What are the defining factors of a great user experience?
Think for a moment about your daily routine. You probably wake up to an alarm clock of some sort. You may or may not eat breakfast. You get ready and dressed for work and commute using either public transportation or your own vehicle. Maybe you’re one of the lucky ones whose commute is to the home office. You sit at a desk and work on a computer. Perhaps you work outdoors or down in a hole. You go out to lunch or bring your own. You travel home at the end of the day and spend time with family, go out with friends, or watch TV alone.
Whatever your routine, you live in a world filled with user experiences. From the toaster that makes your bread golden brown to the wireless mouse that selects text or graphics on the screen, you have the opportunity to appreciate (or hate) design every day. How does this affect you? Are the majority of your experiences transparent, or do you have several daily complaints? Have you ever made an effort to change a painful experience or publicly applauded a fantastic one?
What I’d like to know from our readers is what you feel makes a truly great user experience—the defining factors that create happiness, efficiency, ease, and simplicity.