The Productologist

When was the last time you included User Interface (UI) requirements in an MRD? If you are like most Product Managers, you may have included a reference like these in your MRD (I’ll admit to using at least one of them)–

• Need to make the UI easier to use
• The new screens must follow the existing screen design
• Replace old icons with new ones
• Change the colors to match our new logo

Unfortunately, not only are these not easily actionable, but they don’t get to the root requirement, which is how to make the product more clearly understood and easier to use so that the user has a positive experience.

Ask yourself these questions: how does changing the colors in the UI to match your new corporate logo benefit the user? Does cramming a new feature into an old paradigm make it easy for the user to understand that new feature? How about swapping out one set of icons for another? None of these help users. They are all for someone else’s benefit. NOTE: I realize that I only used 3 of the 4 examples from above, but the first one, “Need to make the UI easier to use” does actually benefit the user, but it doesn’t indicate what would make the UI easier, so it’s just as bad as the others.

Which brings me back to why Product Managers need to think about the UI when they are writing up requirements docs and when they prioritize features. The UI of your product is no different than the new reporting engine or the improved file upload system or the automated content testing functionality. It needs to be defined, quantified and prioritized, just like anything else that you plan to add or change in the product.

Frequently, UI work (both the definition and design) is relegated to the status of afterthought. If you are making the assumption that UI design/development can be done at the end of the release window or that it can just be tacked on to underlying product by Engineering, then you are making a grave mistake.

Creating a good UI takes a lot of time, thought and energy and it’s very different than the design that happens for corporate websites. It requires the expertise of a specialist. There are several labels for such as person: Application UI designer, User Experience expert, Interactive designer, Interaction Specialist, Human Factors specialist, and many more. For simplicity’s sake, I will refer to all of these using the moniker, “UI designer”.

UI designers have training and experience in making interfaces that are logical, based on the the type of user and tasks to be accomplished. To do this, good application UI designers focus on understanding the details about who users are, what they do in the application, and what they are trying to achieve.

These details are collectively known as “User Personas” and it’s a good idea for the Product Manager to be the one who creates these User Personas, since they are the ones that are supposed to be closest to them in real life. The UI designer will then utilize the User Personas in order to build in UI elements and workflow that will make sense to the intended users and create a user experience that will be meaningful for those users.

In many cases, you may need to consider the needs of diverse user groups (casual vs. power users; production vs. executive users; etc.). This is where it becomes increasingly important to get the guidance of an experienced application UI designer. They can help you figure out how to build an interface that serves the needs of multiple audiences without sacrificing one or the other.

One challenge you will find is that UI design professionals are in short supply. There is also a significant difference between a GOOD UI designer and a GREAT UI designer, and unfortunately the latter are much more difficult to find.

If you don’t already have a UI designer on staff or on retainer, my recommendation is that you get one as fast as you can. Start looking before you need them because it will likely take a long time to fill the position (or find the right agency or independent contractor). Set the bar high, because as I said earlier, the benefit of having a great User Experience professional on your team versus just a good one cannot be overstated.

The success of your product depends on whether users are happy with it and their happiness is based on the product having the right feature mix for their business needs AND whether you make it easy to use the product. And my guess is that you don’t know much about UI design, so go get someone who does to help you make your product great.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, March 10th, 2007 at 6:37 pm PT and is filed under Interface, Processes, Usability.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.