A while back, UX designers based their design on intuition and experience to design a product, an approach that is very impractical in this information age. Thanks to the evolution of science and technology, data has taken center stage in the user experience design process. If you don’t jump on the bandwagon soon enough, you may drift behind your peers.

The data-driven UX design approach has proven more effective because it etches on research that shows what actually works for the target audience. That way, UX designers can use UX data to minimize the risk of failure and gain a better understanding of how users interact with their product

That said, in a highly competitive business environment, UX designers that leverage data to their advantage have a clear edge over their competitors. What’s more, with so many data sources at their disposal these days, UX designers have their work cut out for them. Every user experience designer knows that the key to an incredible user experience is a user-centered design process, and UX data gives you just that.

Keep reading and learn how to use UX data to enhance your user experience design process for incredible product design.

What Is the UX Data-Driven approach?

As you can tell from the name, data-driven UX design is user experience design dictated by UX data. The process is backed by data found from findings of research you conduct on your target audience. From these findings, you can create or improve a product.

It’s a way better approach than using your instincts and intuition to carve out a product for your target audience. That’s because, unlike following your instincts, you don’t project your ideas and points of view onto others. It’s the most foolproof way of sidestepping the false consensus effect which plagues most UX designers, especially amateurs.

Admittedly, sometimes these hypotheses and opinions work to the benefit of the UX designers. However, it’s nothing like basing your product design on metrics and assertions you can actually substantiate. This data can speak volumes about user experience and what effect the product will have on the target audience.

How to Incorporate Data in the UX Design Process

Allowing data to dictate your design process is arguably the most effective UX design approach. With a firm understanding of the data-driven approach, let’s now look at how to integrate it into your design process.

Step 1: Define User Needs and Business Goals

The first step is to define user needs and what the business aims to achieve with the product in question. This will give you the roadmap for collecting data that is actually useful for the design process. You can use various research methods to get insights into user behaviors and preferences.

You should also define the set of metrics that align with the business goal. Also, give the JBTD method a whirl and see how it works for you.

Step 2: Have Your Data Sources on Lock

Now that you’ve defined your user and business goals, it’s time to get to the nitty-gritty of things. You’ll have to write down your data sources to kick off the data gathering process. The first data source should be the user base, but not for all cases.

The data collection process will be harder for newer companies because they don’t have a concrete and established user base. However, you can take a leaf from the businesses’ competitors or maximize the growing user base. Remember to choose the most financially prudent data collection method unless it disrupts the data collection method.

Things are much easier for digital UX design because of the sheer amount of data sources available online. However, some designers claim that sometimes these analytics platforms don’t meet their UX design needs. If you’re in the same boat, you should consider a platform like Session Replay or see some of its best uses.

Locking down on data sources will help in your overall design preparation. You can now prioritize what aspects of the design should receive more attention and carve a systematic design plan.

Step 3: Visual Data Representation

With all your numbers and information in place, the next thing you want to do is to transform them into visual representations of the data in question. Doing so helps you understand the data better and saves a lot of time during data analysis.

Simple charts and graphs will help you get a clear idea of the data you collected. Once you visually represent your data, you can get to designing.

Step 4: The Actual Design

With all the data in place, you can now get to the actual design. Use your skills, knowledge, and expertise to apply the data and create an amazing product for the target audience. With the data-driven approach, you should expect nothing less but incredible designs.

Why Is Data-Driven Design So Important?

You may be wondering why the data-driven approach is so important and whether it works. Well, here are a couple of advantages of the data-driven approach you should know of.

Allows You to Make Well Informed Decisions

UX design is a multi-faceted process that requires making critical decisions for the right design to come to life. As mentioned earlier, using intuitions and instincts rarely works out. However, if you let fact-based data dictate your decisions, you’ll be on the right track.

Decisions are a crucial part of UX design, and you can’t afford to make hit-or-miss decisions. The data-driven approach allows you to make informed decisions for the best results.

Helps You Prioritize Design Aspects

The data-driven approach helps you prioritize what design aspects will be most impactful to the target audience. This will help you in your work and financial organization. It also prevents wastefulness and unnecessary spending.

Let Data Drive Your Design Process

Using UX data to drive your design process is a more effective and practical approach to UX design. In the information age, reason and intuition aren’t enough to bring your best design to crystallization. Adopt the data-driven approach today and blow your target audience away.

There’s much more from where that came from. For more insightful reads on things technology, wellness, among other topics, check out the other pieces on the site.