What is a User Flow - Everything You need to Know | UXMISFIT.COM
A user flow visualises how a user interacts with a product/completes a particular task and allows designers to see a product from a user’s point of view. I want to create a detailed user flow from the perspective of one of my user personas, which will be much easier to do now that I've looked at information architecture.
How to create a user flow - Career Foundry
1. Understand your user. Understanding the user’s needs and motivations allows you to make informed choices when determining how to get users into that flow-like state when interacting with your product.
2. Create a flow outline. Start by writing down a basic flow like a mind map. Each box you draw should represent a step in a user action. It can be helpful to outline and breakdown your flow chart into three main stages: an entry point, steps to completion, and the final step in completing a task.
3. Define the elements of your user flow. Designers use various shapes and colors to represent a unique set of elements within the interface. Rectangles represent a page or display screen. Lines with arrows determine the flow through the chart. Circles used mostly for displaying an action. While a diamond, commonly termed a “decision diamond”, always asks a question.
4. Refine your outline. Make labels meaningful. Choose colour wisely, best used as a coding system. Be consistent with the visual structure.
5. Creating a user flow: What happens next? In UX, a user flow is a great way to put yourself in the user’s shoes and ensure that your product prioritizes their needs.
User flows provide a bird's-eye view of the product. When working in teams, it's easy to get lost in features, technical jargon or personal opinions and leave the user out of the product.
So creating a user flow is important to make sure I don't lose sight of the “why”. It's like an app GPS, to keep us on the correct path.
When creating my user flow, I came across an issue-(it looked crazy). I can use this flow when starting to generate my sketches, although I don’t think it suits its purpose, which is keeping me on track with features and how the user will navigate throughout the main screens and features of the product. It will although provide a great base to start wireframing the screens.
Refining the flow allowed me to gain a better idea of how my product will work. The flow does not need to include every single screen but must summarise every step the user may take.