User experience (UX) design is something that is not often initially considered in a software product. As a result, it can lead to major changes down the line. In some cases, UX design doesn’t get considered until production and you end up with frustrated customers.
In this post, I’ll be covering why UX design is important for software from the perspective of a software developer.
What Is User Experience Design
The main objective of UX design is to create a frictionless and enjoyable experience for the user. It can boost customer satisfaction by providing better accessibility, usability, and pleasure in the interaction with a product.
User Research Helps Define What the Product Will Be
A software product will only be successful if it is solving for the right problems. Without addressing the correct problems, the software will not be profitable. It gets worse when you factor in the cost of maintaining the software.
How exactly do you find out what problems need to be solved? That’s where user research comes into play. UX researcher carries out research/study to find out the pain points that customers are experiencing. From the research, the focus in what a software product should solve for is defined.
As a software developer, you’ll probably not be involved in this step of a software product. You’re likely to see the result of the research in the form of personas, which gives you a general picture of the type of user for the software you are building.
User Experience Can Help Eliminate Issues
UX related problems caught early helps eliminate potential issues and help save cost. An issue solved at the design stage is far lower cost than during development or production.
In addition, by involving UX at the beginning stage of a software product, it helps ensure that the software is user-centered. Although rare, UX designer can also work alongside quality assurance (QA) to identify usability issues. Software that is user-centered is what is most important at the end of the day.
User Experience Keeps Your Customer Coming Back
Take a moment and think about the software that you use on a daily basis. Why do you choose to use it when there are other alternatives out there? Chances are you are using those software because you find them to give you great user experiences.
Applying that same logic, it makes sense that the software you are creating needs to give that same feeling to your users. So, that means the software needs to meet the expectations of the user and also help them carry out their tasks as painless as possible.
I hope this post was helpful to you. If you found this post helpful, share it with others so they can benefit too.
What are your thoughts about UX design?
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