Being judgy about apps can make your UX team better
“Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had”
The Great Gatsby opening line
Fitzgerald’s advice is sound when it comes to judging people, but how does it apply to apps and user experience?
It’s in human nature to constantly analyse, evaluate and put things in good and bad boxes. But if we’re going to be judgy anyways, I’d rather set some standards for myself on passing said judgment.
I evaluate apps based on many things. Colour, balance, micro interactions, typography. As an experience designer, this is the stuff I live and breathe, but if you’re not so familiarized with the nitty gritty of it, here’s what really sets me off.
Badly designed error messages.
At their hour of need, when something goes wrong, how a product handles communication and helps their user is a game changing experience for me, usually overlooked. If you don’t know which error occurred, who does? Certainly not the poor user who stumbled on this for god knows what reason. I’m sure any of you can think of a plethora of similar situations you’ve been in, and it always sucks. There is someone to blame for them.
Bad first time use experiences.
So I’ve downloaded/created an account with your product. Great start! But soon as I go through sign up and I finally sign in(the infamous SUSI), I am left completely alone to fend for myself in your app, and I have no idea where to start. Most people will give up, some will try a little, few will do a deep dive and commit to the learning curve you might’ve imposed on them. Investing in FTU is the best way to get users that are happy and engaged from day 1.
Overcomplicated sign up forms.
Do you really need my phone number, ID, maiden’s name and number of cats I own so I can use your product? Know when to draw the line between what you want to learn about the user for research purposes and what is important to get them up and running in your product. You can always use contextual surfacing to ask your user things as they use your app, in good time.
Since just criticizing things without giving an alternative is bad form and crass, here are a couple points to invest in if you want your UX/UI team to step up their game.
Things that can help your team make judgy people happy:
• Conversational UI. Work closely with content designers. The experience isn’t whole without words, and one should inform the other if you want a seamless flow. Sometimes, asking “what’s your name?” is better than “full name” on forms. Talk to people like they’re people, not a robot filling parameters.
• FTU experiences. First impressions are everything, and giving the user one that feels effortless and brings them delight determines early engagement and retention. There’s no point only worrying about the churn if you don’t take care of people when they first arrive in your product.
• Tiger teams. No one person has all the answers. Cross team collaboration is crucial if you want to create something that not only works, but everyone is invested in.
• Over-communication. Managing expectations is an art and should not be taken lightly. Making sure everyone is on board every step of the way keeps your work on track and your teams happy.
• Get in your users shoes. There’s really no point in debating over which flow to go with from the safety of your office. You gotta get out there or bring users to you and find that stuff out first hand, on a regular basis.
• Rapid iteration. Avoid getting too caught on one single solution to a problem. Iterate fast, at low def, test often, and between all those experiments you might find a nugget of wisdom.
Don’t be precious about design. Be bold and thoughtful of your users.
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