As a developer, your job is to create brilliant, innovative products that challenge consumers to redefine how they interact with technology on a daily basis.

But, as developers, you are all probably primarily worried about one thing:  Does it work.  Now, there are many ways to address this issue, and many nuances that differentiate the experts from the novices.  Does the product work every time.  Does the product work quickly (that’s a big one).  Does the product work cheaply.  Does it work with lots of data, or just a little bit of data.

One question that doesn’t always get answered:  Does the product engage with it’s audience.  How does the product make its users feel?   Do users feel rewarded after using the product?  Do users feel like they have introduced more order, learned something new, forged novel thoughts and emotions within their life.

Take a second and think of the best products in the marketplace today...  What do you think of?  If you’re a child of the twenty-first century you’re probably thinking of technology and the big three: Apple, Google, Facebook.  Maybe Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix, Hulu.  If you’re thinking of the retail space you might be thinking of Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Nike.  Raising the standards bar a bit you may be thinking of Mercedes, Dolce & Gobana, Warby Parker.  What do all of these products have in common?  Obviously a great brand team and an equal number of talented lawyers to protect their trademark.  What it really boils down to is the time, effort, and money spent on high quality design, user satisfaction, and constant improvements in quality across all aspects of their business.

What is user-centered design?  

“User-centered design means understanding what your users need, how they think, and how they behave — and incorporating that understanding into every aspect of your process.”  

It’s a design philosophy where the user’s needs, wants, and limitations are the primary focus of all design decisions.  It starts with an acknowledgement that YOU and your team are not going to be using this product.  Your users are.

Why is it successful?  The simplest answer:  Happy customers.  When customers are happy, they buy your product, and when they buy your product they give you their money, and when you get their money, you can make more product, and on and on the cycle repeats itself.  More importantly, it reduces failure, increases the value of your product, and creates a team of brand ambassadors that will sell your product for you.

This all sounds great.  Happy users, happy customers, and me making tons of money.  What’s so novel about that?  Let’s dive in here and figure out what it really takes at a practical level to make sure you’ve spent enough effort on UX for your product.  

Before you begin

Before building a product, form a hypothesis on your primary product goals.  Who do I want to attract?  What am I trying to solve?  When are users going to need this product?  Where will this product come in handy?  Why should users chose this product over others?  How is this product making users lives easier?  Once you’ve formed a hypothesis, it’s time to test it.  Conduct market research through surveys, interviews, and focus groups to gather data to confirm or contradict your hypothesis.  Don’t worry if users don’t agree with your hypothesis.  Take this as an opportunity to learn and adjust your thinking.  Study user actions and choices.  Learn how other products are failing to meet user needs.  Finally, prioritize your findings.  You can’t do everything at once, and forming a release order is paramount.  

Testing testing 1,2,3…

Steve Jobs once said “A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them.”  Many times you can’t show a user your product until it has been completed.  This is where the power of the prototype really shines. Prototypes are small interactive portions of an app or website that allow you to put a section of your product in the hands of a user for testing.  In a controlled environment, ask your users to make key decisions that they would have to make while using the product.  Questions like: Where would you go to create an account?  You received an error, what would you do now?  Where do you go to checkout?  Prototypes can be as simple as stacks of paper cards or as high-fidelity as a mobile app.  The choice depends on the capacity of your team and budget.  Good tools include Axure, Pixate, Invision.  These will allow you to track and analyze your design, and make adjustments based on feedback.  If your users are having a hard time getting something done, change the way you approach the feature.  Your market results will thank you.   

Setbacks of User-centered design:

It takes time.  Don’t be afraid to ask for this additional time in your workflow.  We guarantee you’ll make up the difference in saved time after you go to market.   If you’re part of a bigger team, take time to educate your product leads on the importance checking that a product meets user needs as it is being developed.  User testing fits well into Agile project management.  Test after every sprint and adjust during the next sprint.  No matter how you slice it, testing saves time and money by reducing the number of changes that need to be done to a product post-release.  If this is an app, it reduces the number of dissatisfied customers who ask for new features.  

We hope you feel emboldened to explore the wonderful rollercoaster that is user testing.  If you’re a designer, get used to users challenging anything and everything about your design.  It’s a humbling and enlightening experience that will ultimately lead to the most successful version of your product.