In the world of product design, ensuring user satisfaction is a core objective. In order to achieve this, designers must place priority on identifying and addressing the most crucial user interactions with the product, a concept commonly referred to as creating 'red routes'.
Derived from the transport network in London, where crucial bus routes are marked red to maintain clear paths and avoid delays, the concept of red routes has proven valuable in digital product design, enhancing usability, ensuring smooth user experience, and optimizing product performance.
What are Red Routes in UX?
Red routes in product design are the critical paths that users follow to complete their tasks. These are the essential actions that users need to successfully use a product or service. For example, in an e-commerce platform, key red routes might include searching for products, adding items to the cart, and completing a purchase.
Identifying these routes is akin to understanding what matters most to your users and to your business. Red routes enable us to focus on what's critical for the success of a product, allowing us to eliminate non-essential features that might detract from user experience or lead to product bloat.
The Value of Identifying Red Routes
Identifying red routes in a product brings a multitude of benefits, both for users and for businesses.
Improved User Experience
Identifying and optimizing red routes means focusing on the most essential interactions users have with the product. By making these paths intuitive, efficient, and satisfying, you directly improve the overall user experience. This could result in increased user satisfaction, leading to higher product adoption rates and user retention.
Informed Decision-making
Red routes provide a framework for informed decision-making during the design process. They highlight what needs to be prioritized and where resources should be allocated. By knowing which routes are used most frequently and are most critical to task completion, you can make data-driven decisions about what to improve, change, or even eliminate.
Enhanced Performance
Optimizing red routes can lead to better product performance. When the most commonly used paths in your product are streamlined and efficient, your product will run smoother. This can mean faster load times, fewer errors, and a more reliable product.
Clearer Communication
When everyone on the design team understands the red routes, it creates a common language about what is crucial to the product's success. This can improve collaboration, make feedback more targeted, and streamline the design and development process.
How to Identify Red Routes
Identifying red routes involves a deep understanding of your users and their tasks. Here are a few steps to guide you in this process:
User Research
Start by understanding who your users are, what they want to achieve, and how they use your product. You can obtain this information through various research methods such as interviews, surveys, and user testing.
Task Analysis
Once you understand your users, identify the tasks they perform with your product. What are the essential actions they must take to achieve their goals? These tasks could potentially form your red routes.
Prioritize
Not all user tasks are equal. Some are more critical to your users and to your business than others. Use criteria such as frequency of use, task importance, and business value to prioritize these tasks.
Map the Routes
Create a visual map of your red routes. This can be a simple diagram showing the steps users take to complete their tasks. This visual representation can be a powerful tool for communication and decision-making within your team.
In the ever-evolving digital world, delivering a product that meets user needs while balancing business objectives is a challenging task. By identifying and creating red routes, product designers have a powerful tool at their disposal that can guide their work, enhance their product's usability and performance, and ultimately contribute to their product's success.
Red routes are a crucial part of user-centric design, reminding us that understanding and prioritizing user needs is the key to designing successful digital products. With their emphasis on what's truly essential, they help us create more focused, efficient, and satisfying products. Therefore, the value of identifying and creating red routes in product design cannot be underestimated.
Further Reading
Red route usability: The key user journeys with your web site — David Travis
How red routes can help you take charge of your product backlog — David Travis
