The User Interface design is something most people won't notice... unless it's done badly.
A software developer will build an interface in the easiest way to code it, a graphic designer will design it to be beautiful, and a user will produce something which is ideal for them, but not necessarily the person sitting at the next desk. So this is
where the User Experience (UX) designer comes in.
Being a UX designer is often a job in its own right, and it certainly requires some skill. But more often it falls to the Product Manager. What is important is:
- It is someone's responsibility (otherwise it will be the developer by default)
- They understand the capabilities of the technology in use, and the implications on development time.
- They understand the requirements of the project
- They understand how the user will use the system.
- It is considered from the outset of the project
The UX designer will always have a lively relationship with developers and designers, as they are invariably asking them to compromise the purity of their disciplines for the sake of user experience. However it is perhaps the most important role of the three
- the end product is what matters.
For example
I am reminded of my experience with Laser Ticketing. Following the enormous success of their Ticketwriter product, we were presented with the challenge of producing the next generation of applications. The original Ticketwriter was much loved by users and
business managers, and so the challenge was to make a better product. As the technical lead I oversaw the development team, designed the solution architecture and had a substantive role in agreeing the feature set.
Well the outcome was a technical marvel, beautifully crafted and coded with fastidious attention to detail. The overall output was good, the features well researched and implemented and the application executed its functions quickly.
It was quite a shock therefore, when the beta-testers were critical;
"it's too complicated" some said, others complained it was
"too slow".
Well it has to be more complicated, it delivers more... or does it?
Over the next few weeks we met with all the beta test clients and I gained some of the most important experience of my career. As developers we had focused on the areas we considered important; database design, good coding, input validation, multi-user architecture
etc. However, the problem was we hadn't put any attention into the user experience. In fact we never gave it a second thought - we understood the program so why wouldn't others...?
The outcome of the beta-test process was clear (which in itself is a blessing) the complaints about the program being "too slow" really meant it took the users too long to get from one screen to another to do what they needed to, and the wealth of options
and features we had added to this product were great, but not always needed - so the users perceived them as unnecessary complication.
Back to the drawing board - we knew the underlying application was good, we just needed to make it easier for people to use.Sounds simple doesn't it? - it's not!
We had to design an interface intuitive enough for inexperienced users to understand easily, straight-forward enough for experienced users to use quickly, had easy access to the advanced features when they were required and didn't hinder the process when
they weren't.
Well it took a lot of work, discussion, studying other products - particularly those with great UX, lots of sketching out ideas and yet more beta-testing, but the end result was worth it.
The experience of this process stuck with me, and I have never under-estimated the importance of the user experience in a project again.