Maximize value across your business with UX Review

A user experience review is a professional analysis that helps you focus on building the right solution for your business, market, and end-user. A review can be carried out on products and services, such as your website, mobile app, or web application, and even extended to different types of projects or disciplines to maximize value creation.

The results of a user experience review are compared with your industry's established standards to determine whether your solution is effective.

When evaluating products like a mobile or web app, we ensure: that the app is usable and critical user paths are flawless; the interface is visually appealing, intuitive, and usable; the content is well-suited to the intended target users; and the app's copy is free of jargon.

Following the review, you will receive a comprehensive data-driven report assessing the potential of your app or project to meet your current and future needs. When looking at solutions like a web application or mobile app, our focus is on whether it: is market-ready; fits the market in terms of scope and range; meets the needs of your user/customer base; and is reliable and flexible enough to scale up.

At Netguru, we also go beyond this to look at the wider business picture, ensuring that projects meet your business goals, generate value, and support a roadmap for future improvements.

Benefits of UX Review

With a UX review, you can quickly spot all issues that could have a negative impact on your product, service, or project and take steps to increase its business value.

• Compare your solution to those of your competitors and find out whether the interests of stakeholders align.
• Work out a sharper and cleaner value proposition focused on the most important (and verified) customer needs.
• Re-evaluate your product’s go-to-market strategy and find out whether it can be executed effectively in the market.
• End up with a clear and simple roadmap of your next steps and reduce the costs of software development.

Issues that can be resolved with UX Review

A UX review could help you find out which issues to prioritize in order to enhance your product or service and amaze your users. Below, you’ll find further issues that we found and resolved after conducting user experience reviews:

• Dealing with a complex user interface
• Perfecting the mobile experience
• Clearing up the messaging system
• Cleaning up the information architecture
• Optimizing the searching functionality
• Making the CTAs more effective
• Simplifying the registration process
• Making the sign-up and social proof sections more visible
• Following industry standards for UI design

UX Review methods

Methods for testing the user experience of a product include:

• Heuristic evaluation

A researcher examines the user interface and checks its compliance with recognized usability principles ("heuristics"). The goal is to discover a problem and find the best solution to fix it.

• Cognitive Walkthrough

A researcher prepares a list of tasks that are possible to perform in a product. To determine the level of usability, the researcher goes through all the tasks. For each step, the usability of the product is validated against a set of questions.

2. Analytic data analysis.

Analytic data analysis shows the real usage of a solution. It enables you to track and collect user data plus information about their behavior and actions.

3. User testing.

In some cases, it is also possible and beneficial to run user testing sessions with target user groups.

A researcher creates a scenario of popular tasks that are performed, and during the testing session, each user is asked to work through the tasks. The researcher evaluates whether the product is intuitive, whether crucial actions are easy to perform and whether there are any problems along the way. This method gives an overview of how users interact with the product.

4. Content audit.

The goal of this kind of research is to analyze and evaluate the content and information of the product. A content audit helps to determine if the language used is understandable and relevant to the product’s target user group. It also helps to verify whether the content is SEO-friendly. A content audit can also be used as part of other methods that validate the user experience of a solution.

5. Persona value proposition analysis.

Based on available research and the client’s knowledge, a user experience expert creates personas for the product. These are fictional characters that represent the different user types that might use the product, and help with understanding the user’s needs, goals, and motivations.

6. Accessibility review.

The aim of this analysis is to check how the product meets the needs of disabled users. The review is based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.

Methods of verifying the business value of a solution and its performance on the market

1. Market research.

A researcher analyzes the target market and gathers information about customers. Market research can help to estimate the size of the market and market share, as well as learn about people’s attitudes towards a product. This method also helps to understand the solution in the context of market trends.

2.Competitor benchmarking and feature gap analysis.

This method aims to verify competitors’ strengths and weaknesses in relation to the client’s business and solution. It also helps to identify opportunities and threats.

How to choose the right method?

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to choosing an approach. Selecting the right method requires a complex analysis of the problem and the desired outcome and depends on several factors, such as:

• The stage of the project.
• The data we have access to.
• The problems that the product or project is facing.
• What the goal is.
• What we need to know to go further with development.
• Time and budget.

