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Introduction to

User Experience Design

MAD9034

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MAD 9034 Professors

Nehmat Gereige

Laura Olac

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UI vs UX

A quick glance

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User Interface and User Experience are often used as interchangeable terms, but they have different meanings. With USER EXPERIENCE we can explore a wider scope. Not everything happens on screens.

Last semester you learnt about User Interface Design. �User Interface and User Experience are often used as interchangeable terms, but they have different meanings.

WITH USER EXPERIENCE WE CAN EXPLORE A WIDER SCOPE.

Let’s use air travel as an example.

A user interface offers a way for users to control something via a digital display. �Examples of User Interfaces involved in air travel are: your electronic boarding pass, wayfinding display screens and the entertainment center inside the plane. �However, a great user experience may not involve any user interface at all, not everything happens on screens.

Some of the main pain points during an air travel experience aren’t related to User Interface: delays, bad food, noise, turbulence, lost luggage are all part of the experience. UX designers can identify pain points like these and help with finding solutions for them -- sometimes the solution will take the form of a User Interface, but not always.

Ask students if there is time. Other examples of UX: opening a product box for the first time, the way the product is wrapped, presented, instructions. Ordering a product online. Ordering food. FIRST TIME USER EXPERIENCE is an important part of the overall user experience and it deserves its own lecture. We may discuss it a bit at the end if we have time.

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What is UX?

“User experience encompasses all aspects of the end user's interaction with the company, its services, and its products.”

User Experience defined by Don Norman

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Nielsen Norman Group

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What is UXD?

“User experience design (UXD or UED) is the process of enhancing user satisfaction by improving the usability, accessibility, and pleasure provided in the interaction between the user and the product. User experience design encompasses traditional human–computer interaction (HCI) design, and extends it by addressing all aspects of a product or service as perceived by users."

User Experience Design in a Nutshell

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Wikipedia: User Experience Design

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What is UXD?

Laura’s file

“User experience design (UXD or UED) is the process of enhancing user satisfaction by improving the usability, accessibility, and pleasure provided in the interaction between the user and the product. User experience design encompasses traditional human–computer interaction (HCI) design, and extends it by addressing all aspects of a product or service as perceived by users."

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Let’s take an example.

Imagine you work for a software company looking at the end to end customer/user experience.

The user experience of the customer with the product happens at all the touch points of that customer or user with the company, its services and products:

starts from the time when the customer is looking to buy a product to satisfy a need.
the experience they have online looking for information, speaking to a salesperson, or installing a trial
the purchasing experience
the onboarding
eventually using the product.

�If the user/customer is happy and satisfied with the user experience at all touch points with the company, its services and the product, users develop trust in the company, they become loyal customers and promoters of the product and this is what we all want to see happening.

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What kind of experiences can we create?

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Memorable

A user experience can be memorable and leave users or participants with thoughts and feelings after the event ends.

Examples: online games, shows, architecture, restaurants.

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Intuitive

A user experience can be aligned with the user’s expectation so much that the user doesn’t have to think about it while using it, or after. It just works.

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Negative: intentional

A user experience can be intentionally negative to help motivate the user to do something.

Example: the Duolingo character who is sometimes sad or angry.

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Negative: unintentional

Image source

A user experience can be unintentionally negative and generate unexpected feelings.

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UX Design Process

A quick glance

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Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-thinking/

This slide is one of the many graphical representations of the User Centred Design process.�The top 3 most important things to mention about the user-centred design process:

Users and their needs are always at the center of all the design decisions we make.
To be able to design, we need to understand who the users are, their common goals, and their intentions using the product.
The UCD is a non-linear process. It is iterative, it consists of cycles that repeat. We design and implement > we collect user feedback > we reiterate our designs and implementations. The design never ends. We always have to re-evaluate the solution we put forward to our customers to make sure it is current and it still meets their needs.

The user centered design process implies a customer-first attitude, so it is not just for designers to follow, if is for everyone involved in crafting the user experience of customers with products and services.

