Understanding the users’ point of view
When it comes to understanding your audience and creating for the user experience, it’s to simply listen to user feedback and implement it. However, feedback alone does not tell designers anything about what the user needs or what will actually make their experience better beyond what they think will.
To solve this issue, designers use create and use POV statements which connect user needs to feedback and insights.
According to The Interaction Design Foundation, a POV statement is “a meaningful and actionable statement, which will allow you to ideate in a goal-oriented manner.” In other words, they are statements that define the specific needs of your users, and the necessary insights to meet them.
A POV statement is created by combining users, their needs, and insights about them into a sentence. By plugging these three factors into the following “equation,” you get a statement that helps you to view design from the perspective of the user.
[User . . . (descriptive)] needs [need . . . (verb)] because [insight. . . (compelling)]
To illustrate this concept, let’s use Uber Eats as an example. This is a food delivery app which allows users to order from local restaurants. From there, a driver will pick up your order and bring it to your location.
To start let’s examine the positive, negative, and suggestive reviews on the app store. Some insights that we can pull from this feedback are:
Users love the convenience and user-friendly experience that they get on the app. Many reported that the app works incredibly well and that it makes their lives easier when they are either too busy to get food or unable to do to sickness or any other reasons.
There tend to be negative experiences with orders being cancelled or drivers stealing food and marking an order as complete. Not to mention the many reviews saying that customer service was no help to them.
Now, we can plug this information into the equation that was mentioned before to get out POV statements for Uber Eats users.
Examining the point of views of the users of these three food delivery apps has shown me how important it is to not just listen to what the user is saying, but to connect it back to what they need.
Simply looking at the reviews for each app would reveal that a lot of people like it, and a lot of people have some problems with it. However, when you take the time to examine these comments and attach the to the users’ needs, you can come to conclusions about the specific implementations that need to be made to your design to improve user experience across the board.
I encourage you to click the button at the beginning or the end of this blog to view my full user point of view exercise process.
Hi! My name is Peyton McKenzie.
I am a professional graphic designer, photographer and content creator.
I encourage you to explore my portfolio to get a better idea of the work I create. If you are interested in working with me or have inquiries of any kind, don’t hesitate to reach out over email.
