by Pritam Hasbanis
5 Tenets of User Experience — Part-1
With more than 15 years of experience in the ever-changing field of user experience and design, I’ve polished my skills to combine creativity, empathy, and new ideas in a way that works for end-users of the product.
As someone who really cares about understanding what users want and a history of making solutions that are easy to use and have a problem solving impact, I love making digital experiences that really connect with users.
Here is the first of a set of five tenets I came up with based on my experience:
TENET 1:
Delightful Product User
“User experience is every connection a customer has with a business, whether it be through marketing materials, customer support calls, or the product or service itself.”
Zappos!
Zappos promoted interaction with customers in a personalized way to make them feel heard and understood. Unlike many other companies that seek to reduce the number of phone calls or engage customers with the chatbot, at Zappos, phone calls are considered to be the key to building lasting relationships with customers.
TENET 2:
Delightful Product User
“A user experience belongs to the users. Do keep users pains and gains at the centre, the user experience process has to be a continuously evolving process.”
Netflix!
Netflix has made significant investments to improve recommendation algorithms, personalization, and content discovery in order to improve the user experience. Certain features, such as adaptive streaming, offline viewing, and personalization, were developed after user behavior patterns were identified.
TENET 3:
Use experts to conduct usability audits
“By using a specialist usability audit agency or expert to conduct usability audits, usability bloopers in the product can be found and fixed, ultimately improving the user experience.”
Uber!
Uber periodically carries out usability audits to enhance the ride-hailing platform’s user experience, focusing on aspects like ride selection, payment procedures, and driver communication.
TENET 4:
Design that is accessible is good design.
“Inclusivity and accessibility are essential to the user experience. These aspects ensure that the product, service, and environment are usable and accessible to people of all abilities and characteristics.”
Apple!
Apple is renowned for its dedication to accessibility and inclusivity across all of its product line-up like iPhone, iPad, Macbook, Apple Watch with features like VoiceOver (screen reader), Switch Control (assistive touch), Magnifier (digital magnifying glass) for users with visual, auditory, motor and cognitive disabilities.
Here are some of the most widely recognized guidelines, including:
TENET 5:
Good information architecture means well-defined navigation
“The user is burdened by a digital product’s trivial navigation system. Ensure that user is able to locate the information they seek or complete their tasks in an most efficient manner.”
Airbnb!
Airbnb’s booking platform is known for its intuitive navigation and user-friendly interface, with clear calls-to-action, quick access to essential features, an intuitive card-based layout, streamlined search and filtering options, and a straightforward booking process that guides users through each step.
To wrap up, I want to stress how important the user experience is and how it affects our everyday lives. As we move through the wide range of situations and objects that are always changing around us, let’s go into each one with an open mind, an appreciation for how unique it is, and the potential to keep learning from it.