As ubiquitous as User Experience ("UX") may now be in software circles, the concept, discipline, and impact on the business are still widely misunderstood. I believe products with good UX come from companies that have adopted it as a mindset, one that requires buy-in from top to bottom of the org chart. For teams that don't yet have it, I've found that using analogous non-digital experiences goes a long way in capturing hearts and minds, especially with individuals at arm's length from product research & development.
One of my go-to examples is a good meal at a well-run restaurant. Four reasons for that, the first one being selfish:
- I love dining out, so plenty of material to pull from.
- It's universal (who hasn't eaten at a restaurant?).
- Even if someone doesn't care enough to appreciate a positive experience, they almost certainly know what bad looks and feels like.
- Like a UI to UX, a good meal isn't simply the food on the plate, it's the sum of many orchestrated parts (call it Chew-X).
Let's take a look at some things good restaurants do well, and how I think they're relevant to digital UX.
Make guests feel welcome
First impressions matter (duh). Good restaurants seize the opportunity to set the tone as soon as guests walk in the door -- greeting with a smile, offering to check coats, using names when possible, and providing creature comforts if there is going to be a wait.
Software is no exception to the old adage. User friction can begin as soon as a login screen (e.g., please god how do I recover my password?). Good product teams understand this, and make the point of entry as straightforward as the user expects it to be. Once authentication is out of the way, in-UI walkthroughs or strategic callouts are a good way to get new users oriented, or make veterans aware of new features, enhancements, and/or system issues. A related positive trend is the rise of engagement platforms like Pendo, which allow non-technical teams to create, implement, and manage entire on-boarding experiences (among many other things) without taking up precious dev time & effort.
Care about visual design
I'm not suggesting restaurants should be avoided based solely on their font choices (I mean, who would do that? 😬). However, I do believe that, in the words of my least favorite but most effective high school English teacher, "everything communicates something" (in my case, he was referring to incorrectly numbered pages in my midterm paper, but let's get back on topic). While not a requirement for tasty food, signage, decor, menus, and table presentation do communicate thoughtfulness and foster all the good things that come from a consistent, well-crafted brand -- halo effect, comfort, ready-to-spend mentality.
It should go without saying at this point, but the way your app looks and feels matters. Today's users are accustomed to a high standard that didn't really exist even 10 years ago, regarding both aesthetics and usability. Even Google did a 180˚ on its historically utilitarian approach to become a leader in design patterns and frameworks, placing importance on visuals in serving their already massive user base. UI guru Jared Spool said, “Good design, when it’s done well, becomes invisible. It’s only when it’s done poorly that we notice it.” Those words ring truer now than ever given how prevalent "good design" is.
Answer questions
Customers invariably have questions that the menu doesn't answer. Good servers don't make them feel stupid about asking them, and have the requisite knowledgeable to address queries of varying difficulty in the moment. Also, in cases when they don't know, they find someone who does rather than fudge.
One of the traps a product owner can fall into is thinking everyone understands the app as well as he/she does. While the goal should always be to provide as intuitive experience as possible, there will always be context or instruction that can't or shouldn't be visible at the point of execution (e.g., a lengthy explanation of a complex concept). Good UX dictates that self-serve resources (e.g., an organized, up-to-date knowledge base) be readily available for those occasions, as well as access to reliable customer support, be it in-UI (à la Intercom) or via email (or both).
Be discreet
Well-trained servers replace a fork or fill a glass without being asked and largely without interruption. Similar to Spool's comment about design, the best service is often unobtrusive and a subtle, efficient complement to the intended focus of the meal (i.e., the food).
The best tech teams are similarly able to push changes often and make beneficial adjustments with little-to-no interruption. Regular downtime, even when it's scheduled and broadcast, can frustrate users and shake their confidence in the product (e.g., "if it's so stable, why does it need to be taken down for updates so often?").
Provide status
I don't know if Truman ever worked in a kitchen (I haven't btw), but he was spot on about being able to stand the heat -- when lots of tickets are coming thru the door, they're nuts. Not only can a good restaurant crank through a busy service without a dip in quality, its servers can also shield the customer from the beautiful chaos required to do so. So many things can go wrong and some likely will, but strong servers are adept at keeping guests informed before they need to ask where their crudo is, and making adjustments when mistakes are made.
