At Eleken product design agency, we've been doing UX audits for years and have tried all sorts of approaches. Each one has its own ups and downs, and we're excited to share our insights with you.
In this post, we're diving into why these audits reports are valuable and how picking the right report style can really make a difference. Ready to get into the nitty-gritty of UX audits? Let’s go!
Main reasons to conduct UX audit
Research made by Forrester states that every dollar you invest in UX brings $100 in return. And it’s only one of many reasons why it’s worth investing in UI/UX analysis. Here are some other visible benefits:
1. Identifying Problem Areas
A UX audit can help spot usability issues in a product, such as confusing navigation, poor information architecture, or complex user interfaces. By identifying these issues, businesses can take steps to improve the software so that it meets the needs and expectations of users better.
For example, Scandiweb, a digital strategy and web development company, conducted a website UI/UX audit and showed the world a real-life UX audit report example based on Jaguar online store analysis. For the comprehensive user experience analysis, they created a customer journey map, performed usability testing, analyzed the findings, and worked out recommendations based on the received insights.
And though the auditors emphasized that all the assumptions still should be validated with A/B tests to prove their success, the findings were crucial for the creation of improvement suggestions and the further improvement of the website's UX.
2. Enhancing User Adoption.
A UX audit can help identify areas of the user flow that are confusing, unclear, or unnecessary, such as complex forms, unclear payment options, and other places where users may be losing interest in the product. By optimizing the user flow, users are more likely to be able to complete desired actions, such as signing up or purchasing a product, which will improve adoption.
For example, when Salesforce introduced its new Lightning UI, user feedback indicated that the excessive white space was the main obstacle to user adoption. So, the company wanted to create an experience that was at least as good as the previous version, while minimizing the impact on the development cycle and product teams. Although the solution to the problem seems quite simple, it required a deep product analysis. By thoroughly scanning the current version of the product, the Salesforce design team came up with actionable design solutions on how to improve the amount of white space and the density of information. As a result, user adoption of the Lightning UI increased significantly, which helped the company achieve its goal of having 6 million monthly active users by the end of the financial year.
3. Boosting Customer Retention.
A good user experience is vital for retaining customers in the competitive SaaS market. By improving the product’s usability, your users are more likely to be able to complete their desired tasks more seamlessly, which can increase their satisfaction and retention.
According to recent research by Zendesk, up to 61% of customers are likely to switch to another product after just one negative experience. On the other hand, customers tend to remain loyal if they feel they are getting good value. Forbes states that 86% of customers are willing to pay more to receive better user experience.
4. Maintaining Competitive Edge.
In the dynamic SaaS industry, it's important to stay ahead of the competition. Conducting UX audits on a regular basis can help identify areas where a SaaS product is falling behind, allowing you to make improvements and remain on top.
Overall, a UI/UX audit is an essential tool for SaaS businesses to evaluate the user experience of their product, identify areas for improvement, and ultimately drive growth and success. Still, all the above-mentioned benefits don’t mean that user experience review is a silver bullet for each and every company on the market, so let’s define in what situation an audit may be helpful.
UX audit process in a nutshell
Before we jump into the audit report samples, a quick run-through of the overall process is a must – it sets the stage for why choosing the right reports format matters.
Step 1: Check the product
Kick off your UX audit by thoroughly understanding your product:
- Overview: Start with a basic overview. What's your product about? How does it look and feel?
- Explore: Dive deeper. Look at how it's set up and how it works. What's good? What needs improvement?
- Review each part: Finally, examine each page closely. Is everything working well and making sense for the user? This is where you'll spot the details that matter, moving as shown in step 2.
Step 2: Audit pages one-by-one
Now, it's time to get into the specifics. Evaluate each page of your product using Jakob Nielsen's renowned 10 usability heuristics. These principles are your guiding stars in the vast universe of UX design. Read our insightful article for a more detailed understanding of how to apply UX audit heuristics.
- Look for mistakes in architecture and navigation
Inspect how your product is structured. Is the navigation intuitive? Can users find what they need without getting lost in a maze of links and buttons?
- Any issues in forms and elements?
Examine all forms and interactive elements. Are they user-friendly? Do they enhance the overall experience or stand in the way of user goals?
- What about usability?
Usability is key. Assess how easy it is for users to achieve their objectives within your product.
- And accessibility
Your product should be accessible to everyone. Check for elements that might hinder accessibility and plan for inclusive design.
- And finally, look for mistakes in the visual style
Ensure that the visual style is consistent, aesthetically pleasing, and contributes to a positive user experience.
Explore our detailed guide for a deeper dive into conducting an effective UX audit.
