A reflection on product design: What makes a product great?
While going through my first modules of UX Academy at DesignLab I was asked to reflect on product design. What makes a product great rather than good? Is there a product I can’t live without? What attracts me to a product?
These were a few of the questions proposed, and they got me thinking. Yesterday I tried to place an order in a delivery app that I rarely use, and now I remember why. It seemed impossible to complete a simple task. While using the search function, the app would spontaneously refresh and I would lose all my progress. I had trouble finding my shopping cart and had a hard time changing my payment method. I gave up but still decided to vent about it with my friends. I found that most of them feel the same, and one of them said, “I always have a hard time with it, but I think it’s because I’m terrible with technology”.
This stuck with me. A good product does not require you to be tech-savvy, it should be intuitive. Boomers are online and they should manage to use it with no real difficulty.
With this in mind, to me, a great product is one I can quickly go through the intended task, get the expected (or better than expected) result, and leave with a positive feeling of accomplishment. It’s not just about being good but also about making me feel good. Of course, additional attributes other than usability may also contribute to this emotion — I am a sucker for a beautiful clean UI, for example.
One of the digital products that most appeals to me is Netflix. It started as a DVD delivery service and transitioned into one of the most important innovations of the century, impacting how people consume movies in every corner of the world.
With the increase in competition in streaming platforms, it is clear
how Netflix differentiates from most of them. Along with its simple and intuitive interface, superb catalog, and original productions from various countries, Netflix is distinct from most of its competitors because it excels at its core task — providing quality streaming to everyone with an internet connection. Believe it or not, this basic attribute is something that other streaming services still seem to struggle with.
In a world where we are overwhelmed with information and innovation, selecting which services/products to spend time and money on is a hard task. It seems to me that the best way to stand out in this industry is by providing the user excellent and consistent experiences in its primary role. This is the real competitive advantage, the rest is extra points.
