Improving user experience: learn, build, measure

But there is a logical, foundational process that helps prevent poor decision-making when it comes to the fundamental design of a website, store or app. While it is often hidden behind industry acronyms like HCD (Human-Centred Design), UCD (User-Centred Design), or MVP (Minimum Viable Product), the core approach has been around since humans first started innovating.

The learn, build, measure cycle

It sounds basic, but relying on an iterative cycle is essential for achieving success.

Learn: understand what your data means

The first step is moving beyond what the data says to understand what it actually means. For example, if your e-commerce site shows a drop in conversions, that is just the data. The real learning comes from investigating why - perhaps the pricing is uncompetitive, or the checkout buttons are lost on a cluttered page full of banners, promotional pop-ups and long product descriptions.

In user experience (UX) design, the best insights come from user research, which should happen whenever you need to learn something new to build effectively. Great research practices include:

• Usability testing to learn how your product is currently performing.
• User interviews to understand your audience's feelings and the challenges they face.
• User surveys to gather broad opinions from the masses.
• Analytical evaluation to interpret the data from both an analyst's and a designer's perspective.

Build: stick to your learnings

Once the learning phase is complete, the problems should be specific, and the solutions should feel obvious. If they don’t, there might be more learnings to uncover.

It’s common for stakeholders to introduce subjective opinions that steer a project towards what they want, rather than what the user actually needs. The best approach is to rely entirely on data-driven design decisions. When reviewing designs, always look at them from your user's perspective.

UX designers use several tools during the design phase:

• "How might we..." statements to build conceptual ideas collaboratively across teams.
• Wireframing to structure the interface and ensure users can complete their tasks.
• Visual design (UI) to create the final representation of the product.
• Prototyping to build a clickable model for testing complex user flows and aligning with developers.
• Development support to help overcome constraints and test key interactions.

Measure: prove your success

You can’t know if you have improved an experience without data. Skipping this step is a massive mistake. Measuring is the most crucial part of the cycle because without it:

• You have no quantifiable proof of success.
• You do not know what worked and what failed.
• You cannot answer questions about the return on investment (ROI).
• You have no idea how users engaged with the final product.
• You cannot effectively re-engage with the iterative cycle.

If your build is based on solid learnings, setting up your measurements should be straightforward. Common methods include:

• Card sorting or tree jacking to test if users can easily find content within your site's architecture.
• Usability testing to observe how users perform specific tasks.
• Analytics to track the right metrics in collaboration with marketers and data analysts.

Don’t be tempted to skip ahead!

The iterative cycle is a proven, logical approach to solving problems. Skipping steps when it feels convenient (or when it feels like there isn’t time) reduces your chances of success. Before moving forward, always pause to acknowledge where you are in the cycle.

If we start a project with you, our process is always to recommend:

• Learning about the current or conceptual experience.
• Exploring solutions that meet user needs and align with business goals.
• Measuring the impact to see where it can be further improved.

If you want to leave the guesswork behind and see where you might improve the experience for your users, reach out to webqem.

‍