Visma UX Value loop
When we talk about user experience, we talk about the experienced look, feel and usability of a product or service. To ensure that we deliver products and services that serve a clear purpose and meet user needs and expectations, we need to understand our customers and end-users – really understand them. We need to collaborate and co-create, test our hypotheses early, iterate and learn continuously. To empower teams to succeed we have a recommended process to follow; The Visma UX Value Loop.
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The Visma UX Value Loop
The UX Value Loop is a process that puts the user’s needs, wants and limitations in focus throughout the whole development phase. The result is a product that gives value, is efficient, satisfying and a friendly experience for the user. The UX Value Loop is built upon two parts that are the foundation for building great experiences, Discovery and Delivery. An important criteria for success is user involvement throughout the development phase and the team’s ability to sense, respond and iterate on feedback in both phases.
That is why we strongly believe in the importance to start with the Discovery phase. The process can seem time consuming, but this will be a good investment to ensure that you are building the right things and solving the right problems. And in many cases the steps in the Discovery phases are not needed to be heavy and complex, but just working smart and asking the right questions in the right order to the right people.
When you understand your users, have gathered a wide range of ideas, have validated your hypotheses and aligned expectations with your team and stakeholders we are ready to go into the Delivery phase. In the Delivery phase you will come closer to the details in your suggested solution and iterate the design of the user experience. You should continue to test your solutions on users and create a plan for how you will release and measure the value that your aim for.
In these steps you will use different methods depending on the needs and scope. The illustrations below shows the UX Value Loop. We will describe what each step means and also a couple of methods per step that can be used.
1. Understand
Start the Discovery phase by creating an understanding of the user context. What should you build? For who and why? In this step you should meet your users to understand the problem to solve and the opportunity we have to add value.
The best methods to answer these questions is to observe the user in their real environment andvisit them at their workplace. Field studies, user observations and user interviews are good examples of methods in this phase. In addition you should also get a better understanding by analysing quantitative data as for example Customer Effort Score, Product NPS, behaviour analysis of usage, surveys.
2. Define
Before you jump into conclusion on the first solutions it’s time to explore ideas and define the outcome . A good approach is to start to identify the optimal customer journey and main flows in the process. In this step co-creation internally and together with users is the key to get a wide range of perspectives and ideas.
The best methods to use in this step is often to run workshops to ensure alignment and understanding of the problem you are going to solve . Methods that are often used in this step are: Impact mapping, User story mapping, Customer journey mapping. Stakeholder interviews, define Personas, Design Sprint, Innovation Jam and Design studio method.
3. Prototype
The last step in the Discovery Phase is where you start to visualize and create prototypes and test your hypothesis. How should the solution work? Visualise and test your hypothesis on users. Solving problems and creating great solutions requires many iterations so remember that you need to sense and respond to the feedback you receive.
Common methods and activities in this step is to create prototypes and do usability testing meeting your users. You could use a mix of both undmoderated and moderated usability test depending on the problem that you are solving.
Teams that invest time in the Discovery phase will in the end save time and it’s more likely that you will build the right things.
4. Build
Now the team is ready to start coding and the first step in the Delivery phase is Build. Now it’s time to refine the details in user flows and screens to ensure good usability. Don’t forget to review and update your prototypes if needed. When you start to design the details in your solution remember to follow your products design system by using well known, patterns, web standards and visual hierarchy.
Collaboration within the team and with users is still very valuable in this step. In many cases a really great user experience is when you have thought about the details both within an individual screen and flows within your service. Ensure that you have easy access to users and domain people for fast feedback loops during development.
Before you start building prioritization of activities is an important. Methods that we suggest you use is in the planning phase is methods for prioritization, Impact mapping, User story mapping and identify your MVP (Minimal Viable Product).
5. Validate
To ensure that you have built the right solution and it is easy to use, you need to validate and test your solutions. Are you focused on solving the right problems and delivery whole experiences? Remember that you need to plan how you will validate your solution and ensure that you have the time to sense and respond to feedback from you users.
There are many different methods you can use in this step like for example usability test, user interviews, use of reference groups, in-app micro-surveys and A&B testing. If you have the possibility for continuous delivery we recommend you to utilize possibilities of feature toggling where you start small and test your solution on a limited no of users.
6. Measure
Last step in the Delivery phase is to enjoy a great team work and release to all customers. But how do you know if your users are satisfied with the solution and are using it? Are they getting the value you planned in the beginning? Now it’s time to measure both ease of use and if we were solving the tasks that we designed.
We recommend to use a mix of methods to ensure that you measure both quantity and quality. You can measure your outcomes using different metrics like for example: usability tests, measure before and after, in-app-questions asking user about how satisfied or ease of use, usage and adoption. In the end you want to be sure that your have solved the right problem and that your users are happy with your solution.
