The User Experience

In the digital age, a well designed website is an essential component of a sound communication strategy. It is, however, not sufficient to give an edge over competitors. It is the quality of the user experience that is the decisive factor.

The user experience is "The Message"

We like to go by the definition we found in Sarah Welstead's remarkable "User Experience: An introduction":

"User Experience is the term used to describe an interaction between a product or service and the individual. We use the term 'user' to identify the individual in this interaction, and the term 'experience' to identify that individual's encounter with the product or service in a particular instance, as well as the overall effect of an accumulation of these encounters.

User Experience is a broad topic. Much broader than one would be lead to expect by technology types who talk about User Experience merely in the context of web sites or other internet-based communications. The fact is, 'users' are having 'experiences' all the time, and most of them have nothing to do with web sites".

Still, at ADIN we believe it is fair to say that the quality of the user's experience, on a web site and on an enterprise portal, is a reflection of the efficiency of integration of IT technology. However, we also claim that in its broadest sens "The User Experience is The Message".

About the User
In the same document, Sarah Welstead also provides a definition of the user:
"In the context of marketing communications, the term 'user' identifies the individual. Users comprise consumers and potential consumers of a product, as well as individuals who have any interaction with the product or its communications".