UIE Roadshow: Developing a UX Vision

The most valuable talk at the UIE Roadshow last week was the time spent on developing a User Experience vision. If you're a UX professional, I'm sure you've heard this from your clients or business stakeholders:

"I want the [website/application/product] to be easy to use. It should be quick and users will like it."

That means a whole lot of nothing. Who doesn't want that? How is your company setting itself apart from the competitors if the vision is too general and everyone else wants to achieve those same goals in some respect? What this vision also lacks is some accountability and measurability. Five years from now, how do you measure success? You can't.

To better understand how to create a vision, Roadshow attendees teamed up and evaluated a case study problem, brainstormed the needs and desires of sample personas, and worked toward a UX vision for the case study company. To get there, my team focused on satisfying emotional needs rather than talking about features. We storyboarded a scenario that led a representative user along this emotional path:

• I'm hungry and grumpy and growing concerned.
• I am elated and thrilled.
• I feel comfortable and less stressed.
• I'm excited.
• I feel smart and satisfied.

A UX Vision First Draft
A hungry airplane passenger doesn't have time to grab a bite before his first flight of the day. He's grumpy and worried that there won't be time to eat during his short layover. On the plane, he quickly sees he can pre-order a meal from his seat to pick up as he boards his next flight. He's thrilled that he won't have to go wait in a long fast food line and doesn't need to worry about the time between flights. After landing at his layover destination, the passenger receives a message on his phone confirming his order and his next gate. He is no longer stressed because he knows where he needs to go and that his meal is waiting. When he sees the food at the gate, he's excited because it looks delicious. It's definitely not McDonald's. While eating on the next flight, he's not just satisfied, he feels smart as he looks around and realizes he made a great choice to order his meal.

Over the next several years, the company can reference a UX vision to be sure work on a product or service continues to achieve steps along the way. In five years, this airport food company can look back and see that they have created an on-board meal ordering system, a gate delivery service, partnered with cellular service providers, and solved a huge problem for airline passengers around the globe.

What's your user experience vision?