The User Interface (UI) is not the User Experience (UX)
There seems to be a huge level of confusion around user experience (UX), but one of the key things is that the user interface is not the user experience.
Simple digital systems are constructed with several interlinked components;
- User Interface – what the user sees
- Interface Logic – what the user can do
- Logical connections
- Interactive behaviours
- Content/data calls
- Content/data inputs
- Data Systems – the content the user creates and interacts with
- Platform – the users delivery mechanism
If your paying for UX you should be asking “how did the UX change the interaction, logic, data systems and platform” if it did not influence it, you only got UI design.
The user interface is the top level component that users see.
‘user experience architecture is defined by what users can do, not just what they can see’
The user experience is not a single component it is a set of features that is facilitated through several components.
Comment Through LinkedIn
I would also add to this Karl – it is also the non-system elements – customer service, marketing and POS material (is this consistent with the message being communicated on the system) etc. The customer, client or worker doesn’t see the difference – they see one big system. It is often frustrating to do a piece of research and find out all the weak points in an organisations’ “system” and be told, just tell us what the UI needs to do. It is a rare job indeed that they are interested in the other non-system fail-points of the user experience. – Rachel O’Connor