usability
When every type of user has
been considered, mapping out
the experience journey for each user and listing all interactions in as many different use
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environments as possible is a good exercise
Important considerations for good usability design:
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Drop your feelings for the current format
For instance, who uses it? Who cleans it? Who assembles it? Who delivers it? Who maintains it? Who sells it? Who doesn’t use it but has to live with it? The list goes on. The products with the best user experience consider all interactions from all stakeholders, not just
This is more to do with mindset, but an important one to embrace. To design a product with the best UX possible, the overall format and architecture of the product must be driven by insight and a total understanding of the context of the product’s
those involving the primary user.
3
Anticipating the entire experience journey
When every type of user has been considered,
use. This ensures that the user experience
mapping out the experience journey for each
is prioritised and can be enhanced with the
user and listing all interactions in as many
freedom for the design to go in any direction,
different use environments as possible is a good
rather than being restricted by any existing beliefs
exercise to go through. Having this visibility
or chained down by a desire to stay close to
of all interactions helps to see the bigger
the current format of established products.
picture and also helps identify opportunities to
Innovation doesn’t tend to happen when there’s a strong feeling to lean towards many
simplify user steps in the experience journey. This is difficult to do when you don’t have all
characteristics of historic models, without a
the information analysed and mapped out. This
clear user-centred justification. A strong desire
approach is proactive and can bring significant
to question every aspect of what went before is
value. The reason it’s so valuable is that poor
more likely to result in great product design.
user experiences usually find their way into
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products because the task of doing a detailed
Every stakeholder must be appreciated
analysis either doesn’t get done or gets pushed back in the development process until usability
To enhance the user experience as much
issues start to present themselves. By this time,
as possible, it’s important to consider every
it’s too late and you end up fire-fighting and
type of user. We call them ‘stakeholders’,
making decisions quickly in isolation without
which isn’t just the people who are
the proper time for thorough analysis and robust
invested in a financial sense but includes
thinking where you consider how one decision
anyone who is affected by the product.
impacts other aspects.
54 fittechglobal.com
2 2021
