What is a User Flow?

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Product Managers need to be in touch with what their UX and UI designers are doing. They need to involve Design from the beginning of the product process, rather than handing them a mostly done product at the end to ‘pretty it up.’

To do this, Product Managers need to feel more comfortable communicating with designers in their language. That means getting to grips with some key concepts.

User Flows are one of the key parts of design that Product Managers should be very interested in, as it heavily affects how the user interacts with and experiences the product…a key factor determining product success!

What are User Flows?

A User Flow is a visual tool depicted by flow charts. It depicts a set of steps taken by a user to achieve a goal within a digital product. Rather than demonstrating how the customers are supposed to feel, a User Flow is the breakdown of the actual user interface.

Generally, User Flow diagrams are not very detailed. They contain just the essential information that helps outline the following: represent the goals of system-user interactions, define and organize the functional requirements in a system, specify the context and requirements of a system, and model the basic flow of events. They will affect everything from what features you prioritize to solve your customers’ problems to what customers you’ll market your product to.

Benefits of using User Flows?

• User Flows diagrams can be very simple, or very complex. They’re effective and malleable visual tools. Check out these variations and examples of User Flows.
• They can help your team communicate and analyze the scope of your system: any scenario in which your system interacts with customers, organizations, or external systems; or goals or problems your applications help your customers solve.
• Designing how a user interacts with a product is a key step in figuring out where the issues may be in your task flows.
• Draw a User Flow diagram anytime you need to specify context and requirements for a system to operate, or model the flow of events in a given User Flow.

User Flow Step-by-Step

Begin your User Flow diagram with a head start. Use this ready-made User Flow template and follow these simple steps to get ahead in your Product Management game!

Before mapping your User Flow, you need to identify:

• Users
• Objective
• Traffic source
• The what and when

Step 1 - Identify users

Identify your users. Users are anybody interacting with your system. A user can be a customer,? person, system, or organization.

Step 2 - Outline the Objective?

Outline 1) your happy path, and 2) your unhappy path. When you test the happy path, you test actions you want the user to take.?

With the unhappy path, you test actions you do not want the user to take. This is not where you want your users to be, but they end up there because they're not qualified to follow the happy path, or they explicitly chose a different path (rejected product/feature/upsell).?

Step 3 - Find traffic source

How do users find your product? Is it organic or paid traffic? Referral sites, email? Different entry points highlight how customers are using your product and how you can cater it to their needs. More importantly, these points can be the entryway for your User Flow diagram.

Step 4 - Identify the what and when of user needs

Now that we have the starting point identified, consider the information your user needs and what actions they should take moving forward. To get conversion you need to give the right information, at the right time.? What information does your user need? What actions should they take to move towards the target objective?

Here are some questions you can ask yourself during this stage:?

1. What action should I take on this page if I were my customer??
2. How do I navigate the checkout process?
3. If I were this customer, how would I feel about this testimonial video?

The key is to understand what your customer wants out of a certain page, how they might be thinking.?

It’s also important to analyze what’s already working for your users and break down the steps they’ve taken to reach where you want them to. Purchase is not the only important outcome, some customers may likely need several interactions with your site or product before completing a purchase.?

Step 5 - Map out the User Flow

Now that you know your user pretty well, you can understand their reason behind approaching your product, and the regular paths they tend to follow to perform various actions, you can now start mapping a User Flow diagram.?

Make sure you use a visual tool that you’re comfortable with where you can drag and drop, annotate and collaborate with your team.??

1. Begin with shapes that indicate entry points (organic, paid, etc). You can even use low-fidelity wireframe shapes here instead.
2. Next, indicate the landing page and the next potential steps your customer can take until the flow reaches an outcome or end goal.

Your User Flow diagram may likely change over time, depending on numerous factors such as your customer base, as well as their needs and motivations.?

Step 6 - Share and collect feedback

Regardless of what your product is, make sure to share your User Flow diagram with UX designers, developers, engineers, and other stakeholders to gather essential feedback and make adjustments accordingly. Your User Flow must visualize the experience you’re proposing at a glance.?

Access this User Flow template to see examples and different User Flow structures. Good luck!