Step 3: Create UX audit report
The culmination of your UX audit is the audit report. This structured document is more than just a summary; it's the analysis of your findings and a blueprint for your product's future improvements.
At Eleken, with nine years of experience in conducting UX audits, we understand that different projects have distinct specifics, including:
- Tight deadlines: Projects that require quick turnarounds and prompt responses.
- Major flaws: This is crucial to solve them asap for products facing usability problems that could lead to user dissatisfaction.
- Limited resources: Scenarios where prioritizing the most impactful issues is crucial.
Each situation requires a specific approach to reporting. In the next sections, we'll show you different ways to write a UX audit report based on our experience. You'll see various styles and learn how to pick the best one for your product's specific needs and goals.
Quick UX audit report example
This is the most straightforward way to share your findings. Simply arrange your product's flows in Figma. While keeping usability heuristics in mind, highlight the issues and add brief notes on what needs fixing.
Take a look at the next pages for an example. You’ll see a section of an audit we conducted for our client, BookPeep.
This method is ideal for tight deadlines when you need to jumpstart your app's redesign quickly. It works well as an initial step for further redesign, especially when it's primarily used by the person who conducted the audit. However, due to its brief explanations and less structured format, this quick report might not be the best for presenting to other team members.
If you're looking for a report format that can be easily understood by a broader range of stakeholders, not just its creator, consider the problem-solution audit reporting style.
Problem-solution UX audit report example
This format offers a structured approach to sharing audit findings, a method we've refined over time. It ensures clarity and organization, making it easier for clients to understand and engage with the information.
Take, for example, our audit for Photobooth. We start by breaking down the screens into user flows, each identified with a specific cover and title.
For each identified issue, there's a dedicated slide, even if multiple issues are related to a single design element. We explain each problem in plain language for easy comprehension by non-designers. Each issue is followed by a suggested solution.
As shown in the screenshots below, the product team can interact with these findings directly in Figma, enhancing collaboration and discussion.
While this method effectively presents findings, it's not without limitations:
- Context matters: Some problems need to be viewed in the broader context of the entire project. For instance, why focus on fixing inconsistencies within a modal window if it turns out the window isn't needed at all?
- Unequal severity: Not all issues carry the same weight. Some might be minor aesthetic concerns, while others are critical UX flaws hindering user tasks.
In the real world, unlike fairy tales, resources are limited. You can't tackle all problems at once. That's where the problem-prioritization audit report comes in, designed to help you rank your issues efficiently.
Problem-prioritization UX audit report example
This report starts by listing all the issues we find.
Next, we rate each issue based on how much it affects the user, on a scale from 1 to 3. After that, we come up with a list of clear recommendations for each problem we found in the audit.
Using this approach, we tackle the biggest problems first. It makes it easier to build the plan for redesigning the product and helps the people in charge make better decisions about it.
Take a look at our audit for 99 keys as an example. It shows how this kind of report helps focus on the most important issues.
Tools for conducting the UX audit
As you may see, the final look of a UX audit report depends much on the methods that designers use for each specific case. Here are several tools that would make the creation of your audit report a much easier task.
- Hotjar provides interactive heat maps that show how users click, scroll, and move on a website. This helps to identify areas where users may be struggling or encountering issues with navigation or design. In addition to heat maps, Hotjar also offers session recordings, surveys, and real-time feedback pools, which can provide further insights into user behavior and preferences.
- Google Analytics. When conducting a UX audit, it is crucial to identify potential problem areas to enhance the overall user experience. In this regard, Google Analytics remains an essential tool, providing insights on user behavior such as website dwell time, page visits, missed pages, and common user flows.
- Mixpanel focuses on the actions users take on a website or app, providing insights into user behavior. It helps to answer questions like how many users clicked a certain button or used a certain feature, which can inform decisions about what changes to make to improve the user experience and increase conversion rates.
- Kissmetrics provides robust analytics and customer behavior reports. It allows to find out what features customers use the most, identify the most viewed pages, and discover weak points in the onboarding funnel.
- UXCam is a tool that allows you to capture and visualize user behavior on your website or mobile app. It helps UX designers to identify usability issues by providing session recordings, heat maps, and funnel analysis. The tool helps to understand what users are doing on the app or website, what they are struggling with, and where they are dropping off.
Maximize product impact via UX audit reports
As we've explored, the right UX audit and report style can significantly impact your product's success. From identifying key problem areas to enhancing user adoption and retention, a well-conducted UX audit is invaluable.
If you're looking to gain these insights but need a bit of expert help, that's where we come in. At Eleken, we specialize in crafting UX audits and reports tailored specifically to your needs. Reach out to us, and we’ll be happy to help you uncover the full potential of your product.
