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What is Value in UX?
In software design, value emerges at the user level when systems deliver clear and outcome oriented experiences, that are well aligned with user and business goals. When UX outcomes also support business objectives, value is delivered for both the user and the organization.Adding features to software, and software to daily life, is often presented as adding value. But in order to add value, something has to have been improved on. Improvement should be quantifiable.
Integrating software into existing tiny workflows, like unlocking the door to a house, does not guarantee improved user experience or better performance over a tactile device or set of physical controls.
While digitally unlocking a door can provide added accessibility in specialized use cases, bringing interaction based software to the task of unlocking your front door will introduce complexity, cognitive load, and operational inefficiencies, all things that subtract value from an experience.
For example:
Pocket-->Keys-->Find Key-->Unlock Door
Is a better user flow than:
Pocket-->Phone-->Open Device-->Open App-->Unlock Door
A proximity trigger on your keychain or device that allowed you to simply walk up to your door and have it unlock would be a superior user flow to either of these, but would also present new challenges in feedback and affordance.
A similar case study is laid out in The Best Interface is No Interface, by Golden Krishna, using a key fob on a car.
UX in Vehicles
While touchscreens offer more control, they are primarily a visual cue of modernity that helps to market a vehicle. They replace tactile controls that drivers can operate without diverting their attention from the road.
Reduced situational awareness diminishes a driver’s ability to perform safely and with self-confidence.
In this case, the value of digital controls should be measured by their contribution to the primary task of driving well. Until that threshold is met, instances of software like this can be considered a novelty enhancement to a task, rather than a value-adding capability.
Generating lasting value through UX prioritizes outcomes over features.
Understanding what users are trying to accomplish, and minimizing friction in those efforts, benefits everyone involved, from the user to the business, and even the bystanders of these engagements.