The term UX design was coined in the 1990s by Don Norman, the father of the field, who is a cognitive psychologist and designer. Here’s how he describes it: “User experience encompasses all aspects of the end-user’s interaction with the company, its services, and its products.” Companies all around the world have made use of UX Design techniques to create delightful products as well as meet business goals. In this article, we'll be going over the UX Design process and the steps involved
So what exactly is the UX Design Process?
The UX Design Process is an iterative guide for creating solutions that meet user needs. Depending on the organization, each step may have a different name. These procedures are offered to help designers and design teams create their processes for creating solutions.
To improve the user experience of a product, app, service, or website, there are specific steps you can take in each stage of the UX design process. You can customize the design process to fit your company's needs.
There are six major steps involved in the UX Design Process:
Define (your final product and goals)
Research (on real users)
Analyze (all the information you’ve collected)
Design (the improved user experience)
Test (if your design works)
Iterate (repeat the process)
Define (your final product and goals)
What is the purpose of this product?
Who is the target audience?
What issues will it address?
During the first phase, it is crucial to identify precisely what needs to be developed and the reason behind it. These discussions typically occur through stakeholder meetings where product designers establish a fundamental approach that aligns with the overall business strategy.
Following this initial meeting, you will most likely receive a list of specifications and a basic concept sketch to work from. This provides a basic outline to move forward with the next step.
Research (on real users)
As a designer, conducting thorough research is essential. The design team analyzes how the current system works for the client's proposal. There are three main objectives during this stage:
• Understanding the competition.
• Conducting a comprehensive study of the existing domain.
• Reviewing competitor strategies to assess potential outcomes.
During the research phase, UX designers conduct several types of research, including:
User research: Studies the target user to understand who they are, what they need, and what context they operate; the outcome of this research is user personas, journey maps, and so on.
Market research: Analyzes the market to determine market segmentation and product differentiation.
Competitive research: A competitive analysis to understand how competitors solve similar problems and identify opportunities.
Product research: Analyzing insights and analytics from an existing product to understand user behaviour.
Analyze (all the information you've collected)
During this phase, designers use the information they gathered in the research stage to plan how they will meet users' needs. They create user personas, user stories, wireframes, and other high-level plans. Designers also consider how the product will be built and what technologies will be needed. They develop a roadmap for the project and set up milestones to track progress.
Design (the improved user experience)
During the design process, our ideas come to life. This is the phase where the final graphics are created by the design team. The outcomes of this phase are significant and include sketching, wireframing, creating prototypes, and designing specifications.
Sketching is the first step in the designing phase. Designers typically create hand-drawn sketches to visualize the concept in simple terms. UX/UI designers can then choose a particular option after the sketching process.
Wireframes are visual structures that depict the page hierarchy and elements of the product. They are considered the backbone of the design, also known as the skeleton of the product. The focus is mostly on the overall look of the final product.
Prototypes concentrate on the feel of the UI/UX product. They are more about the interaction experience and give you the effect of a simulator.
Design specifications include user flow and task flow diagrams. They depict the overall working and style requirements of the UI/UX product. The processes and graphical elements are described to create amazing user experiences.
Test (if your design works)
One of the most critical stages in the UX design process is validating your design and ensuring that your insight-driven developments meet your user's needs.
You can achieve this by using various user testing methods. Several testing methods can help you determine if your design works as intended and solves the problems it's supposed to solve.
The testing methods you use will depend on your project needs. For instance, if you focused your UX research on enhancing your site's information architecture, you likely created wireframes in the previous step. Presenting these wireframes to users will help you evaluate how easily they can navigate through them.
Iterate (repeat the process)
Once a product, whether it's a website, app, or another digital product, is launched, the design process doesn't end there. Instead, it's a continuous cycle that involves repeating the process as users interact with and provide feedback on the product.
The objective is to continuously enhance the user experience by making small changes and refinements over time. Consistently iterating on the design guarantees that the product remains user-friendly and relevant to the target audience for many years to come.
The end result?
Simply put, the design process should result in an improved product experience that is easy to implement and meets user needs.
Conclusion
We have completed the UX design process, but it's worth noting that testing may uncover insights that require further iteration. The design process is a cycle that can be repeated as needed to improve your project. In conclusion, communication and collaboration are essential elements of the UX design process. Work closely with team members and communicate regularly with stakeholders. Ensure that the design aligns with the project's goals and objectives to create usable solutions. Remember that this process is only a guide, and you can adapt it according to your product, budget, and team.