Hi & welcome to the first post introducing you to the world of User Experience and the start of our K.I.S.S. - Experience Design Series.
No, do not worry. We are only getting to know each other, and I appreciate some boundaries as well. However, K.I.S.S. is a Design Principle and short form of Keep it simple, Stupid.
The digital world is full of words, often on blogs. Some are even written by bots and since I care about the planet #planetcentreddesignand #sustainability – I do not aim to add more unnecessary Co2 emissions while positing random duplicated articles into the world wide web.
So, I will try to keep it short and sweet, which is actually quite challenging for a very detail-loving person like me.
Fun Fact – Did you know that the cloud has been measured creating a bigger carbon footprint than the airline industry with around 3.7% [2023] and are obviously on a raise considering our digital lifestyle these days? 1
Consider this brief “sidenote” as a hint for a sustainable webdesign series to come in the future. ;-)
But let’s get back to the main topic now.
In short and according to my adorable lecture notes from the UX Design Institute that are kept simply stupid.
It combines functional, aesthetic & experience design and is very human centred.
To me it is all about understanding human beings, their dreams, goals, frustrations as best as possible and designing solutions creatively to leverage positive emotions. Even though negative experiences can barely be avoided 100%, the goal should be to keep these at a bare minimum.
Negative experiences overwrite everything and have a multiplier effect.
From a Business Case perspective, it can support you to:
How do you feel about stable revenue, being able to build reserves and paying everyone fairly?
Feel free to answer that quietly or write it on random sheet of paper right now.
Research is like our little detective helping us to understand the problem whereas design is helping us to define a solution. Yeah, keep it simple, stupid.
Finally, and luckily, it is an iterative process and provides space for re-adjustments and improvements.
First of all, UX is everywhere. Some of the knowledge in this post might remind you on your marketing classes as there are some overlaps considering the starting point of an experience to the end point.
How someone finds your business can start at a networking event [personal experience], a flyer, positive word of mouth, a social post and also contain your billing processes, tone of voice, communication, etc.. later on. Consider this all as small mosaics, that are puzzling and presenting the bigger picture a.k.a. your overall reputation and experiences.
While your website might serve as your digital menu / business card / presence, which is a very important digital hub potential clients are returning to at various stages, the previous and subsequent steps are just as important.
Since you might have already been hearing the revenue bell in the previous part, let’s look into the following short story to understand the various points and details.
Imagine you are entering a very appealing restaurant you have found a promising looking flyer in a modern coffee place. You have recently achieved a great professional goal and thought this place would be a great opportunity to treat yourself.
While you are entering the restaurant the look might be as appealing as the flyer, but there is this certain weird smell close to your table and the waiter does not seem so happy about serving you. The food is surprisingly nice even though the smell is still impairing the experience, and the waiter only seems to shine up brightly once it is time to receive the check [and the tip].
Look: Flyer & Restaurant+ Food Presentation 8/10
Feel: Smell and weird waiter 04/10
Mathematical overall experience: 6/10
Perceived overall experience: 4-5/10
Finally, you might not want to return as despite the still surprisingly nice food, the overall experience was a bit questionable, and you felt you could have received a better value for your money elsewhere.
[The End of the Front End]
Now, this was only showcasing the front of the stage considering the experience to the guest. If you are imagining a huge theatre right now, you might be aware there is so much more happening behind the stage. Let’s sneak behind the curtain.
[Welcome Backstage]
The waiter is not only a functioning servant in this sample. The waiter is also a human being acting in the role of a waiter working as an employee at this restaurant. Therefore, they also have needs to take care of their job.
Looking behind the curtain, it turned out that the waiter was not paid yet due to an internal HR System issue and they also felt slightly sick being in this smelly environment for a while. The latter was not fixed yet as the waiter was continuously occupied answering phone calls for reservation requests, welcoming new guests, serving current guests and running between tables and the kitchen. Secondly, neither the kitchen chef, who was also busy preparing meals, nor the steward, who was busy supporting the hygienical factors in the kitchen felt capable or responsible to find out where this bizarre smell is coming from.
