How can you create seamless and delightful user journeys across industries?

The first step in any project is to have a well-defined problem to solve. Understanding this difficulty will make the process of searching for solutions more enlightening. With this need clearly articulated, the audience for whom the project is being developed will play an extremely enlightening role during the research. Furthermore, the responses from these users will bring even more impactful improvements to enhance the solutions for the identified problem.

To create seamless, delightful user journeys across industries, start with in-depth user research and develop detailed personas. Map out each persona's journey, identifying key touchpoints and opportunities for improvement. Ensure brand consistency and intuitive navigation. Personalize experiences using data, and prioritize accessibility for all users. Leverage technology such as AI and chatbots to enhance interaction, and establish feedback loops for ongoing refinement. Drawing inspiration from other industries can lead to innovative solutions. This approach ensures experiences are tailored, intuitive, and engaging for users in any industry, focusing on their specific needs and expectations.

Having more insight into the industry can also give you a sense of who you need to shadow or interview and how their role relates to the problem space you are trying to understand.

One of the most useful exercises one can do to create a seamless experience is to map out the current experience using experience map. Experience map does not only cover how the user interacts with your product but also what other outside the product steps are taken. So it covers the whole experience not just with in the product. This is extremely useful as it allows us to understand how our product fits in the consumer’s life. Do they use it in the go? Do they use it during the day or night? Do they use it after a conversation with a specialist. All the details really matter and seamless experience is possible only when we understand a bigger picture.

By researching challenges within an industry, you can identify key pain points that are unique to them. For example, healthcare companies have regulations that they must comply with to protect user's information. If you are able to understand the context of an industry, it will help you define a unique solution for their pain points.

Many tools can assist you in organizing the project's objectives and scenarios. Agile methodologies and processes such as service blueprinting can help clarify each stage of the problem and design cycles to find a solution. Try to visualize the entire process; this will facilitate understanding the problem. It will also aid your client in project status meetings, creating confidence and credibility in your work management.

Streamline onboarding: Make the onboarding process straightforward and concise. Guide users through essential features and benefits to help them quickly understand your product’s value. Provide feedback and validation: Provide real-time feedback to users after they complete actions. Inform them about successful actions and guide them when errors occur, enhancing their confidence in using your platform.

There are multiple factors involved in creating a seamless user journey. First and most important is to understand your user, it's behaviour and needs. Second, what is the goal that you expect the user to reach and what could be the multiple journeys that a user can take. Then, ideate on those multiple journey and try to optimise as much as possible. For example, in e-commerce apps there are different journeys from selecting a product to buying. If a user wants to buy multiple products he adds them to cart and then goes to cart and move to payment flow. Other journey is directly purchasing a product from buy now (CTA) and going to payment flow directly. This is just one example. Share your examples of user journeys in payment flow.

Map the user journey: Visualize the entire user journey, from the first touchpoint to the final conversion. This map should highlight key touchpoints, interactions, and potential drop-off points. Embrace responsive design: Ensure that your design adapts to different screen sizes and resolutions, making content look good on any device. Use flexible layouts, fluid images, and adjustable font sizes to achieve this.

Always be visual! Use all kinds of tools to aid in explaining the steps. Mental models are always good for creating infographics that will bring the necessary clarity for understanding and explaining the problem to the client or team. Each visually defined stage will help in the reliability and management of the project. Often, when we clearly outline the stages on paper, we can find the solution much more quickly and accurately.

Want to bring real data into your user journey mapping? One of my favorite #ga4 tips is to utilize the native engagement reports on top of a filter focused on specific landing pages. So if you want to develop more knowledge set your view to "Comparison" > Dimension > "Landing page + query string" > Select match type > contains > [URL structure] once you have this setting enabled you can cross compare any user journey against an ideal and diagnose where specific issues are popping up.

