The Elements of User Experience: User-centered Design for the Web and Beyond

User experience is the the experience the product creates for the people who use it in the real world. It is beyond function and aesthetics: it is about ensuring these work in the context of what the user is trying to accomplish, and the context of the rest of the product.

Why user experience is important:

  1. It affects conversion, which determines revenue
  2. It affects efficiency
  3. It affects employees’ job satisfaction

The elements of user experience are:

Element Description
The Surface Plane Sensory experience created by the product
The Skeleton Plane
  • Information Design: the presentation of information in a way that facilitates understanding
  • Interface Design: thet arranging of elements to enables users to interact with the functionality of the system
  • Navigation design: the set of screen elements that allow the user to move through the information architecture
    		•
    The Structure Plane Creating a structured experience for the user:
  • Interaction Design: In terms of performing and completing tasks
  • Information Architecture: In terms of conveying information
    		•
    The Scope Plane
  • Functionality: the feature set
  • Content: required elements
    		•
    The Strategy Plane
  • Product Objectives: What do we want to get out of this product?
  • User Needs: What do our users want to get out of it?
    		•

    The biggest takeaway was more of a reminder than a novel idea: always focus on the key objectives and value proposition of the product for every decision made.

    A quote on archaic methods that are still being operated today:

    Resist the temptation to gloss over the fundamental user experience issues of the project in the name of saving time or money. On some projects, someone will thoughtfully tack on some form of user experience evaluation to the very end of the process—long after the time to actually address those issues has run out…Some organizations favor this approach, calling it “user acceptance testing.” The word acceptance is very telling here—the question is not whether they like the product or will use the product, but rather can they accept the product?