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1. No need — no build
If nobody needs it, then don’t build it.
Do not build products by guess. If you have any idea for a new feature, just try to see what problem it solves. If you are not solving any particular problem, you are most likely making the product worse. Every product starts with a problem. Every feature should start with a problem. Do some research. Talk to people. You are building for them. If they do not need your idea, then forget about it. Remember: if nobody needs it, then don’t build it.
2. Keep it simple
Don’t make people think, but make them feel smart.
Try to explain your product to someone. If you can’t explain your product or idea easily, you do not understand it well enough. It is not simple enough.
Try to create smart things in a simple way. Every product should be self-evident. Every service should be self-evident. Every element should be self-evident. People should not ask questions like:
Where am I?
What do you offer?
Where should I begin?
Where do you have …?
What does this mean?
Do not make people think about obvious things. Guide them if necessary, but never make them feel concerned. They have to feel smart by solving their problems quickly and easily.
3. Test early and often
Test the product, not people.
To make sure the product is clear you have to test it as early as possible and as often as possible. Remember, you are testing the product, not people. Listen and watch carefully. Even if you think that something is really obvious, it doesn’t mean that people will use it the way you built it. Any designer compared to ordinary people is a super geek. 95 percent of people just cannot do what you can. They think differently. They act differently. They are all different.
4. Data matters
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.
At every stage of product development you have to set goals, create hypotheses and collect data. Every decision should be based on the results of qualitative and quantitative research.
1. Opinion without data makes no sense.
2. We never know what will work.
Set a goal — collect data from analytics — create and test hypotheses — analyze the results — identify problems — create new hypotheses. And round and round we go.
5. Time and space
Do we have time to use your product?
There are so many products around people. But there is so little time for people to use these products. Is your product or service really worth the time spent on it? There are many other things in people’s lives. Other products, other services, various activities, friends, family etc. Before taking time to use your product, people have to stop doing something else.
When will people use your product?
Where will people use your product?
What do people have to give up for the sake of using your product?
Every product or service should have its time and space in people’s lives.
UX checklists
Every product or service should be: useful, usable, desirable, valuable, findable, accessible, credible. Below are some checklists that will help you not to forget the basic principles and ingredients.
UX Project Checklist — https://uxchecklist.github.io/ — An interactive checklist with all steps involved in the work of UX Designer.
UX Recipe — https://uxrecipe.github.io/ — Mix the UX ingredients and quickly estimate your project’s costs.
IxD Checklist — http://ixdchecklist.com/ — An interaction design checklist organized by design principles.
Usability Checklist — https://stayintech.com/info/UX — A broad checklist to catch common usability problems before user testing.
W3C Accessibility Standard — https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/full-checklist.html — The official accessibility standard checklist from W3C.
UX board — https://trello.com/b/qJ0QjbVK/ux-board — Everything about UX research, strategy, analysis, information architecture, interaction design, copywriting, psychology, implementation, analytics and many more.
Visit UXclass to discover a collection of UX (User Experience) and Product Design related resources that can help designers, developers, founders and all creators build successful products and services.