers, UX 101, UX Articles
User scenarios, user stories, use cases – what’s the difference?
The three are different, but not as much as you may think. Let’s talk about stories. No, not user stories… stories. We are wired to engage with and tell stories – it is a seminal part of the human species.…
My Quora answers, UX Articles
What is the best way to create a UX roadmap?
First off, let’s discuss the term “UX Roadmap.” I’ve heard it used in a couple of different ways. Here’s one definition, from UX Game Changers: The UX roadmap defines the stages of the user delivery. And while demands can change…
Featured Articles, UX Articles
Seven things your boss needs to know about UX
As someone who has been in the user experience domain for a LOOONG time, I have had lots of conversations with many different executives. And, most of the time, these execs knew how to spell “UX”, but they didn’t know much…
UX Articles
UX, the Bruce Lee Way
As a UX professional I take inspiration from a great many things. Since I’m also a big pop culture geek, that’s been the biggest well I draw from. I’ve read a lot of entertainment biographies lately, and the latest was…
My Quora answers, Technology, UX Articles
Will big data be used increasingly in the UX field to answer user experience questions?
Yes and no. Big Data provides… well, big data. Lots of data. This data needs to be parsed, analyzed and understood. It is (potentially) a source for user insights and understanding that is unparalleled. It can provide a lot of…
Aside
What are some design problems a young designer can work on to build he design “chops”? Here’s a couple of ideas:
Learning how to read and write. Adult literacy around the world is at an all-time high, but there are still thousands of adults who can’t read or write. Can an self-guided app help solve this problem?
Budgeting. People need to budget their finances, but when you look at the amount of credit card debt in the country you see that many of us live beyond their means. A simple practical/instructional app can help people learn how to budget.
Decluttering. People have a lot of stuff, and in many cases way too much stuff. Can an app help them inventory and then prioritize their possessions, to help them simplify their life?
Aside
A great experience comes when what is designed aligns with the needs and desires of the users. This means that the offering “fits” the user, if not like a glove then… like a nice warm bathrobe. A great experience accommodates all the factors – shape, touch, mental models, emotional drivers, and the user’s expected behaviors and outcomes. Controls should work as anticipated, and respond quickly.
Sounds easy, right? Well, how of you get there? How do you ensure that the great experience takes place? The primary thing to do is know your user. Research, dig deep into what they need and expect and then use that understanding to inform your design. Iterate, taking the candidate solutions back to users to test them, and then refine based on the feedback received.
The process will vary, but the key are the two things noted above: Iteration and user research. You have to do both in order to ensure a great experience.