User experience is an evolving concept which can help companies improve their products and services. User experience entails the complete experience a customer has with the company and its products or services. It is also possible to consider user experience for only a specific product or service in order to find detailed points for improvement. This improvement is made because an improved user experience can increase the use and sales of a product or service. A negative user experience can diminish usage and sales.
User experience is an evolving concept which can help companies improve their products and services. User experience entails the complete experience a customer has with the company and its products or services. It is also possible to consider user experience for only a specific product or service in order to find detailed points for improvement. This improvement is made because an improved user experience can increase the use and sales of a product or service. A negative user experience can diminish usage and sales.
The concept of user experience can be viewed as the evolving version of usability engineering. The focus on usability has been present since mass-production developed. Usability engineering focusses on improving efficiency, effectiveness and basic subjective satisfaction. These are the three usability metrics that are used to measure usability of a product or service for customers. It can be used to improve the usability of the design of a product. The focus for products that have a high usability is on performance.
User experience expands on usability, mainly on the satisfaction a customer experiences. The basic satisfaction is expanded to include a complete holistic perspective. The feelings of a user are considered. A positive user experience offers value and pleasure. A focus solely on performance, as is the case with usability, can decrease the value and pleasure one experiences from a product or service. User experience acknowledges the impact that feelings have on a customer’s or consumer’s behaviour.
A positive experience for a customer usually includes feelings of pleasure and the perception that the product or service is of value to them. A customer’s motivation for using a product or service is usually recorded to improve user experience. This is because a general tendency in the motivations of many customers can be used as a guideline in design of a new or improved product. In this way, a product or service is adjusted to improve the user experience by meeting expectations and matching the motivations of customers more accurately.
The early developments of the concept of user experience pertain to web design. In the interactive and technical domain of website design, usability and performance was joined by user experience. A website design was not only meant to be effective and have a good performance, the entrance of marketing and branding in this domain, required additional characteristics of websites. In the design process, marketing and branding had to be considered. Websites stayed easy to use, but also became valuable and effective for visitors.
Combining usability and user experience in web design made online marketing and branding more effective. The combination of efficient design and good branding, makes a visit to a website effective. The core message is easily and quickly communicated. A website provides a representative expression of the company, service or product. Optimizing the user experience of a website, service or product provides the visitor or customer with a positive experience. Based on a positive experience, new customers or returning customers become more frequent.
