The importance of the user experience with products increases with the amount of competition in the industry. When a particular brand has a monopoly on its industry and market, it may not feel the need to create the most user-friendly product. But as soon as competition arrives, the experience of the user becomes more important than ever because if a customer prefers the usability of product A over product B, given that both products are similar in price and features, the customer is likely going to buy product A.
In the era of smart technology, the question of usability is no longer solely focused on the physical portion of the product. The complex products of today need to create an enjoyable, stress-free experience both on the hardware side of things and on the software portion. Part of the reason Apple (News - Alert) products soared in popularity was due to the sleek, modern look of their physical products and the clean, user-friendly interface of their computers and mobile devices.
How do manufacturers today gain the leading position in their market? They prioritize both the user experience or UX in both their hardware and software. This requires two UX design teams working closely with the other stakeholders in product development.
How UX Design Relies on Customer Research
Smart devices need to have a smooth user experience in their shape, design, and size in the physical world and need to operate in a way that the target audience finds simple to use. It doesn’t matter how beautiful a product looks; if the design is not user-friendly, customers are not going to use it or buy it in the first place. This applies to both hardware and software.
A smart home system with a tiny digital display that makes it difficult to read the settings will frustrate customers, no matter how many great features it offers. Likewise, a sleek home security camera system may have hardware that’s easy to install, but if the software does not configure easily for the average user, the customer will become frustrated by the complexity.
How to Reach the Customers
Most product development teams closely partner with their company’s customer success teams. The data gathered by these teams provide valuable information for the designers, based on complaints users have about their experience using a product and the things they love most about using the product. Reviewing the feedback gathered by these teams is one way your UX designers can get feedback.
Another way to hear directly from the end user is to run tests using prototypes of the product and trial users who provide detailed feedback. This stage is very useful for UX designers to interact directly with the customer and gain insight that even the customer may not be aware of. Knowing the right questions to ask a test user is an essential skill of being a UX designer. The most successful companies value feedback from their consumers and take the time to research, test, and modify until they have a great product to launch.
Tracking Customer Behaviours
On the software side of things, UX designers of digital products have an advantage in that they can use digital tools to gain feedback from users. While using your mobile device, you’ve likely encountered a permission setting on your apps to send feedback to the developer regarding your usage. This feedback helps the developers and UX designers see how you’re using their product and where there are opportunities to make your experience better. You may also receive prompts to report any errors or issues to the developer. This is another method that digital UX designers gather, track, and manage opportunities to improve their work.
The UX Design of Hardware Vs. Software
With the increasing integration of software into hardware products, it is more common for product management teams to work with both UX designers for the physical portion of the product and UX designers for the software side of the product. Both user experiences are essential to get right and require different training and experience.
Using a cell phone as an example, one team will be in charge of creating the hand-held experience of the phone, while the other design team will be in charge of the software experience. Will consumers be able to find what they’re looking for on the home screen? Are there options to filter blue light, personalize settings, or other in-demand features?
Timelines for UX Design Milestones
The designs of the hardware have a more cyclical timeline for their work. In the case of new products, they must create their prototypes, incorporate insights from customer research, then present, research, and perfect their models until they have their final design. Once it’s ready for production, they will continue to research performance in the market and that of the competition to find improvements for the next physical product launch.
Software teams, on the other hand, have ongoing timelines as long as the life of that product is supported by the company. This means they can correct problems that customers encounter with the software while keeping the same physical product in their hands. Not only does this increase the customer’s satisfaction with the product, but it can also allow UX designers to test a new feature with existing clients before launching and promoting it with a new physical product.
Bringing Everything Together Within Product Management
Companies that prioritize UX design and integrate the design process well within the product roadmap often excel at the entire product operations process. The product managers in these companies are masters of communication, data analysis, and stakeholder engagement. They also use innovative tools to keep everyone connected in a central location with one source of truth to ensure alignment on product goals from the engineering phase to the UX design phase and beyond.
The continued expansion of smart technology will require close collaborations between product designers, engineers, and UX designers if companies want to remain or become leaders in their markets.
