This blog post is part of a series about what we’ve learned while developing WalkHub, a community hub that creates a framework for integrated tutorials that guide users through an interface, one step at a time.
By definition, user experience (UX) design incorporates visual design, information architecture, interaction design, and usability to positively impact the overall experience a person has with a particular interactive system and its provider.
It is very important and can be the difference between a failed and a successful project. Documentation is less glamorous and often neglected. If the user experience is designed well enough, why would you need documentation?
The problem with this premise is that the familiarity of a user with an interface is always a function of a user’s previous experience with similar interfaces. As a result UX works best for people with more Internet experience.
When you are developing the user interface of a new product, you’re basically chasing cultural consciousness to make sure users will understand it based on their previous experience. When new functionality comes, you’re trying to play catch-up looking for things that are similar to help your users’ orientation.
Of course, you must do your best to ensure great user experience, like making your online interfaces easy to read by using chunks of text and lists, a comfortable spacing and simple language with the least jargon possible. Follow conventions to help users who have experience with similar systems and test the interface with your target audience. All this doesn’t guarantee though that all users will use the interface as easily and effortlessly as you intended.
Because no matter how hard you try, if a user has no or very little experience with similar online interfaces, he will still be lost.
So when you make your UX so good it doesn’t need any documentation, the question is, for what audience? Are you prepared to ignore part of your customers or do you create backup plans for the people that have a different experience profile?
We found it’s best not to force yourself to choose a side, and take the best from both worlds instead.
