User Flows

Estimated Time: 30 minutes

User flows help to map out the steps a user will take to achieve a specific goal (e.g., making a purchase, obtaining information, sending a message, etc) using a product. Depending on the product, user flows can either be simple or complex. As a designer, the goal should always be to simplify a users’ journey to achieving a goal.

User flows are a powerful asset in a designers toolbox because, in addition to mapping out the steps to achieve a goal, they also help to identify which areas in a user's journey through a product can be improved. By identifying pain points in the user experience, the overall usability of products can be progressively improved.

Creating User Flows

There’s a little practice exercise in the video. Please try out the practice before going on to view the solution.

Video Summary

The three key questions that should be answered before creating users flows are:

• Who is the user?
• What is their goal?
• What are the steps they need to take to achieve their goal?

User flows are useful because they:

• Communicate design from the perspective of the user to engineers, PM’s and other stakeholders.
• Outline out all the potential use cases for features in a product. This helps other team members such as engineers plan how they're going to build the product.

User Flow Practice

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