None of the employees had information handy who to call as the manager was currently out of town and there was no information in the back office or guiding manuals for certain situations occurring.
Since all of them were still quite new, a functioning, collaborative team culture was not really in place [yet] as all participants felt like the team of one, surviving their own duties daily and being the star of their own impro theatre* show.
Impro[visational] Theatre: For those who do not know "impro theatre" – this is an improvisational theatre, unscripted, raw and created very spontaneously by the performers. So, absolutely no routine.
The story above should be a reminder that we are all human beings. We all have needs in certain situations to carry out a task to solve a problem | fullfil a need | achieve a goal.
The guest was in most cases hungry and looking for food, but also caring about a special dining experience to treat themselves after a recent professionally achieved milestone. This is another disappointing factor as this experience might have now ruined the wish to celebrate a personal achievement. This can feel almost like wasting calories on sugar ordering a cake that does not taste.
The waiter was in most cases in need of money to be able to pay their bills, also working according to their strengths and having tools and processes in place to carry out their role, which is serving guests in the most welcoming and quickest way with as much attention to detail as possible. They are also aware and afraid of their own individual reputation not being able to serve as they would like to due to external factors outside of their control
Finally, let’s add a classic simply stupid short user story template here, which is a common agile tool.
As a [WHO], I want [WHAT | Intention], so that I can do [WHY | Value]
As a Business Owner you want to attract paying guests, so that you can serve them your [product | skill | strength] to create a [positive experience | value] to your customers, which will ideally follow a positive reputation increasing your number of guests and revenue allowing you to keep re-investing in your skills, business development, improving services, while ensuring you can also pay your bills and employees, who also feel appreciated.
I am skipping any further references to maslow’s hierarchy of needs for now ;-).
Nevertheless, consider all of the events above as a bigger inter- connected circle of experiences for various participants in this process. They all work together hand in hand.
User Experience is a research-based discipline solving problems considering functional, aesthetical and experience design aiming to leverage your business [revenue] with happier clients, employees and business owners.
I personally prefer to call it Experience Design as I am not focusing on a “user” only. A "user" to me would be bringing us back to the origins of software development connecting the dots between humans and machines #Hello #HumanComputerInteraction.
However, depending on your business you might have most of your processes digitally, but still other physical experiences. Therefore, I prefer the term experience design as it is expanding beyond the human vs technology part.
Overall, keeping the theatre scenario in mind and that all of your performances should barely involve improvisation, but be consistent #Hello #DesignPrinciple.
1.) Happy Clients
2.) Happy Employees
3.) Happy CEO
4.) Happy Revenue
5.) Happy Return on Investment
6.) Promising looking business development plan
7.) Happy Growth
8.) Standing out from the crowd in a competitive market
1.) Average Clients
2.) Average Employees
3.) Average CEO
4.) Average Revenue
5.) Average to low Return on Investment
6.) Almost no budget for development
7.) Almost no growth
8.) Becoming the sinking ship in a competitive market
Quick Question: Does your current market allow you to be average?
K.I.S.S. – Keep it simple, stupid.
User Story – As a [WHO], I want to [WHAT], so that I can do [WHY]
If we want to become romantic here right now and align with the cheesy K.I.S.S. principle, it can almost act like the circle of love returning what you invest into it <3.
On that #cheesypeasylemonqueezynote, start acknowledging all the little details and mosaics of your business. Every piece of the experience matters and yes, orchestrating an awesome performance considering all stakeholders takes time and effort. It is about wearing multiple heads, being empathetic and creating excellent processes and systems that support various needs and tasks to be done as best and efficient as possible.
Last but not least, it always puts the user at the centre.
Let me know what you think and feel free to contact me for any questions.
REFERENCES
1 https://britishchamberdubai.com/news-details/3413
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200305-why-your-internet-habits-are-not-as-clean-as-you-think
https://ourworldindata.org/global-aviation-emissions
https://www.oneninenine.agency/articles/the-cloud-now-has-a-greater-carbon-footprint-than-the-airline-industry