The unfortunate truth is a whole lot of bad UX comes from not having a really big checklist. “Here are 50 things you’re just going to design at some point, and here are the 20 things to either (A) definitely do or (B) definitely not do for each”. That would have saved me some time in my own UX career!

Oh, and then there’s user research and usability testing. This stuff gets seriously blown out of proportion. I’ve had clients come to me concerned about not being able to do eye-tracking research on their MVP landing page. I’ve listened to otherwise competent professionals discuss about how many users need to be interviewed before comments are “statistically significant”. And the classic problem of teams who just “don’t have the budget for research”? Don’t get me started. (It’s like tax evasion: you may save a buck now, but you’ll have to pay eventually – and with interest)

These qualms about research and testing are all due to one common mistake: we’re overthinking it. We’re not trying to discover quantum gravity here, folks. We’re just trying to make our app suck a little bit less next week than it does this week. And fortunately, the most valuable research and testing doesn’t take an army of PhDs to perform. It’s simple enough that one person can do it in a day’s work. Of course, like any part of creating a great product, it’s never over. But fundamentally, there are a few things to get right – and a few pitfalls to avoid – but that’s the gist of it. It can all be done, no stats class required.

All in all, designing a great user experience is still a strangely difficult task. But you still want to learn anyways? Fantastic.

Why UX Design?

Everyone’s reasons for learning UX are a little different.

• Developers. You created your own app, but every time someone downloads it, they struggle to use it. And if your users are telling you this, then you know it’s really bad.
• Graphic and UI designers. UX is about the most natural skillset you can add to your career. Tons of employers need it – and are willing to give you a nice 5-figure salary bump if you can do it. Learning UX is a clear win.
• PMs. Your job is already like 25% UX designer. Would be nice to level up those skills.
• Entrepreneurs and hustlers. You’re already burning the candle at both ends to make your app a reality, but you know that if users find it frustrating and confusing, it won’t matter how many hours you put into it.
• Non-tech folks. You want a job in tech, but you don’t want to be a coder. That Psych degree better start paying for itself sometime, and UX is basically ergonomics of the mind. Time to level up.

There’s room for all of us here, by the way. Humans are pretty complex little lumps of emotions and values and wants and needs. Trying to design something we love? It’s fundamentally interdisciplinary.

And yet it’s so critical. Consider the following.

If your app technically solves 100% of your users’ problems, but is frustrating and confusing to use, your users will jump ship the first chance they get.

On the other hand, if your app is usable and delightful, even if leaves a couple features to be desired, your users will send you feature requests – with love letters for preambles. (Ask me how I know)

And at the end of the day, “I love your app and use it every day, but wish it did X” is a way better problem than “I deleted your app after an hour of trying to figure it out”.

In an ideal world, no software would need a manual. You’d just download it (or log in) and start using it. Features would be exactly where you looked for them, error messages – if you saw them at all – would be helpful and specific, and you’d never spend 5 clicks doing what could be done in just one. But what do you actually need to know to do this? How do you learn to think like a UX designer? How do you create something users will love?

I’m glad you asked.

Introducing