“Talk about it”: Designer's work

    This week we tried to systematically consider who, why, and how UX designs . Today we decided to continue this topic in the light of the redesign of our Pechkin-mail service .



    A huge role in enhancing usability is played by user audience research. This is the starting point in every project. It helps us learn about users, their motives, goals and needs. The study also shows what difficulties users experience and, most importantly, how they feel when interacting with our product.

    In the absence of research, our work will be based only on our own experience and assumptions. And this will prevent achieving objectivity, because our opinion may differ from the opinion of customers.

    The key to conducting such a study is empathy. Without it, it will be difficult for you to understand why people with different levels of training and experience do not perceive your product in the same way, and offer effective solutions for these groups without trying to influence the behavior of the people themselves.

    Research has other benefits. The inconsistency of the results of an extensive study of the user audience can help get the support of colleagues or superiors in demonstrating the designed solutions.

    Ways to research a user audience


    1. First, take some user interviews. An interview with a user is a meaningful dialogue between an interviewer and a user from a potentially interested group. It is carried out to find out the needs of the user and his requirements for the product. Interviews can be conducted directly during the interaction of the client with the product. You can even invite the client to describe how the ideal product would look in their presentation.

    2.Online survey. This method of collecting information is a set of questions sent to your target audience via the Internet - usually in the form of a questionnaire. The duration and format of the online survey may vary depending on the project, but in any case, the received data is entered into the database and subsequently studied. To fully understand the subject area, it is recommended that you first resort to the first method - in the future, thanks to this, it will be easier for you to pose more precise questions in online questionnaires.

    3.Creating people is the third way that you can present the image of your potential customer. Do not pass off the desired “ideal” client as a much more severe reality: persons are those clients that you have or can have. A person is a description of a fictional person within a specific user audience, created on the basis of qualitative and quantitative data from a study of a user audience.

    Peter Morville, known as one of the founders of information architecture, explains the benefits of this method:

    “Portraits and profiles of user types (as well as their goals and patterns of behavior) remind us all that we are not users and serve as a compass in the implementation of design and development.”

    Design Work: Information Architecture


    Now we have to again move from practical techniques in the field of usability to theory. The fact is that it’s impossible to tell about yet another area of ​​usability work - testing - without touching on the topic of structuring information.

    What is information architecture, and why is it needed


    If the user is not able to cope with the huge flow of information, or if he is confused in the navigation of the site, then his user experience when interacting with a product, brand or service will be negative. To avoid such situations, the usability team designs the so-called information architecture.

    Designing an information architecture provides a project with several advantages:

    • Increasing customer independence and, as a result, increasing the number of satisfied customers
    • Efficient navigation
    • Lower customer support costs
    • Reducing the number of rejections from your product or service

    Ways to organize information


    As always, there are a number of ways to create a hierarchy of site content: from simple to complex.

    1. Card sorting. During a card sorting session, users categorize various site elements into several categories. After that, they need to come up with a name for each category, which, in their opinion, will accurately describe its content. In this case, you can use real cards, sheets of paper or one of several online services for card sorting.

    2. Wireframing - wireframing. Wireframing in UX design - an image or diagram of a site, software interface, or application page that displays:

    • space allocation on this page;
    • distribution of images and content;
    • prioritization of content;
    • available features;
    • expected user behavior.

    "Frames" are rarely made color, they do not contain images and are not styled as a project, because their purpose is to help the usability team understand and establish the relationship between the various elements of the product.

    3. Prototypes. A prototype is a concept of your future website or product, which allows you to accurately represent its user interface before you start writing code.

    Prototyping allows usabilityists to experiment, as well as test the functionality and usability of the product so as not to waste money on development. Thanks to the creation of a prototype, the meaning of each function becomes obvious, and the team of UX-designers can see the project as a whole and eliminate any inconsistencies and shortcomings.

    Designer's work: Testing as another way to create a hierarchy of content


    Like user audience research, testing is an important part of the usability experience and the entire UX design process. It allows you to improve the initial design of the product or site and see how the changes made during the development phase stand up to criticism.

    Holger Eggert (HolgerEggert), the chief usability engineer of the company LevelGreen, gave us his recommendations regarding user testing:

    “Do not try to solve all the problems at once. Start with the essentials, then test again. This will save you time. ”

    Test types


    1. Usability testing.

    Usability testing is usually carried out individually in “laboratory” conditions. The idea is that participants (preferably representatives of your target audience) are asked to complete the task using your product, website, application, while the interface designer watches them from the side.

    The purpose of such testing is to find out what problems the user encountered and why they arose. The advantage of this type of testing compared to remote usability testing is that it allows you to record the actions taken by users, and not just their opinions on the product account.

    Usability testing (as, indeed, many other types of testing) is carried out in several main ways:

    • simple observations;
    • profiles;
    • polls
    • interview.

    In fact, to conduct effective usability testing, you will need a clear plan in which you outline the goals of this testing, as well as several real users who will interact with the interface, share their opinions and answer questions.

    Before inviting users, you need to ask yourself the question: “What information do I need to get from this testing?” And, only by answering it, you can start compiling a questionnaire. If you are not going to conduct an interview or make a questionnaire, but just want to observe the behavior of users when interacting with your site or product, then the task remains the same.

    Sometimes participants are asked to comment aloud on their actions during the usability test, which allows interface designers to better understand the user's thoughts. Do not forget the difference between listening to users and observing their behavior. You can get more valuable information in a shorter period of time by carefully observing your users during testing, as well as recording their comments.

    2. Remote usability testing

    The advantage of remote testing is that users interact with the product in a familiar environment (for example, at home or in the office). This helps to avoid feelings of anxiety and insecurity that overcomes them in an unfamiliar place and can affect the test results.

    Remote usability testing can be useful for a team of interface designers when a face-to-face meeting with representatives of the target audience is expensive or difficult.

    Participants, facilitators and observers can be far away from each other, so they come together online. Although this format of testing can be convenient, the value of its results is less (in comparison with the "laboratory" test). In addition, in the case of online testing, it is more difficult to analyze the data obtained.

    3. A / B testing

    A / B testing (also known as split testing) is a research method that consists in comparing two versions of the same web page, product, email or system, and determining a more successful version. The purpose of testing is to see the differences in the behavior of two groups of users and evaluate the impact of each version on their actions.

    Remember : A / B testing is only useful if you already have a finished product (service) and you need to improve it. You should not start with A / B tests at the design stage - instead, test with user participation.

    Conclusion: a few words about teamwork


    Of course, testing, information architecture and studying the audience is not all that the UX designer works with (in this article we will omit issues related to design, writing code, choosing typography, etc. - things that the usability user often has to to face in the absence of appropriate employees in the team).

    However, it’s worth talking about the team itself and teamwork: no matter how your position is called and how many roles it combines in itself, without the support of fellow developers, the UX designer’s business will not be embodied in the finished product. And when interacting with developers, the following recommendations may come in handy:

    • Be honest - usabilityists should communicate openly with developers about the ultimate goal of the product.
    • Let’s explain - the developers must clearly understand what and how they need to do in order to achieve the desired result. They need to clearly explain why some idea will not work, and not just state a fact. To do this, engage developers in the discussion in the early stages of design.
    • Be realistic - when you pass the finished design to the developers, set a realistic time frame for the project. Thus, everyone will have the same expectations.
    • Express your thoughts clearly - when communicating with a team of programmers, make sure that your instructions and requests are clear. The UX designer should be able to explain and accurately illustrate what and how should work in the future.

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