In 1993, Jakob Nielsen referenced three response time limits to keep in mind when optimizing software performance and corresponding interaction. They still hold today (and had for 25 years already when Nielsen referenced them), but as an added layer, users now have a low tolerance for poor performance in any app they use, regardless if it's for work or play. Good product designers are conscious of both the limits and the need to handle/mitigate given user expectations, with implementations ranging from simple "loading" animations to messaging for an action that requires an asynchronous process. System health information is another important component of a full-fledged, transparent solution to keeping clients in the know, Status.io being a great example. This is especially crucial when the app in question has meaningful dollars or other mission critical data flowing through it.
Insist on quality
While great service can make up for a lot, at the end of the day the food needs to be good -- it's ultimately what brings people back. Obviously a lot goes into making that a reality -- fresh ingredients, expertise, years of experience, preparation, discipline, to name a few. Chefs make a point to look at and taste the food that's going out as a measure of quality control. Finely tuned teams also understand the importance of consistency over time -- that duck the guy at table six had 2 months ago better be as good or better as the last time he had it.
While you can get away with more bugs in your app than you can your food, the goal should still be on keeping them out. Even the best product ideas can be undone by defects and instability, shaking user confidence and shifting their feedback focus away from higher value topics. Product owners must be close enough to the product they own to a) be aware of issues affecting quality, and b) be in a position block and/or remedy. At a higher level, sound strategy & prioritization are the product equivalents of fresh ingredients -- if those are broken, it's "garbage in, garbage out".
Delight the customer
One of the reasons people go out to eat is to be transported from the ordinary (i.e., tedious prep, the act of cooking, doing the dishes, etc.) Good restaurants understand this, and find ways to delight and surprise their guests in any number of ways -- flavor combinations, presentation, comp'd items. And this approach isn't reserved for the fancy. Just the other day, the owner of a local diner I was visiting for the first time (Sophia's - it's great) brought me some of their homemade rice pudding out of the blue, free of charge. I was already planning on returning at some point, but that simple, unnecessary act sealed it.
Zappos' "add to cart" animation: I'm not even super into cats, but this is fun.
Your app should be similarly sprinkled with some of this magic. With some apps, delight is the raison d'être (e.g., Snapchat), but there is also lots of opportunity in those dealing with more mundane tasks. From an expansive workflow that cuts through what previously seemed like a tangled mess of wires (think TurboTax), to something that provides no utility at all other than whimsy, delightful UX brings customers back. My favorite example of the latter is Zappos' "add to cart" animation.
Ask for feedback
In addition to providing status, good servers keep tabs on their tables' happiness quotient, just often enough to take a pulse but not enough to be annoying. During a meal, changes can often be made in the moment to right the ship, but you can't fix what you don't know is broken. Obviously there are guests who are going to provide feedback even when not asked (in fact, they seem to live for it) -- this isn't to be discouraged, but how the message is received is the difference maker.
Similarly, actively gathering and incorporating user input is a necessary component of product dev, but again, it's about balance. Users can easily be put off by requests being too frequent, especially when they are disruptive to workflow. In a more strategic sense, there is tremendous value to making customers feel heard by taking action based on their feedback, but a roadmap that is too heavily customer-driven often spells doom for the product's overall UX, and the teams that support it.
Make spending easy
Savvy restauranteurs factor margin and maximizing revenue into everything from ingredient usage (check out the chapter on short ribs in Buford's Heat), to menu layout, to tactful table-side manner (e.g., after dinner drink?). Payment itself can also be streamlined, from suggested tip percentages/totals, to processing options at the table or through an app (e.g., OpenTable).
Sound UX also takes revenue into account, using information architecture to grease user funnels and in-UI guidance or promotion of feature usage that should be a win-win for the company and the customer. Clear pricing tiers and efficient, no-fuss billing can also be a differentiator given how poorly many do it.
If you made this far and still have room for dessert, I'd love to hear about any non-digital experiences you've referenced in your work.