User Experience (UX)

Fig 1. Peter Morville’s “Facets of User Experience.”

As illustrated by the image above, User Experience (or UX) is a multi-facetted subject. My previous post held research into Usability; a piece of the UX honeycomb! In this post, I'll list some key UX research into models aiding us in understanding how to create experiences for the user.

Hassenzahl's Model

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=QKYPdcI-av8C&lpg=PA31&ots=fhpyp6-jRi&dq=Hassenzahls+model&hl=no&pg=PA31&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

This model assumes that each user assigns some attributes to a product or service when using it. As we will see, these attributes are different for each individual user. UX is the consequences of these attributes plus the situation in which the product is used.

The attributes can all be grouped into four main categories: manipulation, identification, stimulation and evocation. These categories can, on a higher level, be grouped into pragmatic and hedonic attributes. Whereas the pragmatic attributes relate to the practical usage and functions of the product, the hedonic attributes relate to the user’s psychological well-being. Understanding the divide can help us to understand how to design products with respect to UX, and the split also clarifies why UX itself cannot be designed.

Source: http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2011/03/15/why-user-experience-cannot-be-designed/

Morville's Model

Refer to Fig 1.

Here, UX is split into useful, usable, desirable, findable, accessible, credible and valuable. As you may have noticed, these facets fit Hassenzahl’s model pretty well: useful, usable, findable, credible and accessible could all be considered as pragmatic (i.e. utilitarian and usability-related) qualities, while desirable and valuable would qualify as hedonic (well-being-related) qualities.

Source: http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2011/03/15/why-user-experience-cannot-be-designed/