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The overall experience and satisfaction a user has when interacting with a product or service

Core Idea: User Experience encompasses all aspects of how a person interacts with a product, system, or service, including perceptions of utility, ease of use, and efficiency. It extends beyond the interface to include all touchpoints across the user journey.

Key Elements

Defining Characteristics

• Holistic Perspective: Considers the entire experience, not just isolated interactions
• Subjective Nature: Based on individual perceptions and emotions
• Multi-dimensional: Encompasses usability, accessibility, desirability, and value
• Contextual: Varies based on situation, environment, and user needs
• Temporal: Evolves before, during, and after direct interaction with a product

Essential Components

1. Usefulness: Fulfills a user need or solves a problem
2. Usability: Ease of use and learnability
3. Desirability: Creates positive emotions and appreciation
4. Accessibility: Available to people of all abilities
5. Credibility: Builds trust and believability
6. Findability: Content is navigable and locatable
7. Value: Delivers benefits relative to costs (time, money, effort)

UX Evaluation Dimensions

• Effectiveness: How successfully users can accomplish their goals
• Efficiency: Resources required (time, effort) to complete tasks
• Satisfaction: Comfort and acceptability of the system
• Learnability: How easily users can learn to use the system
• Memorability: How well users can reestablish proficiency after a period of non-use
• Errors: Number, severity, and recoverability of user errors
• Engagement: Level of user investment and interaction with the system

Historical Context

• Roots in human factors and ergonomics (1940s)
• Term "user experience" coined by Don Norman in the 1990s while at Apple
• Evolution from usability engineering to experience design
• Shift from functional focus to emotional and psychological considerations
• Expansion from digital products to omnichannel experiences

UX vs. Related Fields

• UI (User Interface): The visual and interactive elements of a product
• CX (Customer Experience): Broader view including all brand touchpoints
• HCI (Human-Computer Interaction): Academic discipline studying interaction
• Service Design: Designing the entire service experience
• User Experience Design: The process and methodology of creating good UX

Business Impact

• Improved customer satisfaction and loyalty
• Reduced support costs and training requirements
• Higher conversion and retention rates
• Competitive differentiation
• Reduced development waste through early user validation

Additional Connections

• Broader Context: Human-Centered Design (philosophical approach)
• Applications: UX Research Methods (investigative techniques)
• See Also: Emotional Design (psychological aspects of experience)

References

1. Norman, D. & Nielsen, J. "The Definition of User Experience." Nielsen Norman Group.
2. Hassenzahl, M. & Tractinsky, N. "User Experience - A Research Agenda." Behaviour & Information Technology, 2006.
3. Law, E., et al. "Understanding, Scoping and Defining User Experience: A Survey Approach." Proceedings of CHI 2009.

#user-experience #human-factors #interaction-design #product-development #psychology

Connections:

Sources:

• From: Chou-Actionable Gamification