← Years 9–10 Creating Digital Solutions

User experience and the user journey

The series of steps a person takes to complete a task, from start to finish. It shows how they feel at each step (their user experience, UX) and where pain points slow them down.

Part of: 9-10 Digital Technologies: Designing user interfaces and experiences — Module 2, QCE Digital Solutions Unit 1 — Understanding Digital Problems — Module 52, QCE Digital Solutions Unit 1 — User Experiences and Interfaces — Module 2

Understanding User experience and the user journey in Years 9–10 Creating Digital Solutions

What it does: The UI is what you see and click (buttons, menus, layout). The UX is the overall experience of using it, including how easy or frustrating it feels. A journey is written as ordered steps from the first action to the last, with the user's feelings recorded at each step to show where the experience is good or bad. UX is about the person's feelings and success during a task. The look of the buttons and colours is part of the UI. A journey is a series of steps in order. A random list of colours and sizes is not a series of actions toward a goal.

Common mistakes: A user journey lists the steps in the order the person does them. Boarding the train happens after buying the ticket. The journey should start with step 1: Open the app. UX is the whole experience of completing a task, from the first step to the last. It is not just the buttons and screens (that is UI). It should say UX covers the whole journey.

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 6–132) and word search (Modules 6–132).

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Learning
Duo
Which statement best describes user experience (UX)?
How a person feels while completing a task with a productThe colours and buttons placed on a screen
Matches
UI is how a person feels while using an app, and UX is the buttons on the screen
↓
UX and UI are swapped. UX is the person's feelings and experience, and UI is the buttons and screen elements.
Applying
Meanings
Term
user journey
Meaning
The series of steps a person takes to complete a task, from start to finish. It shows how they feel at each step (their user experience, UX) and where pain points slow them down.
Practice
Journey: Order food in an app
Testing
Gaps
← ["open app", "search", "pay"]
Check Answer
Spots
1journey ← Buy a train ticket
2step 1: Board the train

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Quick Questions

1. Which statement best describes user experience (UX)?
A. The colours and buttons placed on a screen
B. How a person feels while completing a task with a product ✓
UX is about the person's feelings and success during a task. The look of the buttons and colours is part of the UI.
2. Which one is part of the UI rather than the whole UX?
A. How frustrated a user feels after five failed attempts
B. A button, menu or text box on the screen ✓
The UI is what the user sees and uses on screen. UX covers the whole experience, including feelings like frustration.
3. What is a user journey?
A. The steps a person takes from start to finish to complete a task ✓
B. A list of all the files a programmer used to build an app
A user journey maps what the user does at each step, such as opening an app, searching, choosing and paying.
4. A student orders lunch in a canteen app. Which list is a user journey?
A. Open app, browse menu, add item, pay, collect order ✓
B. Red, blue, green, large, small
A journey is a series of steps in order. A random list of colours and sizes is not a series of actions toward a goal.
5. What is a pain point in a user journey?
A. A step where the user gets stuck, confused or annoyed ✓
B. A step where the user finishes quickly and happily
Pain points slow users down or frustrate them. Designers look for them so they can fix them.

Match the Pairs

user journey → The series of steps a person takes to complete a task, from start to finish
pain point → A step in the journey where the user feels frustrated, confused or slowed down
UX is how a person feels while completing a task, while UI is the screen they use → UX = feelings during the task, UI = buttons and layout
A journey lists the steps from start to finish and notes how the user feels at each one → 1 Open app > 2 Search > 3 Pay > 4 Confirm (feeling noted at each step)
UI is how a person feels while using an app, and UX is the buttons on the screen → UX and UI are swapped. UX is the person's feelings and experience, and UI is the buttons and screen elements.
User journey: Pay > Open app > Search (no feelings recorded) → The steps are out of order and the user's feelings are missing, so pain points cannot be found.

Key Term

user journey
The series of steps a person takes to complete a task, from start to finish. It shows how they feel at each step (their user experience, UX) and where pain points slow them down.

Fill in the Blanks

1. journey ← ["open app", "search", "pay"]
Hint: Type the variable name for the series of steps a person takes from start to finish
2. FOR EACH step IN journey IF step.slow THEN ADD step TO painPoints
Hint: Type the list name that collects the steps where users get slowed down
3. UI ← "buttons, menus and colours" UX ← "how the user feels doing a task"
Hint: Type the abbreviation for user experience, which is how a person feels while completing a task
4. journey ← ["open app", "search", "pay"] DISPLAY LENGTH(journey)
Hint: Type the function that counts how many steps are in the journey
5. feeling ← "frustrated" IF feeling = "frustrated" THEN painPoint ← true
Hint: Type the keyword that begins the action to run when the condition is true

Spot the Error

Question 1
A journey ← Buy a train ticket
B step 1: Board the train
C step 2: Choose a train
D step 3: Pay for the ticket
Line B — A user journey lists the steps in the order the person does them. Boarding the train happens after buying the ticket. The journey should start with step 1: Open the app.
Question 2
A UI ← buttons, text and layout
B UX ← how the user feels
C UX covers only the buttons
Line C — UX is the whole experience of completing a task, from the first step to the last. It is not just the buttons and screens (that is UI). It should say UX covers the whole journey.
Question 3
A journey ← Join a video call
B step 1: Click the invite link
C pain point: it loads quickly
D fix: offer one-click login
Line C — A pain point is a moment that frustrates the user or slows them down. A quick load is a good experience, not a pain point. The line should describe a problem, such as login failing twice.
Question 4
A journey ← Order a meal
B step 1: Pick a meal | happy
C step 2: Pay | happy
D step 3: Wait 40 min | happy
E pain point ← step 3
Line D — Waiting 40 minutes would make most users feel annoyed. That makes it a pain point, so the feeling should be annoyed. Marking it happy does not match the pain point on the next line.
Question 5
A pain point ← long sign-up form
B UX effect ← user feels annoyed
C improvement ← longer form
Line C — The pain point is a form that is too long. Making it longer would make the user's experience worse. The improvement should be a shorter form.

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