Most software development companies do not define roles for UX designers and UX researchers. They identify both roles as one. However, there are numerous benefits of understanding how both are unique and how they are sometimes segmented. It allows you to understand the audience’s needs and offer specific solutions and approaches.
So before we differentiate between UX design and UX research, we need to understand their benefits.
User experience (UX) research
UX research is all about collecting information and data so that UX designers can enhance the interface’s quality. A UX researcher is a critical thinker following a pattern or process and contributes to the UX designing process through their ideas and innovations.
A UX researcher understands the challenges that the end-user might encounter. They will use different methods, strategies, and techniques to learn the user’s problems. They generate insights and turn those insights into ideas. Moreover, a UX researcher will communicate those findings and ideas to the UX designer and other teams to implement the product’s final version.
UX research includes the following tasks:
- Planning the process of the research
- Recruiting a team as an end-user for testing the wireframe
- Data collection about the user experience
- Data analysis
- Generating valuable insights for making the right decisions
- Sharing strategies with the UX design team
- Presenting findings to stakeholders
User experience (UX) design
UX design is all about the interaction between humans and electronic devices such as mobile, web, and mobile applications. UX Design helps in simplifying the customer’s experience so they can easily access, manage, and operate technology to solve problems.
UX designer in your software development company will improve the quality of the User Interface (UI). Furthermore, they will also improve the quality of the complete user experience. Here are some of the components that a UX designer will go through:
- Information Architecture: This component includes information about how the interface can solve common user problems.
- Interaction Design: In this section, a UX Designer will work on the design, features, and elements of the interface.
- Usability: When UX designers are working on the interface’s usability, they focus on providing the users with a user-friendly tool to solve their problems easily.
- Wireframes: The UX designer will create a sample application. They need information and knowledge about the end-user to complete the final project. That is possible with the help of a UX researcher.
Difference between UX Research and UX Design
The difference between UX research and UX design is not complicated. UX design helps in developing a user-friendly interface, including the UI appearance as well as how it interacts with users.
To develop a consumer-friendly application, you need information about the end-user and their expectations. Research is essential since it is a challenge for designers to complete a product and research.
This explains the growing need for experienced and professional UX researchers. The researcher will provide valuable information and insight so the designer can improve their product.
Conclusion
Consider how the unique aspects of UX design and UX research are all essential for better products. Both professionals can work on their expertise and contribute their part to create a user-friendly interface.
Many small businesses do not consider the advantage of separating UX design and UX research, often due to lack of budget of expertise. When they must perform both essential functions, UX designers can lose productivity and efficacy.
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