Essential Lessons When Creating UX Design
As designers, we are always looking for ways to improve our designs and increase our products' usability. This can't be easy at times, as it is not always easy to know what users want or need. To help us with this challenge, we need to run a small usability study on our product prototypes. In this blog post, we'll outline five critical takeaways from conducting usability tests.
1. It Requires Teamwork
Usability Tests require an enormous scope of things to prepare before the actual implementation. They include goal formulation, participant recruitment, materials development and preparation, the test itself, and post-test tasks.
Another component is to set up a user testing lab so your team can work together while running tests on participants. This area should have two computers with internet access logged into the same system and all mockups or prototypes you plan to test.
With all these necessary preparations, having several eyes and hands working on the project is a definite plus.
2. There's Always Something to Learn
One of the essential aspects of testing your design work in an actual environment with users is seeing how they interact. This provides you with invaluable data and offers insight into what needs to be changed or improved before releasing it for public use.
Thus, data must be tracked and recorded not to forget or miss something.
3. Focus On Things That Matter in The Business, Too
The best way for a designer or developer to learn more about their project and find new ways of doing things is by testing with live users in a natural environment.
When conducting usability tests, it's necessary to look at one's improvement as a team, but it's also essential to find the gaps in the test shows and your business goals. It's not enough to fix what the test tells you is broken, but also how it can fit into your company.
4. Practice Honesty
In looking at your usability test results, you must be honest about the good, the bad, and what's not working. The more open you get with your team about these problems, the better they can find solutions for them promptly.
You can also include this when dealing with your teammates in UX Design. It might be difficult to tell someone their idea is wholly off-base or that flaws exist within it, but if something isn't going right then, there needs to be addressed. Providing them with honest feedback offers benefits for the team, such as ensuring they are on the right track.
5. Remember That You Can Always Improve
Any product that undergoes usability tests is a result of years and sometimes decades of effort. Thus, it's essential to keep in mind that you can constantly improve even if they turn out not perfect.
In many ways, this is what design for the internet has been about since its inception: continuously trying new things and seeing how they work out while learning from your mistakes along the way. It can be discouraging when something goes wrong but remember that it's one of the goals of doing usability testing in the first place.
Key Takeaways
Learning from mistakes is a part of what makes design for the internet so exciting and rewarding. Remember though, there's nothing that says you need to get everything right on your first try. There are always more opportunities down the line to refine your ideas or even start new ones altogether if they turn out not as planned.
