User experience, or UX – we hear this term being thrown around quite a lot nowadays, but what does it really mean?

Introduction to UX

User experience is how a person feels when interacting with a system. This could be anything from a website, an app, software and anything in between. UX is a pivotal part of any IT-related product as it is what will either make or break your user’s interest and retention prospects.

UX varies from person to person because, at the end of the day – it’s all up to perception. A common misconception is that one UX style will fit all audiences, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Let’s take the TikTok app, for example. Although most of its users love the experience, there is an audience, mainly the older audience, who may find it confusing. A good UX design will be perfect for their specific target audience and that’s what’s important when using UX in development.

The UI / UX flow questions that garner the best results (as used by KeenEye Solutions) are as follows:

What is the issue?
How can it be overcome?
How will the solution fix this?
What is required to fix the issue?
Who is the target audience?
How can all these come together to best cater to and appeal to this audience?

The best practices to ensure the best outcomes for your UX:

Meticulous research – this is by far the most important step. You need to understand the needs of your users completely and test the feasibility of the software before you embark on the process of development. If your research is inaccurate, you have already drawn the short end of the straw.
Create user personas – this is a vital first step in ensuring the end audience is satisfied so they will spend more time using your platform. This includes metrics such as age, sex, shared interests, geographical location, income bracket and so on.
Getting to know your real users – this can effectively be done through one on one discussions with people that fit the criteria of your user persona. This will give you first-hand data on their likes, dislikes, preferences, etc.
Job stories – it sounds complicated, but it really isn’t. This basically means hearing a short yet simple description of a product given to you from the perspective of the person who needs it.
Functionality map – when you collect all the information from the steps above, you can then easily create a functionality map, which is essentially an organized hierarchy of all the pages and subpages in your product. Basically, how or where a user will start on your product to where they will finish. This helps build efficiency.
Wireframes – this is an integral part of any UX. Wireframes are basically visual guidelines or a blueprint if you will, of the product structure that helps mitigate usability issues even before the actual product is released.
Prototyping – this is basically a mock-up of your product. This is used for rigorous testing to ensure the final version that reaches your target audience is flawless and exceeds your client’s expectations.
Usability testing and Quality Assurance – this is also important as in the ever-changing landscape, adaptation is key. This is only possible by constant testing for quality and usability. This ensures your product stays on top of your competition and helps you be an early adapter to new trends.

Conclusion

To sum it all up, we at KeenEye solutions know that the user experience of anything is imperative to its success. They go hand in hand. When it comes to software development, there are ways of staying on top of the game – from the time the software is being ideated to after its release. At the end of the day, if you buy a chocolate bar and the wrapper is an absolute nightmare to break through, people will not buy your product, even if it tastes like it was made by God himself. The same applies here and any good development team will have best practices in place to ensure their software gives its users a great experience.

Works Cited:
(1) Integrating UX into Software Development | 3Pillar Global. https://www.3pillarglobal.com/insights/the-importance-of-integrating-the-user-experience-into-software-development/
(2) The Importance of User Experience (UX) Design in Software Development. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-user-experience-ux-design-software-development-
(3) The Importance Of User Experience (UX) Design In Software Development …. https://www.miraclegroup.com/the-importance-of-user-experience-ux-design-in-software-development/