While it may not be possible to verify all of the aspects, the goal is to choose the method that will provide the greatest benefits to the product. Taking into account all known variables, the researcher can select the most appropriate methods. It is always beneficial to mix several methods to get comprehensive results.

All methods can be customized depending on the customer and the needs of the solution.

Reviewing user experience

During the review, design elements are scrutinized. Issues identified are then classified with the following ratings:

• Critical – severe issues that break the general usability of the platform. These must be addressed as a top priority.
• Important – system or business goals are crippled by these issues, and they must be addressed as a priority once critical issues have been taken care of.
• Minor – these are issues that need fixing, but they do not disturb the user experience as a whole.

Reviewing user interface

A UI review follows a similar approach to reviewing design elements in terms of classifying issues. Depending on the reviewer and the needs of the project, the analysis may place emphasis on various factors such as user flows, UI design, interactions, and accessibility, to name just a few.

UX Audit vs. UX Review: Uncovering the Key Differences

In the realm of user experience (UX) design, ensuring your website or application delivers a seamless and enjoyable experience for users is of paramount importance. Two indispensable tools in achieving this objective are the UX Audit and UX Review. While these terms are often used interchangeably, they serve distinct purposes and follow different methodologies. In this article, we’ll delve into the differences between a UX audit and a UX review, aiding you in understanding which approach aligns perfectly with your needs.

UX Audit: A Comprehensive Examination

What is a UX Audit?

A UX audit is a systematic and in-depth evaluation of a website or application's user experience. This process involves a thorough examination of various elements, such as usability, accessibility, performance, and design, to identify strengths and weaknesses. A UX audit typically follows a structured process and employs a range of UX tools and methodologies.

Key Characteristics of a UX Audit

• Comprehensive Analysis: A UX audit encompasses every aspect of your digital product, leaving no stone unturned. It assesses not only the user interface but also the underlying functionality.
• Data-Driven Insights: Auditors rely on both qualitative and quantitative data, including user feedback, analytics, and usability testing, to inform their assessments.
• Detailed Reports: The findings from a UX audit are presented in detailed reports, highlighting specific issues and providing actionable recommendations for improvement.
• Time-Consuming: Due to its thorough nature, a UX audit can be a time-consuming process, often taking several weeks to complete.
• Ideal for Redesigns: It is an excellent choice when planning a major website or application redesign to identify areas for improvement.

UX Review: A Quick Assessment

What is a UX Review?

A UX review, also known as a heuristic evaluation, is a quicker and less extensive evaluation of a digital product’s usability. This method involves experts (often UX designers or evaluators) assessing the user interface against a set of established heuristics or best practices, focusing on identifying glaring usability issues without delving into the same level of detail as a UX audit.

Key Characteristics of a UX Review:

• Rapid Assessment: A UX review is a faster process compared to a UX audit, making it suitable for identifying immediate usability concerns.
• Heuristic Evaluation: Experts use a set of predefined heuristics or best practices to evaluate the user interface, offering high-level feedback.
• Limited Data: Unlike a UX audit, a UX review does not rely heavily on user feedback or extensive testing.
• Quick Turnaround: A UX review can often be completed within a few days, allowing for swift feedback and action.
• Ideal for Iteration: It is well-suited for ongoing projects where iterative improvements are essential.

Choosing the right approach

The choice between a UX audit and a UX review hinges on your specific needs and project goals. If you’re embarking on a major redesign or desire a comprehensive analysis of your digital product’s performance, a UX audit is the route to take. It offers a deep dive into all facets of user experience, providing invaluable insights for long-term improvements.

On the flip side, if you’re seeking a quick assessment to identify immediate usability issues or are conducting iterative improvements, a UX review can save time and resources.

In conclusion, both UX audits and UX reviews play pivotal roles in enhancing user experiences, but their scope and objectives diverge significantly. Consider your project’s stage and requirements to determine which approach aligns best with your goals. Regardless of your choice, prioritizing user experience evaluations is a crucial step toward creating digital products that delight and engage your audience.