Given that ease of use can determine the success of a product, creating easy-to-use digital products is a top priority in our competitive market.
Ensuring the target market understands how to use a finished product can be a complex journey, and that's why ease of use can impact User Experience (UX).
Let’s dive into what product teams should pay attention to in order to create outstanding solutions for their potential users.
What Makes a Product Easy to Use?
Creating user-friendly digital solutions is a key objective of Usability in UX Design, which involves ensuring functional and intuitive product concepts.
Part of this, according to the Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF), consists of making products that cater to the target audiences' needs and the context in which they use them.
Users should be able to complete tasks quickly by following the simplest path and receive support to recover from the errors they could commit when performing tasks.
Ideally, users should accomplish their goals easily, and with every visit, this should become easier and easier.
However, your product strategy should consider other factors, such as User Research, testing and iteration, and accessibility.
How to Make an Easy-to-use Digital Product?
1. Research
User Research allows designers to understand potential customers' expectations, behaviors, and challenges.
As a result, teams can understand how the product idea aligns with users' needs, context, and abilities, which is paramount to ensure ease of use!
If you're creating a healthcare app for non-tech-savvy older adults who struggle with small text, color, and complex navigation, addressing these considerations can ensure proper usage for these potential customers.
What's more, all the stages of the Product Development journey should be carried out with this in mind!
2. Goals
You should always consider users' goals to create products that effectively meet their needs.
In the context of a healthcare app designed for elderly individuals, one goal might be "scheduling a medical appointment."
However, it's not just about the primary goal— designers should also establish completion goals, which describe what users expect to happen after using the product.
An example of completion would be "attending a medical appointment without any difficulties."
It's important to define behavioral goals: the actions needed to achieve the end goal, such as "selecting the date and time for the appointment."
Product Managers, Product Designers, and Product Developers should consider all goal types when defining the product roadmap.
3. Design
Applying design principles could guarantee intuitive navigation, reduce cognitive load, and boost simplicity.
Design teams should simplify user journeys, eliminate unnecessary complexities, and present information concisely.
Ensuring the interface has a logical information hierarchy through minimalistic design elements is very important to show respect for user time and attention.
But keep in mind that embracing simplicity and minimalism doesn't mean the interface will be dull!
These characteristics involve honing the essence of the product functionality and presenting it elegantly and appealingly.
Maintaining the User Interface (UI) consistency reduces the learning curve and enhances usability, enabling users to navigate the product more easily.
4. Accessibility
In the words of the IxDF, accessibility is a top priority for creating meaningful products that are easy to use for everyone.
In the US, around 27% of adults have at least one disability. Neglecting accessibility throughout your entire process can significantly hinder a product's usability for about one in four individuals.
However, focusing only on users with certain abilities can make your product inaccessible or impossible to use for others.
You need to consider all members of your consumer base to design products that everyone can use and enjoy.
5. Testing
Usability Testing is one of the best techniques for evaluating how usable your product is.
This process, much like User Research, helps designers gain insights into UXs.
However, Product Development teams must be cautious of biases, as they can hinder the identification of usability issues.
Usability Testing provides valuable customer feedback, revealing features or sections that may be confusing or frustrating.
As a result, Usability Testing can uncover issues and identify opportunities for improvement in the steps users take to complete tasks.
It's worth noting that Usability Testing is not a one-time activity, as it should be done regularly, not just at the end of the Product Design process.
6. Iteration
Collecting direct feedback from users after launching new features or products to market will allow you to drive continuous product improvement.
As a result, actual user feedback can provide meaningful insights to make the entire journey more intuitive.
Refining after product launch gives the opportunity to solve problems that weren't spotted during product testing.
Product iteration is about augmenting the chances of creating ease-to-use and intuitive designs for the product to meet user needs.
Why is Making Easy-to-use Products Important?
Ease of use should be a top priority in the Product Development process, as it significantly impacts product success.
The IxDF states that usability is a fundamental requirement for a product to be successful.
In the same way, Echelon notes that creating an intuitive and user-friendly product can greatly influence its success in the market.
Additionally, optimal usability can boost sales, enhance customer retention, and improve overall performance.
Your initial idea must be designed to be easy to use in order to meet and exceed user expectations.
Conclusion
Ease of use is crucial for creating successful products with excellent User Experience (UX).
Keep in mind your users' needs, goals, and expectations throughout the complete process.
To do so, you can use activities such as user research and usability tests; in this way, you can spot potential areas for improvement in your product vision.
As a UX-driven agency with 14 years of experience in Product Development projects, we understand how vital it is to ensure the creation of easy-to-use and viable products.
Feel free to reach out if you'd like to learn more about our unique approach to bringing innovative products to life.
