User Experience vs. User Interaction

There is a difference between user experience and user interaction. User experience encompasses much more than a user interaction. In some definitions, user experience encompasses the entire experience of a product, where an interaction is one element of that entire process. So, clicking on a link is a user interaction, where a user experience includes that single interaction, other user interactions and a number of other factors that described completely, add up to a user experience.

A user experience begins 'out of the box' in some design philosophies, and the user experience of a product can last years, even decades. This entails that the usability of a product should begin with their very first exposure to the product as if they had just opened a surprise gift, something completely foreign and new to them. The actual box is a first interface, in fact (is it easy to open? Do they know which end to keep up?) And this carries on throughout all the items they open, the assembly, the actual use of the product, etc., with all of these specific activities being interactions with the product.

And each of these interactions needs to be tested and optimized.

To put forth another analogy, some people use the restaurant experience as an analogue. Reading the menu, requesting dessert and paying the bill are all separate aspects of teh entire experience of going to a restaurant. Does the customer know what to do and is his or her experience pleasant at each stage - in each of these interactions? Because we all know that a single bad interaction can ruin the entire experience. Negligence to ask if the customer would like another glass of wine can result in a disgruntled customer. A single spot of dirt on the wall can reeflect on the entire restaurant environment. Similarly, a misplaced button or the loss of a desired link can be critical to a user's experience of a web experience.

Certainly, you should test user interactions to be assured that they work properly. But how well do they enhance and fit into the complete user experience of your product or service? How well does each interaction complement other interactions?

We still see products launched where one single interaction - a single phase or part of the complete experience - ruins the entire user experience. This can happen because that interaction is too strange or simply poorly designed - or because it simply does not work well with the rest of the user experience.

This is where user experience testing comes into play. While testing at this macro level or of this magnitude might seem prohibitive, this is the ideal way to create a user experience that will be uniquely excellent and - in all likelihood - memorable for all the right reasons.

Call Interpix today to discuss how we can test user interactions for you and help to create a compelling user experience.