Interfaces and usability: who, why and how designs UX
More recently, we talked about what will be the new Pechkin-mail . The transition to the new engine, which will happen very soon, also affects the user experience improvements.
Aaron Walter, director of UX in the MailChimp service, once formulated the key principle of his team:
Today we will talk about the purpose of UX, its goals and objectives, as well as describe how to go beyond the above-mentioned "framework" and what qualities and skills the interface designer needs to possess.
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The official definition of UX (User eXperience) is as follows:
The Russian-language equivalent of User eXperience is the expression “user experience”. The emergence and further dissemination of the phrase “user experience” is due to Donald Norman, who at the time of the introduction of the term (1995) served as vice president of the development of promising technologies at Apple:
A “positive user experience” is considered to be the result of an adequate combination of the 5 basic principles of the “ideal” UX below, where the central point is “usability”:
User experience and usability are interrelated concepts, which nevertheless should be clearly demarcated to avoid confusion. In simple terms, if UX is an experience of perception, answering the question “What?”, Then usability is the mechanics of perception, answering the question “How?”.
Consider the fundamental methods of working on the design of the user interface:
In large projects, work on UX can be completely separated from the processes of interface design, information architecture, and interactions. Although in reality this happens infrequently, and in most agencies and start-ups these aspects of the work on the project, as a rule, are combined in one post.
But how is interface design related to UX design? For example, Wikipedia defines UX design as:
The key task of designing UX is to make the user experience as successful as possible, assuming that the UX developer by and large has to interact with the product he creates, software, or another object, primarily as a user.
“UX is not something that can be simply implemented, it is the basis of the basic value system,” says Walter.
Designing a UX is an activity aimed primarily at people, which means that the key skill of a UX designer is the ability to understand the needs and behavior of users of a site, application, or product. He should strive to ensure that these needs and desires are consistent with the business goals of the company for which he works.
However, the ultimate goal of designing UX is not only satisfying user requests, but also helping the product achieve its business goals. One of the most difficult tasks arising in the course of working on the UX is to correlate business goals with user goals.
Speaking about UX design and interface design, one should draw a subtle, but inherently significant feature: UX design is possible without interface design, but interface design is impossible without an understanding of the final user experience.
So, the first thing that the UX designer thinks of [for simplicity, hereinafter, we will consider the terms “UX designer” and “usability” as synonyms] - how to combine user goals with business goals. For example, if the user's goal is to purchase a product, the company should make this purchase useful, convenient and enjoyable.
Therefore, a talented designer has the following qualities:
Obviously, to imagine how the course of thoughts of your potential client is arranged, it is necessary to study and analyze the audience of the company in every possible way. This will allow you to navigate and understand what may or may not suit you, and what, on the contrary, gives joy when using the product.
That's all for today. In the following series we will take a closer look at the essence of the work of the designer.
PS A couple of materials from our blog:
Aaron Walter, director of UX in the MailChimp service, once formulated the key principle of his team:
“Our goal is to make the software functional, reliable, and ready to use so that people can solve their problems with it. But we believe that the development of software that is simply ready for use is the same as the preparation by a chef of food that is “just edible.” To attract people, you need to go beyond basic practicality. We want things with which we interact to evoke emotions in us. ”
Today we will talk about the purpose of UX, its goals and objectives, as well as describe how to go beyond the above-mentioned "framework" and what qualities and skills the interface designer needs to possess.
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So what is UX and usability
The official definition of UX (User eXperience) is as follows:
“Perceptions that a person has when using and / or intended to use a product, system, or when receiving a service” ( ISO 9241-210: 2010, subsection 2.15).