Use clear call-to-actions: Place well-defined CTAs at strategic points along the user journey. Use action-oriented language and visually distinguish CTAs to prompt user actions. Incorporate personalization: Personalize your content, products, or services based on user preferences and behavior. Recommend relevant and tailored options to enhance engagement. A/B testing: Continuously perform A/B testing to identify areas for improvement. Compare different versions of your design and measure their impact on user behavior and satisfaction.

Be attentive to all user reactions and responses in user surveys. In most cases, we can solve the problem and even enhance the solution. The details observed during user testing are valuable inputs to address questions raised at the beginning of the project. The emotions expressed during the use of the interface or specific functionalities indicate the correctness or need for improvements in the chosen solution.

Antes de la visualización de wireframes y prototipos (figma y framer mediante), conocer al usuario e identificar su recorrido para por una labor de investigación y research. Cuando detectamos un bug, cuando ampliamos información con una encuesta, cuando activamos un grupo, cuando ideamos un recorrido, plasmar nuestras ideas previas, nuestras conjeturas y confirmaciones en un mapa de empatía o un user journey nos permite conocer mejor qué aspectos queremos mejorar en la experiencia de usuario, qué emociones provoca y qué necesidades queremos resolver. Siempre atacamos una frustración, siempre respondemos a una necesidad. Si no es así, no es experiencia de usuario.

Minimize user effort: Eliminate unnecessary steps or information fields during processes like sign-ups or checkouts. Utilize smart defaults and autofill options to reduce user effort. Prioritize clarity and simplicity: Keep the user journey as simple and intuitive as possible. Label navigation options, minimize the number of steps, and eliminate unnecessary information. Maintain consistency across platforms: Whether a user interacts with your product on a website, mobile app, or social media, the experience should remain consistent. Maintain a cohesive design, messaging, and functionality across all platforms.

Document the entire process in a universal manner, providing easily understandable insights for any user or team member wanting to follow the developed research methodology. Tools and structures presented in a simplified way help solidify your brand as a UX professional in the market, communicating solutions clearly. This aids in establishing your approach and exploration of the problem. Such documentation can be a powerful tool to add a unique touch to your style, undoubtedly attracting new clients and projects.

Start with a timeline, using visuals like icons to highlight key touchpoints. Incorporate user actions, emotions, and pain points, with colour coding for positive and negative experiences. Add concise annotations for clarity. While moodboards capture style and mood, for the actual sequence of interactions, emotions, and touchpoints, consider using flowcharts or infographics. Present this visual aid in meetings to foster a shared understanding among team members and stakeholders.

Create seamless and delightful user journeys across industries by prioritizing user-centric research, defining clear personas, and mapping comprehensive user journeys. Maintain consistent branding, ensure intuitive navigation, and optimize onboarding processes. Implement personalization, responsive design, and performance optimization. Collect and iterate based on user feedback, use clear calls to action, and prioritize accessibility. Craft human-centered copy, integrate across channels, and commit to continuous improvement by staying informed about industry trends. This holistic approach aims to enhance user experiences and satisfaction across diverse industries.

An example I’ve seen is to 1. Understand your users through research—gather insights on their needs, preferences, and pain points. Tailor user journeys based on this understanding. 2. Create user personas to represent different segments of your audience. Design user journeys that cater to the unique needs and preferences of each persona. 3. Streamline user flows by minimizing unnecessary steps. 5. Establish feedback mechanisms to gather insights at different touchpoints. 6. Conduct A/B testing to experiment with different elements of the user journey. Analyze user responses and refine. 7. Provide post-purchase support, recommendations, and engagement to enhance overall satisfaction.

When researching, make sure to to consider the existing/inherited UX/UI from your current competitors and Partners. And from those trends, which UX/UI elements can be copied, and which are an opportunity to create something better?

Number one is always to start with a “targeted “ audience. From there expand the targeted. If it’s not a targeted… then it’s what ever spaghetti noodles stick to the wall “to see if it is done”.