5 UX Principles to Live By

1. Stop designing and talk to potential users first!
2. Listen, don’t pitch, and learn how to ask the right questions
3. Design for people
4. Less is more (simplicity)
5. Utilize action-oriented design

Good user research doesn’t happen by accident. It takes planning, preparation, and a certain way of thinking. The purpose of this article is not to give you a step-by-step process, but to change the way you approach user research. Before I continue let’s go over a quick definition of User Experience (UX).

User research can help identify what’s missing in a current product or what users need from a future product. It’s the process of studying users in their natural environment to collect data and gain insights into their needs. This allows you to build products and features no one has seen before, and that actually resonate with the end-user.

Stop designing and talk to potential users first

It’s not always easy for designers to translate an assumption into a clear, validated solution. It seems like a no-brainer, but very few get on the phone and talk with people [potential clients] which is not only a waste of money but can be a huge waste of time and money.

Ask the right questions

There are a lot of UX principles that you can define but really the most important one is asking “‘What is the problem?’ ‘How does this solve the problem?’ ‘Why is this important?’ ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ ‘What’s the best that can happen?’ ‘Where can I apply this?’.” — Tristan Harris

Not all solutions are clear from the surface. There are principles to an aspect of a user's experience that is hard to visualize. We tend to dive straight in with ideas we’ve had before about what to do and how to do it without analyzing the problem the user faces.

Some key questions to ask are:

• How do you currently go about [problem/task]?
• Are you looking for a solution or alternative for [problem/task]?
• Tell me about the last time you tried to [problem/task].
• What are you currently doing to make this [problem/task] easier?
• Have you tried any workarounds to help you with this?
• Have you tried any other products or tools?
• If so, how did you hear about them?
• What’s the most frustrating part about [problem/task]?
• How often do you encounter/perform [problem/task]?
• How long do you spend on [problem/task]?

Design for people

Finding patterns within a niche market is easier than designing for anyone and everyone. In fact, you can design for just about any kind of person, based on the principles of UX (user-centered design). The only requirement is you should be designing for the needs of actual people and not for some kind of ideal user. If you design for ideal users, you’ll never have to make a change just because it might be unacceptable to some people at some point in time.

There are up to nine fundamental principles that have been found to govern most successful products, design decisions, and consumer behavior:

• User-centered design (Ui designing)
• Motivational UX (hooks and rewards)
• Scientific UX (factors such as cost, delivery cost, engagement, site quality)
• Increase customer loyalty by increasing the emotional attachment of the customer to your brand and product

Less is more (simplicity)

Simplicity brings happiness and a sense of freedom — what user experience (UX) designer Robert G. Martin calls “substance over style” — to a product or an e-commerce website that enables users to feel like they are in control, even while your product encourages them to do what you want them to do for your business. Simplicity makes products not only more fun to use but also more enjoyable to look at. It makes products engaging, easy to understand, and easy to use — which leads to conversions.

The more things there are, the harder it is to understand them all, and the less likely you are to get things done right. We all know people have a very limited attention span these days, so presenting too many options to think about will result in lost conversions because people don’t want to put in the time. That’s why simplicity is so important in design and UX. Simplicity means we don’t overcomplicate things — so that when you do have to interact with a product or service, it’s as easy as possible for your users to figure out what to do and get what they want, with as little friction as possible.

Utilize action-oriented design

Action follows design. Design is of utmost importance in influencing the behavior of a user. Action is the user’s path to your target, which happens when users are engaging with your product or service. Always consider the journey by which users are engaging with your website or app. In order to know how you can design a more useful experience, you need to identify what users value and why users leave.

Create products and services that users love to use.