Why user-centered design is important more than ever
This article explains the importance of user-centered design and provides reasons why UCD is more important than ever, such as ever-changing demographics, high competition, social media and reviews, and the business value of UX.
User-centered design is the process of creating products with the user at the center of the design process, and it’s a crucial part of building successful products.
In this article, we will explore why user-centered design matters more than ever, back it up with data, and provide references to studies and research that support these claims.
What, How, and Why?
In order to understand why UCD matters more than ever, we have to first understand what user-centered design actually is, how it works and why we even need it.
What is User-centered design (UCD):
User-centered design (UCD) is an approach to product design that places the user at the center of the design process. It’s a philosophy that drives how designers create products that are intuitive, easy to use, and enjoyable.
It is the polar opposite of designing products based on what the product owner thinks is right. Instead, it focuses on real users and their needs, wants, and preferences.
UCD involves gaining an understanding of the user’s needs and requirements, testing designs with users, and iterating the design until the user’s needs are fully met. It’s a cyclical process that involves multiple stages, including user research, analysis, design, testing, and evaluation.
How the UCD process looks like:
The UCD process starts with user research, which is the process of identifying the user’s needs, wants, and preferences. This information can be gathered through various methods, such as surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
The objective of this research is to identify the user’s requirements and expectations, which will be used to create design concepts.
Once the user’s needs and requirements have been identified, the design team can create design concepts. These design concepts are created based on the user’s needs and tested to see how the user responds.
Testing is an essential part of the user-centered design process. It’s the process of evaluating the design concepts with real users to see how they respond to the design.
The objective of this testing is to identify any issues or problems with the design and to identify areas that need improvement.
Once the testing is complete, the design team can evaluate the feedback from users and identify any areas that need improvement. The team can then make changes to the design to improve the product and make it more user-friendly.
Why UCD is beneficial?
By involving users in the design process, you can catch issues early on, avoiding costly mistakes down the road. Not only that, but when you design your product with your users in mind, they’re more likely to enjoy and use it.
This builds trust between you and your users, leading to a positive relationship that can keep them coming back. After all, when you show you care about your users, they’re more likely to trust you and engage with your business over time.
Spending 10% of the project’s total budget on usability can improve any desired metric by 135%. [1]
Over the last 10 years, design-led companies have outperformed the S&P by an extraordinary 228% [2].
Why UCD is more important than ever?
User-centered design (UCD) is a philosophy that puts the needs, preferences, and feedback of the user at the center of the product development process. It has always been an essential component of creating successful products, but now more than ever.
1. Ever-changing demographics:
In the past, technology was primarily used by early adopters who were willing to put up with clunky interfaces and confusing workflows. Today, technology is ubiquitous and used by people of all ages and backgrounds.
85% of Americans now own a smartphone [3]. This means that your users are no longer just tech enthusiasts, but rather, everyday people who have high expectations for usability and ease of use.
2. High Competition:
With so many companies vying for attention, users are less patient with poor user experiences. In fact, 47% of users expect a website to load in two seconds or less, and 40% will abandon a website that takes more than three seconds to load. [4]
This means that your product’s user experience must be flawless to keep users engaged and prevent them from moving on to your competitors.
A website that looks aesthetically pleasing but takes too much time to load is a great example of a bad user experience.
If an e-commerce site is making $100,000 per day, a 1-second page delay could potentially cost you $2.5 million in lost sales every year.
3. Social Media and Reviews:
Today, users have more power than ever to shape the reputation of a brand or product through social media and online reviews. According to a study by BrightLocal [5], 86% of consumers read reviews for local businesses, and 91% of those aged 18–34 trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
This means that a poor user experience can quickly damage your brand’s reputation and hurt your chances of success. On the contrary, a well-designed and user-friendly product can increase your brand’s credibility.
4. The business value of UX:
User-centered design matters more than ever because of the impact it can have a greater impact on your bottom line.
- Companies that prioritize user experience design have higher customer retention, increased revenue, and reduced costs. [6]
- Companies that are driven by design outperformed the S&P 500 companies by 228% over a 10-year period. [2]
- Every $1 invested in UX design brings approximately $100 in return. That’s an ROI of 9,900%. [6]
- Spending about 10% of a project’s budget on usability activities doubles usability. [1]
- A well-designed user interface could increase a website’s conversion rate by up to 200%, and a focus on user experience could result in a 50% reduction in customer service calls. [6]
How can startups design user-centered products on a tight budget?
Designing user-centered products doesn’t have to break the bank!
- Start by getting to know your users through simple methods like chatting with potential customers or conducting online surveys.
- Then, test your designs early and often by getting feedback from your audience through focus groups, online tools, or even your email list.
- Don’t forget to track user interactions with website analytics to make informed design decisions.
- Keep iterating based on feedback from users and analytics and stay focused on user needs throughout the design process.
- Collaborate with your team to maximize resources and stay focused on user-centered goals throughout the design process.
Remember, creating user-centered products can help reduce costs, create a better user experience, and build trust with your users.
By putting the users at the center of the design process, startups can differentiate themselves, meet user expectations, and avoid costly mistakes. As the market becomes more competitive and user expectations continue to rise, prioritizing user-centered design will only become more important.
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[P.S]: While researching for this article, I read and critically analyzed many articles, Youtube videos, and blogs on user-centered design and related topics by different reputable authors and organizations like IDEO, Futur, IxDF, and NNgroup just to name a few.
[1]: Return on Investment for Usability
[4]: How loading time affects your bottom line
[5]: Local consumer review survey 2023
[6]: The six steps for justifying better UX
Abras, C., Maloney-Krichmar, D. & Preece, J. (2004). User-centered design. Bainbridge, W. Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 37, 445–456.
Gasson, S. (2003). Human-centered vs. user-centered approaches to information system design. Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 5, 29–46.
