The UX( User experience) term has been there around for many decades. Today, the UX design process has already become the most crucial component of digital product development. It is the user experience, UX which determines how the consumer, visitor, or employees are interacting with the website, mobile app, or any other type of digital product, whether the system is facilitating the users for finding the information that they are searching for, accomplishing the tasks as well as matching all their expectations or anything else.
The positive user experience encourages trust, and loyalty, leading to credibility, retention of the customer, and higher conversions. On the opposite side, the negative user experience will cause frustration at the same time low customer satisfaction. The UX designers of all levels will strongly benefit from a solid understanding of the UX process. By adopting a well-defined procedure, UX designers can take an innovative idea and can transform the same into a user-friendly interface, capable of meeting the unique needs of the customers.
In this blog post, we will be walking the readers through the UX design process in the convenient-to-follow steps. We will be taking you through the stages of the UX design process, showing the design methodology as well as the various techniques that assist in building functional and elegant digital products.
Also, you will be provided with tips on how best you can execute every step in order to create the interface that your users will simply adore. But first of all, let’s find out what exactly the UX design process is before moving to the next level of determining the steps that are involved:
Overview of UX design process
The UX design process entails a series of steps that the UX/UI designers will adhere to for the creation of the most intuitive, visually appealing, and enjoyable experiences. So, the main goal of the UX design process is to create a digital product that is convenient to utilize and navigate while helping the user successfully reach the goals for example placing order online, using e-booking service, gaining access or manipulating data & others. The UX design process steps comprise the series that the designer is adopting for transforming their unique idea into an intuitive and user-friendly interface. As far as the basics of the UX design process is concerned, it comprises three main stages: analysis, user experience development as well as visual design.
The analysis stage assists the designer team in gaining a better understanding of the future system of the users, their goals, expectations as well as tasks. The user experience development is shaping the future system which exists in the form of black-and-white wireframes, sketches as well as clickable product prototypes. After that, there is visual designing which closes the UX process along with the ready-to-go designs for instance Figma/ Photoshop.
Importance of UX Design Process
As far as the importance of the UX design process is concerned, it assists the designer in creating the exact interfaces that meet the unique needs of the users. Through the adoption of well-defined and systematic UX design process steps, the designer will be able to make sure that all the necessary basics are being covered with the final delivery of interfaces that are intuitive, user-friendly, and effective.
The key participants in the UX design process
The key participants in the UX process who so ever involved in the designing are of course the designers as well as the UX experts. However, the design exists in isolation. Design UX processes are collaborative which is uniting the efforts of the different specialists as well as stakeholders.
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Designers involved in the UX design process
The UX designer takes part in all the UX design process steps Like communication with the digital product owner, and POs for collecting unique requirements, conducting research as well as formulating the most effective user experience design process.
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Project managers as well as business analytics involved in design UX process
The project managers, as well as business analytics, are translating the goals of the project, unique requirements of the business as well and the priorities into the design requirements, taking part in the analysis, assisting with the planning, and organization, facilitating the communication taking place between different team members and ensuring the progress of the project stays on right track.
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Developers & QA specialists involved in the UX process
The developers, as well as the QA specialist, will be participating in the UX design process steps for communicating the technical needs, identification of the limitations, and restrictions along with testing upon the prototypes as well as other versions of the digital projects.
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Involvement of business owners & users in the UX design process
Both the business owners and end users play a centralized role in the process of UX. It is due to the reason that these are the people who are providing the foundation and the initial requirements that they have for their unique project. Moreover, there will be integration of the users in the process of the UX as playing a role of the focus group along with the survey participants. It is the feedback of the focus groups and survey participants that is going to shape the overall UX design and product strategy.
What is done before starting the UX design process?
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Comprehensive analysis before starting UX design process
The UX design process starts with the most comprehensive analysis stage which assists the designers in understanding the needs of the users, and what all their goals & intentions are. At this particular stage, all the most valuable information is collected for the design teams.
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Stakeholder interview for design UX process
By interviewing the stakeholders, information is collected about the business of the clients, its market, the scope of the project as well as the future user of the system. This is going to provide a solid understanding of the unique goals of the project while providing the initial information for the user research, conducting competitor analysis as well as collecting the domain knowledge.
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Competitor analysis and market research for UX process
This is the next task in which the competitor audit as well as the domain research will assist in acquiring insights within the client’s market, assessing the existing solutions, features as well as user journeys.
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User research for UX design
The user research will provide the basic foundation for creating user-centered & empathy-driven design. This evaluation will include some of the common procedures, for example, carrying the user interviews, and focus groups as well as the usage data analytics which provides real-world user feedback.
6 steps UX design process
The UX design process is divided into key stages. Although user experience design process is divided into 6 steps. However, it is not typically taking place in that order and it is crucial to know that the user experience design is an iterative procedure. Within each of the main UX design process steps, several individual tasks are undertaken to improve the user experience within a product, mobile application, service, or website.
