Prevent software user frustration

Have you come across software user experience that doesn't inspire you or perhaps even insults you?

What was it about that software user experience that triggered a negative response from you? Was it the aesthetic, perhaps something as basic as the colour palette? Was it the lack of intuitiveness in regards to its behaviour? Were you disappointed at the available mechanism for content delivery?

I wouldn't be surprised if it were all of the above.

It never ceases to amaze me just how "off" user experience can be these days and particularly when user experience as a methodology has become mainstream, in that the products we rate highly are brought to market by companies that embrace user centred design. So, shouldn't it be obvious that user experience is a critical ingredient you cannot overlook? Perhaps not.

Evidence suggests to me that many digital product designers cannot escape their roots and are therefore unable to employ contemporary design principles, for mobile devices for example. I've recently witnessed a mobile application offering that was comically modelled on Microsoft's Windows 3.1. The underlying idea was worthy and had a well-defined audience but, do you think the experience was something you'd write home about? I think not, and therefore user onboarding was inevitably going to suffer.

But perhaps the ultimate user centred design sin is not knowing your customer, to begin with. If you do not take the time to understand the personal frustrations, goals, priorities and contexts associated with your end users, why should you expect them to love your product? You shouldn't and you might just end up frustrating or even insulting them.

My advice is to spend the needed time engaging with your audience, endeavour to understand how they behave today and why, and when you ultimately design your product, focus on what they need, not what you think they want.

Prevent software user frustration! User centred design is a cornerstone enabler in producing exceptional user experience and consequently eliminating frustration, overlook this at your product's peril.

Zoosh are a design-led software development company, helping businesses ensure applications are user-friendly and easy to used based on their requirements. Download our 'Design Thinking' whitepaper to discover the principles of creating a lovable application.