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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008) |
user experience design is a subset of the field of experience design which pertains to the creation of the architecture and interaction models which impact a user's perception of a device or system. The scope of the field is directed at affecting "all aspects of the user’s interaction with the product: how it is perceived, learned, and used." [1]
Contents |
The user experience
user experience design, most often abbreviated UX, but sometimes UE, is a term used to describe the overarching experience a person has as a result of their interactions with a particular product or service, it's delivery, and related artifacts, according to their design. As with its related term, User Interface Design, prefixing “User“ associates it primarily with digital media, especially interactive software. It most commonly refers to the result of a planned integration of software design, business, and psychology concerns. It can apply to the result of any interaction design. Voice User Interface (VUI) systems, for instance, are frequently mentioned as a type of user interface that can lead to a poor user experience.
For a more generalized usage, which can include reference to physical environments, see experience design.
The designers
This field has its roots in human factors and ergonomics, a field that since the late 1940s has been focusing on the interaction between human users, machines and the contextual environments to design systems that address the user's experience. [2] The term also has a more recent connection to user-centered design principles and also incorporates elements from similar user-centered design fields:
- Human computer interaction
- Information architecture
- Interaction design
- Interface design
- User interface design
- Usability
- Usability engineering
- Visual design
As with the fields mentioned above, user experience design is a highly multi-disciplinary field, incorporating aspects of psychology, anthropology, computer science, graphic design, industrial design and cognitive science. Depending on the purpose of the product, UX may also involve content design disciplines such as communication design, instructional design, or game design. The subject matter of the content may also warrant collaboration with a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on planning the UX from various backgrounds in business, government, or private groups.
The design
user experience design incorporates most or all of the above disciplines to positively impact the overall user experience a person has with a particular interactive system, and it's provider. user experience design most frequently defines a sequence of interactions between a user (individual person) and a system, designed to meet or support user needs and goals, primarily, while also satisfying systems requirements and organizational objectives.
Typical outputs include:
- Flows and Navigation Maps
- User stories or Scenarios
- Persona (Fictitious users to act out the scenarios)
- Wireframes (screen blueprints or storyboards)
- Prototypes (For interactive or in-the-mind simulation)
- Written specifications (describing the behavior or design)
- Graphic mockups (Precise visual of the expected end result)
Benefits
user experience design is integrated into software development and other forms of application development in order to inform feature requirements and interaction plans based upon the user's goals. New introduction of software must keep in mind of the dynamic pace of technology advancement and the need for the change. The benefits associated to integrating these design principles include:
- Reducing excessive features which miss the needs of the user
- Improving the overall usability of the system
- Expediting design and development through detailed and properly conceived guidelines
- Incorporating business and marketing goals while catering to the user
See also
- Human factors
- Software development process
- User-centered design
- Software engineering
- User expectations
- Customer experience
- User Interface Design
References
- ^ Donald Norman: Invisible Computer: Why Good Products Can Fail, the Personal Computer Is So Complex and Information Appliances Are the Solution. MIT Press. 1999, ISBN 978-0262640411
- ^ Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. HFES History.
Further reading
- Donald Norman: The Design of Everyday Things, ISBN 978-0-465-06710-7
- user experience design for Working Web Sites and Applications Sisler, Paul and Catherine Titta, STC Proceedings, 2001
- What Is user experience design? - Montparnas, LLC
- elements of user experience - Jesse James Garrett - User experience applied to web sites
- user experience design - Semantic Studios
External links
 |
The external links in this article may not follow Wikipedia's content policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links. |
- User Experience: Our Definition by Nielsen Norman Group.
- user experience design by Peter Morville.
- IBM Design: What is user experience design?
- User Experience: An Introduction
- Usability.
- Human Factors.
- Usability Professionals Association.
Article keywords: elements of user experience,
