User Experience Design User Experience Design 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following is a key characteristic of a 'lean UX' approach?
- Extensive documentation before any design begins
- Rapid iteration using minimum viable prototypes and continuous user feedback (Correct answer)
- Strict handoff between research, design, and development phases
- Delivering a fully polished product before testing with users
Correct answer: Rapid iteration using minimum viable prototypes and continuous user feedback
Lean UX prioritizes rapid iteration, cross-functional collaboration, and learning through lightweight prototypes rather than heavy documentation.
Question 2: A designer notices that users frequently click on a non-clickable image expecting it to be a link. This is an example of a broken:
- Visual affordance (Correct answer)
- Mental model alignment
- Call to action
- Gestalt principle
Correct answer: Visual affordance
A visual affordance signals whether an element is interactive; when a non-clickable image looks like a link, it creates a false affordance.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of a 'service blueprint' in UX design?
- To document user interface wireframes
- To map both frontstage user interactions and backstage processes that support a service (Correct answer)
- To create a sitemap for a web application
- To outline the technical architecture of a product
Correct answer: To map both frontstage user interactions and backstage processes that support a service
A service blueprint visualizes the entire service ecosystem, including user-facing touchpoints and the behind-the-scenes processes and systems that support them.
Question 4: According to the double diamond design process, what happens in the first 'diverge' phase?
- Selecting the best solution from multiple prototypes
- Broadly exploring the problem space through research and discovery (Correct answer)
- Testing solutions with real users
- Narrowing down user requirements into a design brief
Correct answer: Broadly exploring the problem space through research and discovery
The first diverge phase of the double diamond involves broad discovery research to understand the full scope of the problem before converging on a problem definition.
Question 5: What does 'learnability' mean as a dimension of usability?
- How quickly an expert user can complete tasks
- How easily new users can accomplish basic tasks on their first encounter (Correct answer)
- Whether a product has an in-app tutorial
- How memorable an interface is after extended absence
Correct answer: How easily new users can accomplish basic tasks on their first encounter
Learnability measures how quickly and easily first-time users can learn to perform basic tasks with a system.
Question 6: In eye-tracking research, a 'fixation' refers to:
- The path the eye travels across a screen
- A moment when the eye pauses on a specific element for processing (Correct answer)
- A repeated glance at the same UI element
- The initial landing point when a page loads
Correct answer: A moment when the eye pauses on a specific element for processing
A fixation is a period (typically 150–600ms) during which the eye is stationary and the brain is actively processing visual information from that point.
Question 7: A company wants to understand why its checkout drop-off rate spiked. Which combination of methods is most appropriate?
- Heuristic evaluation and card sorting
- Analytics funnel analysis followed by moderated usability testing (Correct answer)
- A/B testing and a focus group
- Competitive benchmarking and diary study
Correct answer: Analytics funnel analysis followed by moderated usability testing
Analytics funnel analysis identifies where in the checkout users drop off (the 'what'), while moderated usability testing reveals the reasons behind that behavior (the 'why').
Which of the following is a key characteristic of a 'lean UX' approach?