UX Design is a Maze
When I was four years old, I did things a little differently than people my age.
An example is a maze. My mom was working on a book of mazes and sitting on her lap, I could remember lines upon lines. These lines provided one luminous path, typically found through trial and error, to get from start to finish.
My mom would start navigating from the starting point but kept getting stuck at dead ends. Seeing her frustration, I wanted to help her. To reduce the amount of time we spent working on this maze, I had to look for another way. How could we complete the maze in a short period of time without constantly running into dead ends? My first instinct was to work backwards.
Going backwards in a maze makes it easier to get to the start, the start which will allow you to finish with the least amount of frustration and time. It reduces the effort of going through the maze which can take a long time. Starting backwards allows you to see the bigger picture and the details which follow. You can get so wrapped in the details and intricacies of the maze that you forget the bigger goal which is getting to the finish. The same can be said for UX design. When we focus too much on the details of our product, we can forget the problem we are trying to address or that we are designing for others, not ourselves. It also boggles us down from getting things done such as shipping the product and getting it in front of people.
In UX design, you want to start with the user goal first because it allows you to center your process around designing for them instead of for yourself or the business. Our design decisions are a result of keeping the user’s needs in mind and making sure our rationale aligns with solving for them. Once we decide on what the problem is and who we aim to solve the problem for, it is a matter of moving forward. This can be creating a timeline, defining metrics of success, and principles that encompass how the product will work and look.
Here is what happens when we start with users first:
- Understanding users first allow us to understand their needs in which influence our design decisions.
- We can plan more accordingly with the resources we have now and create steps of action without spending time on meaningless details.
- Our principles and constraints are based on the ideal outcome of what users would want to see. This also includes our vision of the product and how we want users to interact with it.
- We are easily able to navigate through a broad problem space because we know what users want in the beginning instead of building something based on only assumptions.
- Less roadblocks and assumptions behind who we design for which results in products people will use and interact with.
- Trust because we (should) care for the people we are helping.
To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now so that the steps you take are always in the right direction. — Stephen R. Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
There may be times when we get stuck or we question whether our efforts are making a (humane) impact for the world. When the going gets tough, always remember that the answers we may be looking for are from the people we are so desperately trying to help because that’s what designers do. Our job is to imagine the possibilities and other ways of getting there. There isn’t only one way of solving the maze.
Check out my Skillshare Course on UX research and learn something new!
To help you get started on owning your design career, here are some amazing tools from Rookieup, a site I used to get mentorship from senior designers:
- Build a portfolio with help from an experienced designer
- Essential tools to strengthen and build your portfolio
- Take control of your time and career by becoming a freelancer
- Tips and tricks to get an amazing design job
Links to some other cool reads:
