User Flows
Summary
TLDRThis video script offers a concise overview of user flows, task flows, and wire flows, essential for app planning. It explains user flows as visualized paths users take to complete tasks, with task flows being a subset focused on linear actions towards a single objective. Wire flows, combining wireframes with user flows, provide a detailed interaction view, useful for client presentations and transitioning to high-fidelity mockups. The script emphasizes the importance of understanding these concepts for effective UX design.
Takeaways
- π A user flow is a visual representation of the path a user takes within an app to complete tasks, which can be single or multiple.
- π User flows have their roots in flowcharts and include elements like a series of steps to achieve a goal.
- π€ Understanding user personas and their objectives is crucial for creating user flows that align with user needs.
- π Task flows are a subset of user flows, focusing on high-level actions in a linear sequence to reach a specific objective.
- π Task flows are straightforward, depicting only one path without branching, and include details about user choices and activities.
- βοΈ The example of making coffee illustrates the difference between a task flow (linear) and a user flow (non-linear with branching).
- π± UX flow diagrams, like the Health app for Apple Watch, show the complexity and clarity of user flows in action, guiding the design process.
- π E-commerce user flows are essential for visualizing the shopping experience, from homepage navigation to checkout, aiming to minimize cart abandonment.
- π User flows can include alternative paths or loops, reflecting the reality that users may not follow a linear path through an app.
- π¨ Wireflows combine wireframes with user flows, providing a detailed view of user interactions within the context of the app's design.
- π€ Wireflows are beneficial for client presentations as they offer a clear, visual understanding of how users will interact with the app.
Q & A
What is a user flow in the context of app design?
-A user flow is a visualized path that a user follows through an app to complete a single or multiple tasks. It shows the whole process in a simple image, often resembling a flowchart with a series of steps to accomplish a goal.
What is the difference between a user flow and a task flow?
-A task flow is a subset of a user flow and is usually linear, representing high-level actions a user takes to reach a specific objective. A user flow, on the other hand, can have multiple paths and branches, accounting for different variables and situations that may occur during the process.
Why are user flows important in app planning?
-User flows are important in app planning because they help designers understand the steps users need to take to meet their objectives, which in turn informs the design process and can lead to a more intuitive and user-friendly app experience.
What are some questions to consider when building a user flow?
-When building a user flow, consider questions like: Who is using the product (persona)? What is their main objective? What steps do they need to take to meet their objective? What do they see on the app, and how do they know what to do next?
Can you provide an example of a task flow?
-An example of a task flow is a user going to the earnings page from the navbar, seeing the available amount in the instant cash out, and then transferring the available amount to their personal bank account.
How does a user flow differ from a wire flow?
-A user flow is a diagram that represents the workflow or process from the user's perspective, often in the form of a picture with blocks connected by arrows. A wire flow, also known as a UI flow, combines wireframes with user flows, providing a more detailed view of the interaction and what's happening on each screen.
What is the purpose of wire flows in UX design?
-Wire flows serve to combine the structural layout of wireframes with the dynamic flow of user interactions. They are useful for presenting to clients and stakeholders, as they provide a clear visualization of how users will navigate and interact with the app.
Why are wire flows considered a good deliverable for client presentations?
-Wire flows are considered good for client presentations because they offer a detailed yet visual representation of the user journey, making it easier for stakeholders to understand how the interaction happens and how users will use the app.
What is the significance of the checkout process in an e-commerce user flow?
-The checkout process in an e-commerce user flow is significant because it is a crucial step where design can minimize cart abandonment. If the experience is not smooth, users may find the process too difficult and decide to abandon their purchases.
How do user flows help in reducing user overwhelm in app design?
-User flows help in reducing user overwhelm by mapping out the journey in a way that presents one or two choices at any one point, which is particularly important for devices with limited screen space, like a watch, where too many options can be overwhelming.
Outlines
π± Understanding User Flows in App Design
This segment introduces the concept of user flows in app design, emphasizing their importance for planning and user experience. A user flow is a visual representation of the path a user takes within an app to achieve a goal or complete tasks. It originates from flow charts and includes a series of steps. Key considerations for creating a user flow include understanding the user persona, their main objectives, and the steps they need to take to meet those objectives. The segment also differentiates user flows from task flows, which are simpler and linear, representing high-level actions users take to reach a specific goal.
π E-Commerce User Flows and Their Impact on Shopping Experience
This part of the script delves into e-commerce user flows, illustrating how they help visualize and optimize the shopping experience. Starting from the homepage, users can navigate to various paths such as exploring products, learning about the company, or contacting support. The user flow continues through product pages, where they can gather information like price, description, and reviews, and then add items to their cart. The checkout process is highlighted as a crucial step where a smooth design can minimize cart abandonment. The segment also discusses the use of flowcharts to detail each step in the user's journey, including alternative paths and the overall user experience.
π¨ The Role of Wireflows in UX Design and Client Presentations
The final paragraph summarizes the discussion on user flows, task flows, and wireflows in UX design. Wireflows, which combine wireframes with user flows, are particularly useful for presenting to clients as they offer a clear view of user interactions and the overall app experience. The segment reiterates that user flows can be non-linear, often including alternative paths or loops, and that wireflows are an effective way to visualize these interactions. The distinction between UI flows and wireflows is clarified, noting that they serve the same purpose in design and can transition into high-fidelity mockups.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘User Flow
π‘Task Flow
π‘Wire Flow
π‘Persona
π‘Objective
π‘Flowchart
π‘E-commerce User Flow
π‘UX Design
π‘High Fidelity Mockups
π‘Cart Abandonment
Highlights
User flows are visualized paths that users follow in an app to complete tasks.
User flows have multiple variations, including task flows and Y flows.
Task flows are a subset of user flows, focusing on a single linear path to achieve an objective.
User flows originate from flow charts, inheriting elements like a series of steps to accomplish a goal.
When building a user flow, consider the user persona and their main objective.
User flows help in understanding what steps users need to take to meet their objectives.
Task flows are straightforward, with only one path and necessary steps to complete a task.
User flows can include multiple paths and branches based on user decisions.
Wire flows combine wireframes with user flows, showing both structure and interaction.
Wire flows are useful for client presentations, as they show how users interact with the design.
UX flow diagrams illustrate the complexity and clarity of user flow charts in action.
E-commerce user flows visualize the shopping experience, guiding users from product pages to checkout.
User flows are crucial for minimizing cart abandonment by ensuring a smooth checkout process.
Flowcharts detail each step in the user path, including alternative paths and loops.
User flows are important for understanding how users navigate through an app's main menu.
Designing user flows helps in offering a tailored experience without overwhelming users with choices.
Wire flows can transition to high-fidelity mockups, bridging the gap between design and user interaction.
Transcripts
hi there and welcome back to ID apps
today's very short PO is on user flows
task flows and wire flows and sort of
understanding the difference between
them um they're kind of important to
understand in terms of planning for your
app so let's get
going okay so what are user flows let's
just start with those in a nutshell a
user flow is a visualized path that your
user will follow through your app to
complete either a single or multiple
tasks um this deliverable that you're
looking at now shows the whole process
in a simple image user flows have got
multiple variations and one subset of
them are the task flow or in fact the Y
flows which we'll go through in a moment
um but user flows have their origins in
flow charts hence the flow word and they
inherit lots of their elements um so
it's a series of steps the user flow is
a series of steps to accomplish the goal
so we met through that before so when
you're building out a user flow there's
a few questions or a series of questions
that you need to consider think about
who uses the pro product so your persona
is um important here what's their main
objective so if you're thinking about
your user then your user flow will be as
a response to what their needs are so
what steps do they need to take to meet
their objective um so we've written
scenarios in this class which are great
for understanding what they're thinking
and so then after that what steps they
need so in other words what do they see
on your app what do they need to do and
what do how do they know what they need
to do next so answering those questions
are part of doing a user flow um great
so let's move on to the next one so
that's a user flow really just it's like
a flowchart of what the user can do
through your app next one our task flows
which are a lot simpler to understand um
and they're they're a good place to
start so they're usually linear which
means they're just in one single line
and they represent the high level
actions that a user would take to arrive
at a particular objective or endpoint so
we've written scenarios and then we did
actually write a task flow so what
happens at each step of the way what is
the user doing and what's actually on
the screen task flows are really they
are what they are they're really
straightforward they only have one path
there's no branching happening anywhere
and this all of the steps here are
necessary to complete one task or goal
um and it includes some details about
users's choices and activities so you
can see there that task flow there the
user goes to the earnings page from the
navbar they see the available amount in
the instant cash out they transfer the
available amount to the personal back
account Etc so it's describing step by
step what the tasks St that the user's
doing okay so next let's look at a user
flow for making coffee so you can see
we've started with a task flow and you
can see they take the hot milk into the
Container they had coffee powder and
sugar they stir well and then their
coffee is ready um but a user flow for
making that might include some other
steps there so you can see that they're
starting there and they're going to see
if they've got instant coffee to use if
it's yes they do that it's no so it's in
a way not in a way but a user flow will
account for all the different variables
and situations that happen um in this
example for making coffee so it's not
just linear there are different branches
based on decisions that need to be made
during the
process all right so that's a user
flow next looks let's look at another
one and people do call the things
different things as you go on so um bear
with me this is a userflow diagram
example so it's it's called a ux flow I
would say it's a task flow first up and
then it's a a user flow below but um
they can be called different things
which is what I wanted to get across to
you now um U ux flow diagrams like these
ones here illustrate the complexity and
Clarity of user flow charts in action so
each of these examples that we're
looking at right now show how a user
flow chart um Can guide our design
process so in this first one that we're
looking at the health map health health
mess app diagram we can see it's for a
Apple watch um we can see that it starts
with a simple notification on the home
screen that's that little Dotty thing
that's your our entry point so of bit
like the beginning of a chapter the user
glances at the short look notification
that's that second screen there
um and decides to engage with it um so
if they want more detail they move to
the custom long notifications through
their tap you can see that's the third
one along at the top there um and that
can lead to different uh actions
depending on what they want to do so
that they might want to send a voice
message or um or use some sort of preset
template
response okay the second one um the
diagram doesn't just stop at these
notifications it shows the users
navigating through the app's main menu
to change their status view messages or
check their favorites so each decision
branches out in this second one um and
they offer options um but they keep the
journey relatively
smooth um so it's it's a great example
of offering quite a tailored experience
without overwhelming the user with all
of the choices at the start so they land
on a screen choose a status and move on
so they they ever really seem to have
one or two choices at any one point
which is good for a a watch because you
don't have I mean you'd get overwhelmed
looking at a menu of five to seven
things but you can see there um the
first one's mapping out the task as the
ux flow and the second one is really
mapping out the entire app experience
it's not necessarily the flow that the
user has taken but it's um what is
possible in that particular
example all right so let's move
on um to an e-commerce
userflow um and e-commerce obviously
uses user flows to visualize the
shopping experience and they're pretty
important um starting at the homepage
there user can navigate to various paths
they can explore products learn about
the company um getting contact via the
contact page Etc so and it also shows
that when users find a product they like
they proceed to the product page um
which gives information like price
description reviews Etc and if satisfied
they add the item to their cart which is
quite straightforward and intuitive as a
step um The Journey continues through
the cart proceeds to the um payment page
or the
checkout and
this last part I would say is crucial
step and it's where design can minimize
cart abandonment if they don't have a
smooth experience there quite a lot lot
of the times you'll find that your users
will
just go this is too hard I'm shutting
this down but you can see um it says Jer
flow means us flow so you can see the
page layout which is you know the
structure and then the user flow through
the pages there and those little orange
um joining lines will show us how they
can um navigate through this user flow
using the pages as the basis which I
think is quite a good way to do
that a lot less uh complicated than a
flowchart this next one is a is a
flowchart which um can look overwhelming
to begin with but you can see that it's
highlighting the various paths so it's a
combination between the screens and a
flowchart proper and you can see that
initial sign up page there um there's
multiple Pathways to create an account
so you don't just have to start at the
start um you can see use social
platforms to do the the sign up like the
Facebook Google and
Linkedin um but the main thing here is
that the flowchart details each step in
the user PA and if they take different
paths that details that um it's quite
complicated and I'm not not expecting
that from you guys but you can see it's
quite a nice way
to diagram out the user experience and
account for all different modes so quite
often our users don't just have one path
like a task flow they don't just go
through step by step there might be that
they do things in a different order to
what we expect how can they go back and
do things and this is why um being able
to diagram a user flow is
important for us at this stage so that's
quite a complicated one but I thought
it' be useful to look at you can see
even in there that they've got some
screen and what's on the screen so you
can see that um detailed so as part of
sort of like combin combination of
screen design and the user
flow okay so just to recap and I did say
this would be short it is short so
hopefully you're getting the idea that
the user flow is a diagram that's used
in ux design it represents the workflow
or in fact the process from the user's
perspective uh in the basic form user
flows represents the task in the form of
a picture with blocks connected with
arrows um the diagram doesn't have to be
linear not unlike the task flow it does
usually have alternative paths or Loops
we know now that there are different
types of user flows the first one the
task flow which is what the user tasks
are
um the user flow itself and lastly that
third one which we had a quite a little
look at in the previous slide is a
wireflow
um and I did cover them in the
wireframing Pod but just to recap wire
flows are the deliverable that combines
the wireframes with user flows so
instead of just these raw little
diagramming things we have the
wireframes in them and I think as
designers or visual people I would say
that wire flows are a really nice way to
do a user flow so that you can really
see what's actually happening um they're
great to present to clients because any
stakeholder including your clients can
quickly see how the interaction happens
and how people will use it
um so wi FL flows are good because they
can move to High Fidelity mockups um I
would say that there's not really
significant difference between UI flows
and wi flows and they've got they got
both the same purpose all right so
that's our very short introduction
hopefully you're going away with an idea
about what task flows are you know what
a user flow is we're thinking about that
like a flowchart or could be a diagram
and wire flows or UI flows they called
the same sort of thing um great well
thanks for listening and I will see you
in class
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