steve kwan user experience designer

User Experience defined

(March 10th, 2007 - 11:49PM)

Ever heard of "User Experience?" Wondered what it is? What it isn't? Why it's important? I've done my best to outline the details below.

What is User Experience (UX)?

User Experience (UX) is an emerging field that's worth knowing about if you're a software engineer. However, UX isn't necessarily a form of programming. It can be much more.

UX is the process of making your users happy. This is a very broad goal and encompasses several areas, such as:

• Usability.
• User interface design.
• Software engineering.
• Technical support.
• Marketing.

UX is different from other software jobs because it includes areas that are not typically considered part of the development process. For example, technical support is usually considered a separate task from software development. UX acknowledges that the two are intimately connected. Great software is not enough. If your support is horrible, you could still have dissatisfied users. Software engineers aren't concerned with this aspect of the product, but UX specialists are.

What isn't User Experience (UX)?

UX is not anything new. It's just an accumulation of existing techniques. It's different because it acknowledges that many areas of delivering a product - areas that were previously considered unrelated - are actually very intimately connected. But that being said, UX does not introduce any new ideas to the mix. It just combines the old into a single unit.

Also, UX is not a form of engineering. It's too broad and new to be considered an engineering discipline. But that doesn't undermine its importance, and it could one day be considered an engineering discipline.

Why is User Experience (UX) important?

UX is important because it ties together all the aspects of your company. No longer are marketing, engineering, and support considered separate. UX acknowledges that these processes are all tied together, and it takes more than a good engineering process to satisfy clients. A UX specialist can concoct ways of streamlining the client's entire experience, from the initial sale to development to delivery, and even to support.

UX may be most important because it finally illustrates the importance of good support. In the past, support was considered a beast of burden that software engineers have offloaded onto the underqualified. But UX acknowledges that technical support is just as important for the user as the actual software itself.