Unpacking the UX design process

UX design, or user experience design, is a crucial component of software development. Its purpose is to make technology more intuitive and easier for people to use, ensuring that users have a positive experience with the product.

In this blog post, we'll unpack the UX design process here at Airteam and explain the meaning behind the method.

What is UX design?

At its core, UX design is about improving the user experience. Our Head of UX Nick Simpson explains, "UX is really about making things better for people, understanding how to inform a design process and then using that design process to reduce frustration and provide positive impact. We want to make things more intuitive to use and to ensure that whoever is using our designs is having a great experience."

The role of UX design in software development can’t be overstated. It informs the development process to ensure that the product meets the needs of both users and businesses.

The UX design process

Nick details the steps in the Airteam UX design process.

1. Establish intent: The first step in successful UX is making sure that you’re asking the right questions to solve the right problem with the right people.
2. Research: This stage involves looking at users and their context, and the surrounding landscape (whether digital or otherwise) in which you're designing.
3. Ideation: This is where you start taking ideas or problems and deconstructing them such that you can then formulate a direction that makes sense to that problem's context.
4. Design: Once you've broken down and informed your problem space, that's when you should be at a point where you've got enough context and ideas to be able to create some tangibility in the form of designs and interaction flow. We’ll progress from early-stage sketches right through to high fidelity visuals and interactive prototypes in these design explorations.
5. User testing: This is the process of validation - testing things out, asking questions of people and seeing whether the designs that we produce make sense, and work to their full potential.
6. Handover: This leads into the software development phase of a project to ensure that it gets built to the ideals that we've designed it with. We try to involve developers as early as we can in our process to make this transition easier, and give them the opportunity to raise ideas and concerns early on.

Here at Airteam we follow a clearly defined process which we’ve developed over time, and are constantly working to refine and evolve. Drawing from methodologies such as human-centred design, lean UX and agile development, our process can be adapted to fit any project, and is founded on collaboration. Depending on requirements, sections of this process can be implemented separately, or we can follow the full lifecycle.

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Tips for successful UX design

There are tonnes of best practises to keep in mind while developing an effective UX design process. Some of the most important ones, like those listed below help ensure that the final design satisfies user needs, successfully resolves issues, and is genuinely practical to implement.

Talk to people

The absolute key to any user experience process is the involvement of users and stakeholders in the design process. Talking to people and collaborating with them can help you better understand their needs, expectations, and preferences. By involving users and stakeholders, you can create a design that meets their requirements and solves their problems.

Collaborate

Another important tip is to avoid siloing yourselves away during the design process. Designing something without involving anyone can result in a design that does not meet user requirements or solve the problem it was intended to address. Collaboration and feedback are essential to ensure that everyone is aligned.

Conduct user testing

Testing the design to see if it actually works is critical to creating a successful experience. By putting the design in front of people and getting their opinions, responses, and reactions, you can identify any areas that need improvement and make necessary changes.

Involve developers early

Lastly, involving developers as early on as possible can help you create a design that is not only user-friendly but also feasible to develop. By giving developers an idea of what you are designing, why you are designing it, and how you intend for it to function, you can ensure that the design is developed as intended and meets user requirements.

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Common mistakes to avoid in the UX design process

While there are several tips to follow when creating a successful UX design, it is equally important to be aware of the common mistakes that can negatively impact your end product. Some of the common mistakes to avoid include:

Neglecting user needs

It is easy to get caught up in creating a design that looks good, but the ultimate goal of UX design is to create a product that meets user needs. Ignoring user requirements can result in a design that is ineffective or irrelevant.

Nick explains, "One of the most common mistakes is when people don't talk to users. They think they know what the users want, but they haven't actually gone out and tested it. It's really important to talk to users and understand their needs."

Ignoring the importance of user testing

User testing is critical to identifying any design flaws and making necessary changes. Ignoring user testing can result in a product that doesn't meet user needs or expectations.

Focusing on design over experience

Sometimes designers try to add too many features or elements to a design, making it difficult for users to focus on what's important and leading to confusion and frustration. Alternately, designers can lose focus on the core problem of solving a user need and instead concentrate on design trends that may not solve problems in the right way.

Nick elaborates, “At the end of the day, designing something flashy and overly ‘designed’ might have a beautiful product outcome. But if people can't use it, you're failing your audience.”

Failing to involve stakeholders

Collaborating with stakeholders throughout the design process is critical to ensuring that the design meets everyone's expectations and requirements – those of the business as well as users. Failing to involve stakeholders can lead to misaligned expectations and a design that doesn't meet the needs of everyone involved.

Forgetting accessibility

A design that is not user-friendly or difficult to navigate can be frustrating for users, which can lead to low adoption rates and negative reviews.

Usability and accessibility are key considerations throughout the process here at Airteam, Nick explains “Accessibility is a big one. Accessibility is something that we try and bake in right from the start of a project. It is underlying to our process, and something that we make sure that we're taking into consideration.”

By being aware of these common mistakes and actively working to avoid them, you can increase your chances of creating a successful UX design that meets user needs, is user-friendly, and satisfies all stakeholders involved.

Successful UX design process

Developing a clear UX design process that follows best practices is essential to the development of a user-friendly and intuitive end product. It is an iterative process that involves several steps, including research, ideation, design, user testing, and handover. Following best practices for UX design, such as involving users, collaborating, and testing the design, can help businesses create successful products.

At Airteam, we champion good UX design in software development. Our team of UX designers have helped hundreds of businesses develop engaging digital solutions that meet their goals. You can read about them in our case studies.

Or, if you would like to learn more about how we could help your UX design process, we’d be happy to chat. You can book a call here.

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