What is a UX Pyramid and how to use it?
What is the UX Pyramid?
The User Experience Pyramid is a model that helps us map out the different stages of a product’s design process and helps bring together key stakeholders and team members under one shared user-centred strategy. It follows a similar structure to Maslow's hierarchy of needs where you start at the bottom and work your way to the top.
Unfortunately, most products sit below the grey line and only do the basics of allowing users to perform tasks and meet basic user and business needs. But fail to give users a pleasurable experience. So it is important for apps to aim for the highest levels of user satisfaction especially if it’s related to entertainment or games.
Level 1 - Functional
This is the foundation on which all other levels are built on top off. At this level, your team should make sure to develop stable builds that load with basic functionality and are free from errors, broken links or slow interactions. The key areas here are engineering and QA to ensure basic acceptance criteria are met for speed and stability. Depending on the situation a UX prototype can be utilised instead of a build to validate designs at a minimal cost.
Stable builds
Error-free experience
Security
speed
Level 2 - Reliable
At this level, your product should work in a predictable and accurate way. The aim here is to bring a simple but consistent user experience, with understandable flows and interactions. Users should be able to use it to perform tasks in a straightforward way. The product here is used as intended without any confusion or dead ends.
Core user journey
Core navigation
Clear CTAs
Simple language
Simple interactions and gestures
Level 3 - Usable
At this level, the product does what it is intended to do. The core user journey works and the bed end systems are responsive and stable. The user can achieve their goals without encountering unnecessary roadblocks. The user is able to complete basic and routine tasks with little thought required learning curve for the new user that should be simple and intuitive. Typically, users won’t need any or much training or guidance to learn how things work.
Easy to learn but hard to master. Simplified learning curve
Simple navigation
Usability heuristics
Delay frustration points such as asking for permissions
Level 4 - Convenient
A convenient user experience is quick, easy, and intuitive. Users are able to complete tasks in the simplest way without any pain points. You want your website or app to require minimal learning-users should never have to go on a hunt for a certain feature. There are not many thrills at this point everything is about getting users to where they want to be in a way that is aligned with their existing mental models.
Reduce cognitive load
Clear architecture and flow
Clear information and directions
User settings, controls and choices.
Helpful prompts, tutorial and tips
Level 5 - Pleasurable
Pleasurable apps give users a great experience they enjoy using while using it. Alot of websites and apps now employ gamification features as well as Gifs and delightful animations.
Emotionally engaging content
Dealightful animations and UI
Reward and suprizes
Fun & playful language
Beautiful sounds, music and polish.
Level 6 - Meaningful
This level is the Holy Grail. Not many products make it to this level. A meaningful user experience fulfils all the user needs and adds even more value in order help to create strong relationships between the product, the brand and users. A great user experience is sticky and will differentiate you from what competitors are offering. when the experience is not just working but is helpful, delightful and personal, users will feel engaged and attached to your product which increases retention and brand loyalty. Users write glowing reviews and even become brand ambassadors by marketing it to others or bringing them into the experience itself.
Deep customisation and personalistion
Social connections and shared experiances
Meaningful progression
emotional catharsis and resonance.
Objective Quantitative
The first three levels of the pyramid indicate that the app objectively does what it's supposed to do. If your app is well-designed and functions properly, people will use as intended.
Once your app reaches the third level, it works mostly bug-free but you don't yet have an active community of users around it that are promoting your product for you.
Subjective Qualitative
Above the third level is where things get interesting. You should aim for a design that promotes convenience, pleasure, and meaning. This subjective section of the pyramid is where most businesses will have to start with their marketing initiatives.
These three aspects of user experience have an almost unlimited number of influences on each other and an even greater amount of things to consider when designing any kind of marketing effort that directly addresses them. There's no such thing as wasted time when it comes to human-centred design.
How to Break the Red Line of the UX Pyramid
A good example of an app that is below the red line is Amazon Prime Video and a good example of an app above the line is Netflix. Netflix not only offers an intuitive app but also great content and a rich feature set all designed around personalising the app around the user.
As connection speeds get faster and as digital experiences get more mature users’ expectations will get higher and higher. No longer will it be enough that your product to work but it has to offer a seamless user experience and usability.
A frustrations app with slick interactions and a polished interface can go a long way in convincing users that your product is worth their time.
Getting your team onboard is key to crafting this kind of experience. Using tools such as the pyramid to course-correct alongside a user centre’s design approach will help get you above the red line.
As much as we may aim for the top of the pyramid it is important to set the foundation below it and Nobody wants an app that looks great but does not do what it is designed to do. Ultimately user satisfaction is what you should be aiming for.
Conclusion
The UX Pyramid is a helpful guide to creating great experiences for your users and a shared vision for your team. It should be used with other methods and processes to craft the best experiences for your users. But its still an awesome tool to have in your help.