The Russian-language equivalent of User eXperience is the expression “user experience”. The emergence and further dissemination of the phrase “user experience” is due to Donald Norman, who at the time of the introduction of the term (1995) served as vice president of the development of promising technologies at Apple:
“I“ invented ”this term because I thought that“ human interface ”and“ usability ”were too narrowly specialized. I wanted to use all aspects of the user experience of interacting with the system, in particular the industrial design of the product, its graphics, interface and aspects of physical contact with the device. ”
A “positive user experience” is considered to be the result of an adequate combination of the 5 basic principles of the “ideal” UX below, where the central point is “usability”:
- Physiology: What motivates the user?
- Usability: What gives the user inconvenience?
- Design: It is necessary to think about design before introducing it into the workflow, so that the user does not have a sense of doubt and / or distrust regarding the reliability of your company and its products.
- Content: The clarity of presenting information plays a primary role here. People really read the texts on the site, in an application or letter, and their writing should be considered as part of the design of the [interface].
- Analytics: What should the percentage of failures and other indicators tell us?
User experience and usability are interrelated concepts, which nevertheless should be clearly demarcated to avoid confusion. In simple terms, if UX is an experience of perception, answering the question “What?”, Then usability is the mechanics of perception, answering the question “How?”.
Interface design and UX design: where is the connection
Consider the fundamental methods of working on the design of the user interface:
- Learning about devices: what are the strengths and weaknesses of specific devices, and what impact does this have on your product? For example, the user experience of working on a device with a touch-interface and on a traditional device with a monitor will be completely different.
- Character creation: what does your average user look like? How can this information affect your product?
- Designing patterns [of behavior]: how (for example) does the checkout procedure most often occur in electronic stores?
In large projects, work on UX can be completely separated from the processes of interface design, information architecture, and interactions. Although in reality this happens infrequently, and in most agencies and start-ups these aspects of the work on the project, as a rule, are combined in one post.
But how is interface design related to UX design? For example, Wikipedia defines UX design as:
"The process of increasing user satisfaction from interacting with the product by increasing its convenience, ease of use and accessibility."
The key task of designing UX is to make the user experience as successful as possible, assuming that the UX developer by and large has to interact with the product he creates, software, or another object, primarily as a user.
“UX is not something that can be simply implemented, it is the basis of the basic value system,” says Walter.
Designing a UX is an activity aimed primarily at people, which means that the key skill of a UX designer is the ability to understand the needs and behavior of users of a site, application, or product. He should strive to ensure that these needs and desires are consistent with the business goals of the company for which he works.
However, the ultimate goal of designing UX is not only satisfying user requests, but also helping the product achieve its business goals. One of the most difficult tasks arising in the course of working on the UX is to correlate business goals with user goals.
Speaking about UX design and interface design, one should draw a subtle, but inherently significant feature: UX design is possible without interface design, but interface design is impossible without an understanding of the final user experience.
UX Designer Profession
So, the first thing that the UX designer thinks of [for simplicity, hereinafter, we will consider the terms “UX designer” and “usability” as synonyms] - how to combine user goals with business goals. For example, if the user's goal is to purchase a product, the company should make this purchase useful, convenient and enjoyable.
- Useful: You need to satisfy the need of the client, that is, solve his problem.
- Convenient: The high level of usability should be obvious so that customers understand the scope of your product or use of the service.
- Pleasant: It will not be superfluous if the purchase of your product gives the customer joy.
Therefore, a talented designer has the following qualities:
- Empathy is the ability to understand why people act in one way or another. In order to design UX, you need to be able to put yourself in the shoes of other people. This is probably the most important quality to work in this area, and you need to learn to understand the actions of other people. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone possesses this ability by nature.
- Inquisitiveness is the desire to find out why people act in one way or another.
- Clarity of expression is the ability to explain complex concepts in an accessible form for those who are not familiar or have little knowledge of this field.
Obviously, to imagine how the course of thoughts of your potential client is arranged, it is necessary to study and analyze the audience of the company in every possible way. This will allow you to navigate and understand what may or may not suit you, and what, on the contrary, gives joy when using the product.
That's all for today. In the following series we will take a closer look at the essence of the work of the designer.
PS A couple of materials from our blog:
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/307810/
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