4 STEPS TO DESIGNING A GREAT USER EXPERIENCE

If you want to design a great user experience for your product you have to first create a great conceptual model design that either blends well with the users’ current mental models and/or helps them create a brand new mental model.

Instead of jumping into detailed user interface design, I challenge you to do high level design:

1. Create Jobs to Be Done (JTBD): What’s the real outcome users need? Not just “use our product” but “solve a problem in their world.”

2. Develop Quick Scenarios & Storyboards: How does the experience unfold in context? What defines success?

3. Map out a Task Analysis: Detail the steps the user should be able to take to accomplish the JTBD within those scenarios and storyboards. What are the branches? What is the common path and what are the exceptions?

4. Develop an Object Model: What’s the model of the system? What are the things (objects) that people will be interacting with? What are the different ways (views) to present those objects? What are the most important actions users will take on each object?

Once you combine the object model with the task analysis you have a beautiful interaction flow diagram. Now you are ready to design screens, pages, voice interactions, or whatever is in your user interface. You will know exactly what to design, and the detailed design you come up with will provide a great user experience.