The root of UX

User experience is rooted in the fundamental principle that people have problems. Our job, as UX designers, is to solve these problems in a way that is:

• Emotionally satisfying
• Results oriented, and
• Easy to understand/work with

This can come in many forms, but let’s look at exactly what this translates to in terms of value that user is looking for.

Users want a solution that is better than what they currently do, and delivers more value to them with less effort on their part.

Crucially, users don’t want to think about it, they just want it done. This aligns well with the jobs-to-be-done ideology, but when considered broadly, this is the most obvious metric to measure against: does the proposed solution net the results users are expecting?

Understanding your user

Moving on from the expected results, we have to understand that users aren’t just looking for a material outcome.

Instead, many users are looking for fulfillment of multiple wants and needs, and are looking for a package that addresses all of them in a reasonably thorough, well-rounded fashion.

Let’s take a look at some of these needs, a user may:

• Wish to make a purchase
• See what other users have said about a product
• Compare a product with other competing products
• Learn more about the benefits of a particular product
• Garner a specific outcome, or set of outcomes, from their usage of a product
• Be looking for emotional or technical support throughout their journey while interacting with a product.

We must consider all of these needs and more while attempting to understand our users in more than just the dimension of “usability.”

To that end, we must look even further into the elements of value that users consider when interacting with a product, which they may interpret as valuable.

The three elements of value

Crucially, there are three elements of value that can be produced by any solution, service, or product, which can appeal to a user in the following terms:

Emotional value

Let’s start with the most important one; emotional value is how your product or service makes a user feel. This is paramount, as if your product makes a user feel bad, they more than likely will not use it consistently.

Moreover, if your product or service makes a user feel good about themselves, their outcomes, or their decisions, they are far more likely to continuously interact with it.

This can be both a good or bad thing, and while I will not digress into the ethics of emotional design, I will point out that in order to satisfy fully the other two elements of value, your product must aim to satisfy a users emotional needs first.

Ask yourself and observe your users:

• How are users currently solving their problems?
• How does it make them feel?
• Where do they feel frustrated, aggravated, upset, disheartened, dejected, or otherwise off-put by their interactions with their current solution?
• Listen to what users say and observe what they do to get a clear picture of what’s really going on for your users. This combination will tell you more about where they’re at mentally, and emotionally than doing either just one or the other.

Utility value

Next on the list, we have utility value. This describes what your product or service helps the user do, or what measurable outcome it helps the user to achieve.

• What job is it helping them do?
• What outcomes can a user expect from using your product?
• How are the outcomes generated by your product superior to those generated by competing products?
• How can a user be shown or directly see the outcomes that your product promises, and how can you make the value of these outcomes obvious to them?

By helping the user obtain the necessary outcomes that they are looking for, you establish a relationship of trust with the user. You’ve made a promise, and you delivered.

It is worth mentioning that utility value can be further leveraged by orders of specificity; that is what specifically do you help your user do? Many times the best way to improve user experience is to simply get more specific with respect to what your users need and what outcomes you specifically offer.

Convenience value

Finally, we have the third element, which is convenience value. Out of the three elements of value, convenience represents an often overlooked but exceptionally important component of a user’s experience.

Whereas emotional and utility values are how your product makes a user feel and what it helps them do, respectively, convenience value is how easy it makes the process for your user.

Let me reiterate for clarity: convenience is how easy you make it for your user to get to their desired outcome(s).

• How easy do you make it for your user to get from A to Z?
• How much faster, and with less thought or effort involved, can you make the process for them?
• How often do they need to intervene to input data, make choices, or provide more information for your process to run smoothly?
• How convenient are their current solutions? How much more convenient could you make yours by comparison?

All of these questions serve to prompt a conversation within your organization, and should help you feel a sense of empathy towards your users when designing a solution that is tailored specifically to their value needs.

Solution as a package

Users generally don’t mind one way or the other how your solution is packaged, so long as it is offered with the three values they can expect front and center:

• How will your product make them feel?
• What will your product help them do?
• How easy will your product make the process for them?

As an example, you wouldn’t typically think of a 7-11 store as a product or service, but in truth, it absolutely is.

A 7-11 does three things very well:

• It makes its customers feel like they always have a store to go to,
• That they can always get more or less what they need and want,
• and can do so at a time that works well for them, day or night.

Now, 7-11 may leverage convenience as its main selling point, but truthfully, the brand caters to its target market using all three elements of value, and does so well enough that it’s been around in its current form since 1946.

Another example is Amazon. Amazon does a great job of:

• Making its customers feel highly valued, and waited on hand and foot,
• That they can order virtually anything they want at a reasonable price,
• That they can expect their order to arrive within just a few days.

Notwithstanding the labor required to fulfill these promises; products and services are essentially identical in the fact they both create expectations that a customer uses to justify conducting business with an brand/organization.

The difference then between a successful product and a failed product is that a successful product ultimately delivers on its value promises, whereas a failed product falls short.

The same can be said for UX.

• Poor UX focuses only on outcomes.
• Good UX focuses on how easy it makes the process for a user.
• Great UX focuses on both of these, but above all, how it makes a user feel.

Deliver on your promises, and you create a user experience of commitment, trust, and mutual benefit.

Bringing it all together

So what does this all mean for you? Essentially, your goal in UX discovery should always be to uncover the values that your users need, want, and to answer the following questions:

• How does your product make users feel?
• What does your product help users do?
• How easy will does product make the process for your users?

With these questions answered, and applied in your designs, you are well on your way to a successful, highly valuable product offering.