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User eXperience (UX) and User Interfaces (UI) are two big topics on their own. Whilst each has a distinct focus and approach, they are closely linked, with them each impacting the other.
User eXperience relates to the overall experience people have when they are interacting with the products we design and build. User Interfaces are about the layout, visual elements, and general interactions. A good UX design will lead to guidelines that define a good UI. Likewise, a well-designed UI will result in a better UX.
This topic incorporates everything we deliver! I’m talking all areas of the Power Platform, Microsoft 365, Windows, and more.
Building an enjoyable experience
UX should always be the starting point of any build. It also is the ending point. This is also where inclusion is at its most important!
In the design phases understanding the personas, the different types of users, defines much of the project approach. Including people with disabilities and users of assistive technology at this stage is paramount. By doing so this ensures that inclusive design is core to the whole design process. Along with that is gives those users a voice right at the start.
Moving along through the project lifecycle you inevitably reach the testing stages. By having included those with disabilities from the start means there are people who can help with accessibility testing. An open dialog is created that encourages continuous feedback and ongoing iterations that lead to better outputs.
This level of inclusion from the beginning encourages, and results in, consistent design and experiences. It helps build easier to use apps and dashboards, websites, and documents, and so much more.
Doing this creates a UX lifecycle with inclusion at its heart. This then circles around to iterate into amazing builds that are inclusive and accessible from the ground up.
Interfaces that work for everyone
With the User eXperience mapped out the User Interface design can take shape. Having an inclusive community of personas leads to designs that consider all needs.
With inclusive design as the foundation the UI design can be tested with a full spectrum of users. Having this before anything is committed to makes changes easier to implement and lowers the cost. Holding such testing means that everything from screen designs, layouts, functionality, appearance, and more are considered. This consideration can include everything from general aesthetics to usability and compatibility with assistive technology.
Once the build begins then the below topics, and more, can be included from day 1. Click on each link to go to the relevant blog post in the A2Z series.
- Borders
- Colours
- Dark Mode / Light Mode (and general customisation)
- Fonts and Formatting
- Keyboards and other navigation methods
- Layout Containers to help the flow of information
- Responsive design
- Screen Reader compatibility
- Not overwhelming with Too Much Information
- Zoom levels and Magnifiers [Coming Soon!]
There are more I could include there, but I’m sure you get the idea.
It’s far simpler to build accessibility into solutions from the beginning than to try and retrofit it at the end. Retrofits don’t usually happen because there is no time, no budget, and it’s too complex to squeeze in. Where people try to add things in it is rarely a great solution and results in a poor user experience.
The snake that eats its own tail
UX and UI are an ongoing cycle where one encompasses the other and they are weaved together. Yes, there is more to User eXperience than just the interface. In the same way, there is more to the User Interface build than just the UX elements. But without designing one properly, the other falls apart.
It can feel, especially on time-pressured projects, that UX can be a time-sink that delays things. This is a deception though. Spending the time upfront can reduce the time spent in tweaking (or completely rebuilding) the user interface. Including a full range of personas also speeds up user acceptance and adoption. This in turn leads to greater satisfaction in the end product.
For additional reading on this you can click to read “The Importance of UI and UX in Frontend Development”. This covers some high-level bullet points but also provides references and research into this topic as a whole. At Mind Inventory there is a good post on the topic that you can find here. Both are predominantly web focused but they also cover general UX/UI. The statistics and key figures they quote also apply across all areas.
Thanks for reading this post on User eXperience / User Interface
Hopefully this post has been useful and presented ideas for new ways of working. This post is © Mike Hartley and is a part of the A to Z Accessibility: Power Platform Edition.
To read more about the series, head over to the introductory article here which includes a Table of Contents. You can access all the posts using the A to Z link on the menu bar or by clicking here.