User Experience (UX) - Explained
What is User Experience?
Written by J. Mance Gordon
Updated at April 21st, 2024
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What is User Experience (UX)?
The International Organization for Standardization defines User Experience (UX) as, a persons perceptions and responses resulting from the use and or anticipated use of a product, system or service. According to the ISO, the user experience includes users emotions, beliefs, perceptions, physical and psychological responses, preferences, behaviors or accomplishments happened before, during and after the use of a product or service.
UX is a major consideration when designing software and websites.
Why is User Experience Important?
According to the ISO, there are three factors that impact the user experience -system properties, the user's current state, previous experience, and the context to use.
Peter Morville, a designer and information architect developed a tool called honeycomb to explain various facets of user experience design. According to honeycomb, the seven user experience factors are:
(i) Useful. A product or service introduced in the market has to be useful for the customers. If a product or service doesnt fulfill a need or wish of the customers, then theres no purpose of the product.
(ii) Usable. A product or service needs to be readily usable by its users. The system of the product needs to be simple and easy to use. Understanding the process of using the product needs to be easy and hassle-free.
(iii) Desirable. A product, service or system need to be visually appealing to the customers. The visual aesthetics including the image, identity, brand and other design elements are used for making it attractive to the users.
(iv) Findable. Information needs to be easily navigable and findable. If the user faces any problem the solution needs to be easily locatable.
(v) Accessible. The products or services need to be accessible to all kinds of users including the people with disabilities. It should be designed in a way that enables the people of disabilities to have the same user experience as others.
(vi) Credible. The company and its products need to credible and trustworthy. The company should provide truthful information to users to earn credibility.
(vii) Valuable. The products or services must deliver some value to its users. Using the product or service should be beneficial to them.