What is user experience and why does it matter?
The way your users feel about your product as they use and interact with it is crucial to its success and lasting impact.
What is user experience?
User experience is a term often associated with web applications and design but is a much broader concept that existed long before the web. Various sources word the definition of user experience differently, but all come to the general conclusion that user experience refers to the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that users have throughout their entire encounter with a product or service.
User experience design refers to the actual systematic design of products and services so that they meet the needs of their users.
*Note: your customer (the person or entity who buys your product or service) may be different from your user (the person or entity who uses your product or service). For the sake of simplicity, in this article, we will consider them the same.
The history of user experience
User experience is a fairly modern field, but its roots began over a century ago. Some of the earliest documented user experience research and design were done by Frederick Winslow Taylor and Henry Ford when they developed ways to make human labor more efficient and productive. The Toyota Production System was built on their work but prioritized the workers themselves. Soon after, Henry Dreyfuss wrote Designing for People, in which he wrote: “when the point of contact between the product and the people becomes a point of friction, then the [designer] has failed. On the other hand, if people are made safer, more comfortable, more eager to purchase, more efficient — or just plain happier — by contact with the product, then the designer has succeeded.”
The term user experience is attributed to Don Norman, a cognitive psychologist who is now known as the “Godfather of UX”, who defines it as “all aspects of the person’s experience with the system including industrial design graphics, the interface, the physical interaction, and the manual.”
Where does user experience exist?
User experience exists at every point where people interact with products or services. It encompasses the way you use your favorite apps and how it feels to ride your bike. Every time you use anything, you have a user experience and every time that user experience is positive, you are more likely to continue using or recommend the associated product or service.
Why does user experience matter?
User experience benefits both a product’s users and its creators.
Good user experience makes users feel gratified, delighted, and satisfied. They walk away from products feeling as though their time and/or money was well-spent and their problem(s) was solved as expected.
When users have a good user experience with a product or service, they tend to be more loyal, and a loyal customer can be worth up to 10x as much as their first purchase. Positive user experience increases conversation, sales, customer retention, and recommendations, all of which lead to higher growth and revenue.
What is good user experience?
Good user experience solves user problems in a delightful way. Not only do users come away from their experience feeling satisfied, but they feel a sense of pleasure and excitement.
Good UX is intuitive, useful, consistent, accessible, enjoyable, valuable, and desirable. Read more about these characteristics here.
How can I create good user experiences?
Good user experience is, first and foremost, user-centered. User-centered designs are clear and efficient, and solve the actual, fundamental issues faced by their users.
The best way to ensure that your designs and end products are user-centered is to do as much empathy-driven research as possible at every stage of development. Continue asking questions and ensuring that your product meets your users’ standards. Only stop developing once you’ve met all of the criteria listed above.
Think through the products and services that bring you joy and aspire to deliver the same feelings to your users.
