What is the UX Workflow – Step-by-Step Guide
Have you ever wondered why Google, Airbnb and Netflix feel so smooth when you float through their websites? It's all because the website went through all the stages of UI/UX Workflow. UX workflow is all the experiences you have with a website. In simple words, user experience (UX) is how the website works & user interface (UI) is how it looks. The best way to engage the users is by improving the experience with the website. This process is very important and it is imperative that any UI/UX designer follow this.
User Experience is the end to end experience a user has with your company’s products or services. The workflow outlines all the steps within your UX process, from conducting research and defining project scope, to gathering user feedback, wireframing and high-fidelity prototyping, to finally designing a user interface and also, testing the product. Each step in the workflow is imperative to create a smooth and functional experience for users.
A good UX design will stay in the mind of the users forever and they will even take a step further and recommend your product to others. Due to rise in marketplace competition, every organization invests in making the best UI/UX design for their users. By following the below detailed steps for designing the UX Workflow you are sure to create the best UX Workflow for your users. So, are you excited to give the best experience to your users? Here you go
Step1: Sketch your app idea and do user research-
When starting out to build an application, you must certainly spend time on understanding your users and their needs. Identify the user persona you are designing for and storyboard the use cases. This is extremely critical because the application design is heavily influenced by the target audience. An app for healthcare workers should be significantly different from a social media app. If you fail to empathize with your end users and their needs, you are certainly working on a recipe for failure! Sketch out your program idea board. Chalk out what the application is about. List out the potential features of the application. A quick tip is to keep things as visual as possible doodle, draw and storyboard instead of writing lengthy paragraphs. This will help you translate your thoughts to design quickly and more effectively.
Step 2: Create mock-ups of your app-
Once you have a fair understanding of what your application will be doing, it’s time to get to action. Pick all your research from the program idea board and arrange them in a flow. It is very easy to go wrong with the flows and that is precisely the reason you need to use an industry standard wireframing tool. Wondershare Mockitt is one such recommended tool which can be used freely to create wireframes and prototypes. The tool comes with a large variety of easy to use templates that help you design effectively. While there are several UX workflow tools in the market, Wondershare Mockit helps you animate and prototype the fastest. In Wondershare Mockit, you can create prototypes for mobile (iOS/Android), Pad, Web, TV and Watch. Here’s how you could get started with the tool
Kick start your UX
Once you login to Wondershare Mockit, you can get started by creating a new project and choosing the form factor and device type.
Mock it up
You are now all set to start working on your wireframing canvas.
- Add a few widgets and icons. Several built-in widgets and icons are available and you can add them to the canvas by dragging them to the canvas or double clicking the widgets. Don’t worry, you can easily edit the widgets as you please. You can also save your widgets for reuse.
- Add links between screens. Now that you have brought in widgets and icons to your board, you should have the screens ready. However, they are all in isolation and it’s time to link them together. You can choose the widget and click “New Link” or drag and drop the link icon to link screens.
- Add notes. While a lot of your designs are usually quite intuitive, it helps to add some quick notes to explain your design further. Especially when you are working in a team. Simply use the “Sticky” in the built-in widget Library and add a description.
- Create interactive animations. The dynamic widgets help you create animations which provides a more intuitive experience for the viewer.
Step 3: UX Testing -
It’s now time to see how all the hard work has taken shape! By clicking on the ‘Preview’ button in the tool, you can see your workflow in action. You can preview the app on your PC and mobile both online and offline. If you think it’s all ready and good to go in the hands of your users, you might want to think again. Testing the application before releasing it is crucial. Of course, you do not want to handover an app to your users only to realize that a bug prevents them from signing in to the application. Spend considerable time testing the application. Test your application early and often. It is likely that you are working with a team and need to get inputs. You might also want to test your workflow with a few users for some early feedback. Click on the share button in the tool and you can generate a QR code or shareable link.
Step 4: Launch your product-
A product launch is a planned effort to introduce a new product in the market. Before launching it should be made sure the product has been tested and the team has successfully executed the strategic vision. Also, the product launch needs to be done effectively, to ensure the customers are aware about the product and it reaches the organisation profitability goals.
Step 5: Gather user feedback and improve your product-
Once the product has reached the users, the next important step is to gather feedback, be it positive or negative. Feedback from real people can help you learn about the glitches and gives you an opportunity to improve. It will also help you in answering the question- “What should we build next?”. Indeed, customers can make or break your product in the market.
Creating a UX workflow design is a long process. However, it is indisputable that it is the only silver bullet to render a satisfying and intuitive experience to end users. You can certainly make the entire process extremely effective and increase your chances of success by choosing the right tools and techniques as you progress through the development cycle. Wondershare Mockit is your best bet. Go ahead give it a shot and start your journey to render the best UX workflow to your users with minimal effort. Happy designing!