How much has UX moved from a role of problem-solving to one of problem exploration in Singapore?
You’ve heard it before: Design is about solving problems. UX is short for User eXperience, it is not Design. From Wikipedia, UX is defined as “a person’s perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, system or service”. According to the ISO definition, user experience includes all the users’ emotions, beliefs, preferences, perceptions, physical and psychological responses, behaviors and accomplishments that occur before, during and after use. The meaning of design is to find a meaningful problem and seek for a better solution. So it is same with UX process. Before designer designs a product, system or service, mainly use problem-solving thinking, now it has changed to explore the problem. They are two different UX thinkings.
UX Process of Problem Solving
Problem solving thinking is widely used by us in everything. The process ring includes Identify, Define, Explore, Action, Look back, cycling back and forth. Goal-Directed design methodology is created by Alan Cooper who is the Father of Interaction Design. It reminds designers to pay attention to the goal and keep in mind so the proposed solution would be reasonable.
Mastering the process of solving problems takes practice before it becomes habit. Image courtesy of mit.edu
UX Process of Problem Exploration
While just problem solving is not enough now, we need to consider more about Problem Exploration. It means UCD(User Centric Design) idea, everything we do becomes valuable once building connection with user. Use 4W exploration: Who, What, Why, Where. You can understand it as a process of recognition.It is more about defining the problem.
“If you define the problem correctly, then you almost have the solution”.—Steve Jobs
UX has been highly valued nowadays. Experienced UX companies like USER focus on UX. It might be the only user experience research team in Singapore teamed up with a group of highly educated talents.UX Exploration stresses User Experience Research and Evaluation, which is a main and important service in these company.
UX Research and Evaluation
User interviews are structured conversations with your current and potential users. By talking with the users, we gather insights into their requirements and preferences about products.
Surveys are quantitative techniques to understand users behaviors and needs. Current and potential users are approached via phone, face-to-face and online questionnaires.
In contextual inquiry, we observe users when they interact with products. This approach uncovers customer behaviors and the real-life problems they face when working with the products.
Focus groups bring together all stakeholders and facilitate deep discussions with them. A focus group enables a good understanding on different personal experiences among users.
In Usability Testing, customers perform a series of tasks with interactive products. We observe customer behaviours, and detect usability issues of the products. We also make effective suggestions on how to address these issues and improve the current design.
A/B testing and multivariate testing are also conducted online, especially for website and mobile application design evaluations. These tests are effective tools to achieve the optimal design for your products. By manipulating the design elements, the profile resulting in the optimal user experience is determined.
Six steps of Creative Problem Solving
Green Fraley created a process called “CPS”, describing how to better explore the problem, and leverage research, then balance imagination and analysis. Problem Exploration includes Identify the challenge, Facts & Feelings exploration, Problem framing & Reframing. Then it comes to Idea Generation by Brainstorming. Then it comes to Solution Development and ends with Action Planning, this step is called Getting into Action.
- Thinking about your insurmountable issue — what do you wish for? Make a list of wishes. Then pick one.
- Research the living hell out of the issue — look under every rock, talk to every person, know more than anybody else about the issue. Keep track of your findings in a notebook, and/or do Mind Maps. You’re looking to discover something to help you solve your problem and better inform you as to what the issue really is.
- Frame the issue as a question, using these starting words: In What Ways Might I….(fund my project…find a magic programmer….locate an office space, etc.). Make a long list of these “problem questions”. What you’re looking for here is a frame that is a fresh perspective.
- Brainstorm ideas, and yes, you can do this alone if need be. If you enlist others to jam ideas learn something about how to facilitate brainstorming (most small business people do it wrong). Use your notebook, make a long list of ideas. This could take time as breakthrough ideas are not going to happen in a short visit to Starbucks. Generate a lot of ideas, you’ll know when you get to something fresh. Poke away at this all the time in short bursts. Keep reviewing your ideas and eventually one will emerge as the best possibility.
- Refine the idea as best you can. Amp it up, wrap it up, make it more exciting to others if necessary, package it, plump it, perfume it, and then…
- Do It Now. Make a plan and start on executing the potential solution as soon as possible. As soon as possible, like Now.
Conclusion
Solving Problem is serving user passively, while Exploration Problem is understanding user actively, finding problem, and analyzing deeply finally solving the problem. UXdesigners should pay more attention on exploring a problem, serving user actively, pushing creativity, such as it would be better if you make user involved in different stages of project.
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