Let’s discuss 6 UX design process steps in detail for diving into how the goal of the end user, as well as the business, can be aligned.
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Defining & understanding the product in the UX design process
Defining the product as well as the goal is first among the UX design steps. The ultimate focus of the UX designer at this particular stage is to define how the final product is working out and how it is going to solve the problem of the users. There are interviews of the stakeholders that are carried out and this is serving as a great tactic for getting the project started. This also includes communication with the management across different departments. As such conversations are going to help the US designers in identifying the goals of the business, and users so that they can focus upon creating the UX designs facilitating to hit everything hard.
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Conducting product and user research as a part of the user design process
The next step within the UX design procedure is the identification of the specific user issues along with the problem areas. And this is what is going to facilitate the better creation of the digital product. In this step, UX designer will be trying to find ways to learn about what is required for improvement from the users.
The different types of the researchers which is carried in this UX design step are:
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Qualitative research
This is a type of UX research which is finding numerical insights for example the time which is required for accomplishing a particular task.
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Moderated research
This is a type of research where there is a presence of researcher
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Unmoderated research for UX design process
This is a type of research where there is the absence of a researcher
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Analyzing research results- 3rd UX design step
During this UX design process step, there will be an analysis of the information to highlight the key takeaways from the research. And also how you can utilize the design face for testing the design concepts at the latest stage. It is during this particular User experience design process step, that the designer will be able to identify the pain points. For example, if the user is not able to carry the completion of the task at the time of usability testing, this entails the existence of an issue in the existing design as well as the user interface.
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Designing the ideal product during the UX design process
Now that you have accomplished the heavy lifting part, it is time for you to take action on the insights. Simply be ready to create a new and improved digital product, with features of the user flows. For doing the same, simply take into consideration the creation of wireframes as well as prototypes. This is going to facilitate you to test the designs before putting all your efforts in terms of time and money into the creation.
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Wireframe
The wireframe acts as a visual creation that is developed to represent the skeletal framework of the design of a digital product. This facilitates the designer to have a clear idea about what here she is creating, without actually building up.
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Prototypes
After designing and testing the wireframe, the next step is the creation of the prototype. The prototypes stay close to the final version of the design, facilitating you to test the interaction as well as functionality. At this particular design stage, make sure to keep some of the important UX design principles in mind.
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Testing and making note of findings
This is another crucial stage of the UX design process steps. Through the utilization of the varied user testing methods, the designer will be assisted in validating the design, and understanding whether the insight-driven developments are capable of meeting the user needs or not. Although there are several of the tactics of testing, in case the design is working as it is intended. If in case it is solving the problem it is supposed to. And it is dependent upon the unique needs of the project.
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Iteration & continuation of relevant processes
The research for the UX design process is a never-ending cycle, not simply restricted to the six steps. It is due to the reason that there is always a scope for improvement. Whether the designer is testing similar features/ flows or conducting research for a completely new one, UX design procedure is completely an iterative one. The digital products as well as the users are going to change with time, as the business will grow, and definitely when is intended towards providing extraordinary user experience through the UX design process. However, make sure that every transformation that you are making to your digital product should be always intended towards keeping the users in mind & this is the ultimate goal of the research that is carried out in the UX design process.
Conclusion
The UX design process is very crucial for the creation of functional and sophisticated digital systems. The smart UX design and aesthetically pleasing UI an amazing strategies to attract a user base, and earn loyalty with their successful engagement. Every UX design process step involves a close collaboration between professionals, digital product owners as well as stakeholders. It is one of the most crucial components of the iterative UX design process. Every phase, of the user experience design process ends with the receipt of feedback from the clients, addressing all the comments, putting up all the necessary transformations, and seeking approval before actually going ahead to the next stage.
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Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)
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What is the meaning of the agile UX design process?
The agile UX design process is embracing the most iterative approach towards UX designing, a written effort to continuously improve and refine the end-user experience.
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Why the research phase is so crucial in the UX design process steps?
The research phase is important for building an understanding of the users, their unique requirements as well as the context of the product use. It also informs the design decisions, while at the same time ensuring that the final product meets the end user’s expectations.
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How can the UX design process improve the business outcome?
The UX design will enhance the business outcomes through the improvement in user satisfaction, increasing user engagement and leading to a reduction in errors. This will ultimately increase customer loyalty with a positive brand perception.
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What are some of the most common challenges encountered during the UX design process?
Some of the most common challenges that are faced during the UX design process include the meeting of the user requirements with the unique business goals, addressing diverse personas of users, communication of your design decisions with the teams as well as staying updated with the current and evolving technological trends.
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Is empathy playing any role while following the UX design process steps?
Definitely yes! Empathy plays playing central role in UX design as it entails understanding while putting yourself into the shoes of the end users. So, the UX/UI designers having a strong sense of empathy will lead to the creation of digital products, that will truly resonate with the users addressing the unique needs as well as concerns in an effective manner.
