More often than not, users' needs, motivations and expectations are not simple. There are many dependencies which make bridging the gaps complex. The goal, however is always to present the solution to the user in a simple manner by:

• Directing design thinking toward usefulness.
• Identifying and describing core activities in need of support.
• Conceptualizing design for useful support.

How do you fix a broken user experience in a technology tool?

Working at a financial institution has given me a whole new view on complexity in both landscape and structure, some by design and some due to unnecessarily complicated tools which can erode the user experience. The multiple causes can include dependencies on multiple systems, information resources and development teams who do not understand user experience, changing scenarios or requirements due to regulations and policy.

One such tool was developed by an outside team of developers, a new system from scratch. Although they met the original requirements, the tool still was not useful and overly complex for its intended purpose and audience.

At the point I became involved in the project was near the release phase. I focused my efforts on entry points into the tool and exposed further gaps by mapping the current system to a proposed new system.

The final solution became evident in a short time; redesign the system with processes and workflows which met users expectations by:

• Rationalizing functional requirements of the system
• Eliminating unnecessary steps in building out the user interface
• Separating the system and user requirements

 

 

 

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