What is (and isn't) User Experience Design?
User Experience Design is about making sure people can achieve their goals, and feel good about it.
UXD often pertains to technology-mediated activity, such as using a website or software application, but it doesn't have to.
When done right, it yields a response the opposite of wanting to throw a product out of the window (See also: Clippy; the Office Space printer).
Too vague? There's debate on whether to spend time defining the...thing (DTDT). Although those who do define differ, there are common threads...
A UXD process will typically include the following:
UXD starts with researching and analyzing...
- needs of relevant groups (e.g., customers, employees, investors)
- how these people currently get things done
- how a target audience interacts with aspects of the world outside of your control or reach
- how competitors support similar goals
Some things UXD is not
- It's NOT asking people in a focus group what they want out of a [whatever].
- It's NOT a subset of graphic design (however, the reverse is true; graphic design does have a role in UXD).
- It's NOT just doing usability testing (although usually a part of UXD, testing is far from a panacea, iterative or not).
Why UXD is necessary
Singular creative vision is no match for false assumptions, poor planning, human variation, unknown requirements, established alternatives, or change.
UXD is about giving up the comfort of willful ignorance in order to avoid waste and loss and failure. It is designing things without the rose-colored glasses on (and, usually, the mirror covered).
My role
Some of what I do in connection to this pursuit: