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By Ravi Gururaj – Founder & CEO, QikPod
In product management, the role of UX has become more important than ever. The user experience, often abbreviated as UX, can make or break a product’s success. UX basically means the overall interaction the users have with a product. From the moment a user interacts with your product for the first time to the final interaction with it, UX design plays an important role in how your product resonates with the users. It’s not just about making a product aesthetically pleasing. It’s about creating an experience that resonates with users, fosters good engagement, and ultimately contributes to the overall success of the product.
As product managers, you should realize that the first experience a user has with a product, known as Out of the box experience, is very important. Be it any product, it’s the first impression that sets the tone for the entire user journey. Teams that don’t have a designer on board often find themselves handicapped because they are not going to be able to put a product together. Hence, the idea of the product cannot be articulated to stakeholders and investors alike.
Startups rely heavily on selling a dream. A part of selling the dream is selling the functionality, utility and the experience your product can provide. A well-crafted user experience serves as a powerful articulation of the startup’s brand and value proposition.
Today, loyalty is very ephemeral. You are one click away from being rejected and another alternative being preferred over you. For example, if your experience on Ola is bad then you are one click away from switching to Uber. It doesn’t take you a lot to switch.
Hence, loyalty is very ephemeral. In a world where there are so many alternatives to choose from, out of the box experience becomes a relevant deciding factor between different products.
User experience extends across the entire journey taken by the user while using the product from the very beginning. Let us take the example of Ola cab. The user experience doesn’t just involve the customer ordering the ride but also takes into account the driver’s perspective, the payment process and many different features. Hence, as product managers, you need to ensure that the product you are building runs seamlessly from end to end.
UX design is an area where we actually lack talent in the country. It’s a big gap in creating top-notch products. It’s not a given that just because you have a great design you’ll have a great product. But it’s definite that those who don’t have a great design will struggle with their product.
The role of UX design cannot be underestimated. From shaping the out-of-the-box experience to fostering customer loyalty, UX design is a driving force behind successful products and services. As the product management domain evolves, the organizations that focus more on UX design will find their product development process much smoother than the ones who don’t.
UX or User experience design is the process of designing products and services that are easy to use, accessible and enjoyable for users from the starting point of their journey until the end.
UX designers need a combination of skills like empathy, understanding, time management, critical thinking, user research and visual communication, among many more skills.
No, UX designers do not need to know coding to design their products. But it is helpful to gain a basic understanding of fundamental programming languages and concepts.
About the Author:
Ravi Gururaj – Founder & CEO, QikPod