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UX Design Process

What is covered and what is not covered in this course

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Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-thinking/

Empathize
Define
Design/Ideate
Prototype
Test
Implement + Measure

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UX Design Process

What is covered: Empathize

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Empathize

Study user behaviours, research user goals, understand client objectives�

Define
Design/Ideate
Prototype
Test
Implement + Measure

Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-thinking/

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UX Design Process

What is covered: Define

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Empathize
Analyze and Define

Make sense of the research data

Thematic analysis
Define problems to solve
Persona
Information Architecture�

Design/Ideate
Prototype
Test
Implement + Measure

Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-thinking/

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UX Design Process

What is covered: Iterate - Design - Test

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Empathize
Define
Design/Ideate

Experience and explore possible solutions

Ideation/Brainstorming/Workshops
Scenario Mapping
User task flow diagram
Wireframes (UI layout/user flow)
Interaction design
Visual design

Prototype
Test
Implement + Measure

Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-thinking/

Iterate: Design > Build > Test

Once the problems are defined in the previous step, designers proceed to design solutions for these problems.
The first step is to ideate and generate high-level design concepts and workflow diagrams.
Some of these design solutions require prototyping and testing.

Prototyping and testing with real users in the early stages of design saves time and budget down the road.
It is best to fail early if it has to happen and rethink the solution when it is still in design phase, rather than waiting for it to be implemented and released when adjustments become harder to do and more expensive.
Prototyping and testing help refine the original design and eventually lead to the final design solution that is represented in high-fidelity mockups.
Prototyping and testing can also happen in the later stages of the design and we will talk more about this in our lectures.

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UX Design Process

What is NOT covered: Implement and Measure

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Empathize
Define
Design/Ideate
Prototype

Experience and explore possible solutions

Ideation
Interaction design
Prototype

Test
Implement + Measure (not covered in MAD9034)

Application development
User acceptance tests
User surveys

Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-thinking/

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UX Design Process

What is NOT covered: Implement and Measure

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Empathize
Define
Design/Ideate
Prototype
Test

Experience and explore possible solutions

Ideation
Design concept testing
Prototype usability testing

Implement + Measure (not covered in MAD9034)

Application development
User acceptance tests
User surveys

Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-thinking/

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UX Design Process

What is NOT covered: Implement and Measure

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Empathize
Define
Design/Ideate
Prototype
Test
Implement + Measure (not covered in MAD9034)

Application development
User acceptance tests
User surveys

Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-thinking/

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UX Design Process

UX Design Tools and Deliverables

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Tools and Deliverables (covered in this course)

Personas
Scenarios
Information Architecture
Wireframes
Visual design
Prototype
Usability testing

Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-thinking/

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UX Design Competencies

Top 6

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Information Architecture

User

Research

Interaction Design

Visual Design

Prototyping

Usability Testing

Remember

Before building a mobile app, you want to verify if your idea is viable and the features you intend to build meet your users’ needs and wants. A User Centered Design approach will assist you in creating the best product experience and effectively fulfill your client’s business objectives.

http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2007/11/the-five-competencies-of-user-experience-design.php

These 6 are the core competencies expected from any UX designer. There are a few others such as stakeholder management and a new, emerging one called UX writing, but these are the 6 core competencies.
Some people will be stronger in some of these competencies than other, but it is important to manifest them all while working on the design of a product.
UX Designers use these competencies in order to verify if a design idea is viable and if it meets the users’ needs and wishes.
This User Centered Design approach assists UX Designers in creating the best product user experience and fulfilling the users’ or customers’ business objectives effectively.
UX designers use both parts of their brain employing logic and creativity into the work they do. The creative skills required to be a very good UX designer can be acquired. You don’t need to be an artist to be a UX designer.

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Coming up

User Research Methods

Introduction to the warm-up project

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A Fun Group Exercise

5-10 minute

Uber hires you to improve the user experience of their app so that it is easier to use by seniors (60+ yrs old).

Which steps will you take to begin the UX enhancement? How? Why?

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Remember

User Experience Design is an iterative process and it can start at any point within these 5 steps:

User research
Analysis
Design
Prototype
User Testing