Back to all articles User experience is no longer a fancy new term in the digital industry. The discipline has gotten recognized and adopted by companies of all sizes for its ability to guide them towards successful product strategy and better cross-disciplinary performance.
The fact that User Experience deals with many areas of the business that previously worked independently also means that it encompasses many concepts that tackle the different aspects of product development. This makes it quite jargon-heavy which might then lead to vague interpretation of key terms and misunderstanding. In our experience, usability and user experience are usually victims of such lack of clarity and often time end up used interchangeably.
So what is Usability?
A digital product is first and foremost a solution to a problem. It is designed and developed to help its user achieve a certain goal. That goal can be anything from a practical service like ordering something online, to fulfilling an emotional aspect like social communication.
When we talk about usability we are interested in the functionality of a product. A product is usable when the user can successfully and easily achieve their goals using the product. As covered by NN/g, Usability is assessed by looking at:
- ease of use and learnability: for first-time users and returning users. Is the product easy to understand and use from the get go? Or is a leaning curve required for first-timers? how difficult is it to use the product? how memorable is the product? Do users have to relearn the product after some time off of it?
- efficiency: how efficient is the product in achieving the results? how fast can the users reach their goals using the product
- error handling: does the product consider the potential errors made by users? how are those errors handled? do they block the overall usage or the product or can the user simply recover and continue.
- satisfaction: how does it the user feel about the design? Is it pleasant and appealing?
What about User Experience?
User experience is the umbrella term used for all the concepts and methods that go about discovering and analyzing a problem, designing solutions for it, and making sure that they live up to a user’s needs and expectations. The goal is to satisfy all aspects intersecting with the user from functionality to usability, and even aesthetics. It’s everything that contributes to the perceived experience that someone goes through with regards to a product. Does it target a problem I face? Does it solve my goal? Does it talk to me in a way that I understand and appreciate? Does it feel easy to use? Does it appeal to me? Do I like using it? Does it make my life better?