Why involving users in the web application design process can save you time and money

Gathering feedback from your potential users is vital for creating a successful product.

Creating consistency will ensure that people like your idea, but it will also help you catch any problems early on and guide you on which features to design, test, and develop and in what order. Did you know that Instagram was once called, “Burbn”? According to an Atlantic article, Instagram had a lot of features, too many in fact. After reviewing the data from what users were actually doing, they refocused their attention on features that really mattered to their users, sharing photos. Our goal is to help our clients avoid any mistakes in approaching how to bring a new app or feature to market and de-risk the choice of features to implement. Here are some crucial steps to consider.

Understand who your target audience is and what problems they have that your product or service will aim to solve

By talking to potential users, startups can gain a deeper understanding of the needs and pain points of their target audience. It’s important to realize that you, your friend, significant other, family, and colleagues may not be the target audience.

Whether you’re just starting off or want to re-focus attention on identifying your target audience, here are some easy-to-follow exercises to help organize your thoughts.

Strategyzer has some great resources and templates that help brainstorm your potential target audience and the problems you are trying to solve for them.

https://www.strategyzer.com/canvas/value-proposition-canvas

Sometimes, it’s important to really emphasize your target audience on a deeper level. In our industry, we typically go through an exercise called an “empathy map” that really forces you to think of what your target audience may experience. From a business standpoint, this helps you define what might be motivating your user and how you can best communicate your solutions to them.

https://www.uxbooth.com/articles/empathy-mapping-a-guide-to-getting-inside-a-users-head/

Now that you have defined your target audience, try using that persona in conversation and in your mind when you’re talking about features since we’re building the product to satisfy their needs, not our own.

Identify potential issues early on and avoid building unnecessary features.

By conducting user research and testing early on with your target audience, startups can identify any potential issues before they become bigger and more costly later on.

For example, when our agency conducts user testing before handing a solution to an engineer it looks something like this:

Scenario 1: User Testing

Step 1: Design a potential solution in Figma 

Time: (1 week) Potential resources:

• Client

• Senior UX/UI Designer

• Junior UX/UI Designer

• Project manager

Step 2: Setup either a moderated or unmoderated test where we ask the product’s target audience strategic questions for feedback about our design concepts

Time: (1 week) Potential resources:

• Client

• Senior UX/UI Designer

• Junior UX/UI Designer

• Project manager

Cost:

$10k or below for smaller initatives such as a new dashboard

What we’d get:

• Confidence in what to add, remove, update and hold off on in our design concepts

• Gain insight into what features we might want to focus on next

• Brand awareness to the product and/or service we’re testing

• More empathy for our target audience

Now, let’s pretend that we skipped that step and accidentally went ahead with the wrong feature because we had innocently assumed it was a good fit for our users.

Step 1: Design a potential solution in Figma 

Time: (1-2 weeks) Potential resources:

• Client

• Senior UX/UI Designer

• Junior UX/UI Designer

• Project manager

Includes:

• Revisions that were not anticipated because we might not have clear direction from user testing findings

Step 2: The development team to review, build, QA, and launch the feature

Time: (2-4 weeks)

Potential resources:

• Front-end engineer

• Back-end engineer

• Project manager and/or CTO

The salaries and/or hourly costs for these resources are not cheap and also keep in mind, back-end engineering can be complicated. If you have to “undo” a feature it can actually be quite costly and time-consuming, whereas the design is much more forgiving and easier to change on the fly. Investing in 2-3 weeks and $10k compared to the potential time, costs, and risks associated with choosing the wrong feature could actually save you time and money in the long run!

Improve product-market fit and avoid shutting down

By validating the feasibility of their ideas with potential users, startups can improve their chances of achieving product-market fit, which can lead to more efficient and cost-effective development.

According to CBinsights, 35% of startups fail because of no need in the market for their solution. We believe a lot of that risk can be avoided by simply talking to people. Rather than being nervous about their critical feedback, see them as an untapped resource to help co-create a solution that helps guide you.

To help you get started with user research, here are some tips for conducting surveys and interviews:

Surveys:

• Define your research question(s) and objective(s).

• Design your survey and create a list of clear, unbiased, and easy-to-understand questions.

• Test your survey with a small group of people to identify any issues. Share the survey link through email, social media, or other channels.

• Analyze the data to identify patterns and trends.

• Draw conclusions and make recommendations for improvement.

Quick Tips:

• Keep your questions to 10 or below

• Use multiple-choice, ratings with “other” options

• Provide supporting visuals such as wireframes, design mocks, and prototypes 

Tool Recommendations

Google Form

https://www.google.com/forms/about/

Typeform You’re able to add “skip logic” so you can make it easier for participants to navigate through questions. The software's user interface is very friendly and easy to use.

https://www.typeform.com/

Pollfish

An ai-powered survey that is great for getting responses from people on their phones. You can pay to filter down your survey based on specific criteria and demographics. The company also checks your survey to help provide any feedback before it sends it out.

https://www.pollfish.com/

Maze

This is an easy-to-use software that includes features that a design agency would conduct in workshops such as "card sorting". It allows you to test design prototypes made in tools such as Figma, Sketch, etc. while recording audio and video.

https://maze.co/

Interviews:

• Define your research question(s) and objective(s).

• Design your interview questions and make sure they are clear, unbiased, and easy to understand.

• Test your questions with a small group of people to identify any issues. Most design researchers recommend at least 5 test participants per customer segment and we incentivize people for their time and honest feedback with a gift card.

• Conduct the interviews and take detailed notes.

• Analyze the data to identify patterns and trends.

• Draw conclusions and make recommendations for improvement

Quick Tips:

• Keep your interviews scientific and focused so that when you review your findings it’s easier to compare and contrast, rather than have open-ended discussions. 

• Record the video so you can look back at their body language

Tool Recommendations:

Zoom or any other video conference calling tool that allows you to record

https://zoom.us

Maze

https://maze.co/

Involving potential users in the design process is crucial for the success of a startup. It helps ensure that the product meets the needs of the target audience and that can you address potential issues early on. User research and testing also improve development schedules and product-market fit. Happy testing!

References:

https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/startup-failure-reasons-top/

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-design/our-insights/the-business-value-of-design

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/07/instagram-used-to-be-called-brbn/373815/