2.7: Why You Should Analyze Your Competition to Design Better Solutions and How to Do It

Question 1

Prior to starting a new UX design project, it makes sense to gain a sense of its scope by_______________________________________________________. (long ans.)

Answer 1

• looking at what others have done and critically analyzing the designs of others.

Question 2

Analyzing the ____________________________ is one of the standard tools in UX practice.

Answer 2

“competition”

Question 3

A __________________ report is one of the common UX deliverables in the industry.

Answer 3

UX competitive analysis

Question 4

It’s important to know that any UX design project faces two types of ____________________________.

Answer 4

• competition

Question 5

it’s important to know that any UX design project faces _________ types of competition.

Answer 5

• two

Question 6

Learning means breaking down the _________________ and ___________________ to understand why they work well, and then applying this knowledge to your own designs.

Answer 6

• interaction

- visual elements

Question 7

Competition analysis is often undertaken in the ____________ stages of a design project.

Answer 7

early

Question 8

_____________________________________can be an excellent way of keeping up to speed with the latest industry trends and developments, getting inspiration for future designs or updates to current ones, and learning through breaking down the reasons that designs by others work well (or not so well).

Answer 8

• competition analyses

Question 9

_____________ has lasting value and is a combination of aesthetics and inspiration, backed by scientific knowledge and research.

Answer 9

• good design

Question 10

__________ just come and go, because they are supported by nothing but the designer’s view on aesthetics.

Answer 10

• Fads

Question 11

When assessing other designs, it’s important that you don’t just stick to the ___________ element but also get to grips with the question of ________—namely, what is it that makes that particular design work so well?

Answer 11

• “wow”

- “why”

Question 12

What are the 5 rules to help you form and maintain a comparative mindset?

Answer 12

1 - Identify the need
2 - Identify the real competitors
3 - Compare through criteria, not personal preference
4 - Blind imitation is the most certain path to failure
5 - There is no substitute for user testing

Question 13

Every design is a solution to a particular ________.

Answer 13

need

Question 14

Ask yourself how a particular bit of design helps your users achieve a goal better. If it doesn’t, ___________.

Answer 14

leave it out.

Question 15

Google’s ____________ guidelines about search boxes state clearly that how you implement these should strongly depend on the focus of your application.

Answer 15

• Material Design

Question 16

Google’s Material Design guidelines about search boxes state clearly that how you implement these should strongly depend on _____________.

Answer 16

the focus of your application.

Question 17

Whether it’s a ________or _________ competitor, ask yourself exactly what you are making a comparison with.

Answer 17

• direct

- indirect

Question 18

Users have goals they want to meet, and _________________ is a means for achieving these goals.

Answer 18

technology

Question 19

For technology to succeed, it must __________________, or ________________________, that a low-tech solution can’t.

Answer 19

• do something better

- offer some other type of value

Question 20

Every comparison implies _________ against a set of criteria or values.

Answer 20

• judgment

Question 21

Every comparison implies judgment against a set of _________ or __________.

Answer 21

• criteria

- values

Question 22

What are Heuristiucs?

Answer 22

• a form of cognitive strategy, have been studied in discplines such as cognitive psychology, social psychology and social cognition. Heuristics are rules of thumb for reasoning, a simplification, or educated guess that reduces or limits the search for solutions in domains that are difficult and poorly understood.

Question 23

___________ are a form of cognitive strategy, have been studied in discplines such as cognitive psychology, social psychology and social cognition.

Answer 23

• Heuristics

Question 24

Heuristics, a form of cognitive strategy, have been studied in discplines such as _______________, _______________ and _______________.

Answer 24

• cognitive psychology
• social psychology
• social cognition

Question 25

_________________________ are rules of thumb for reasoning, a simplification, or educated guess that reduces or limits the search for solutions in domains that are difficult and poorly understood.

Answer 25

Heuristics

Question 26

Unlike formal structures like algorithms, ________________ do not guarantee optimal, or even feasible, solutions and are often used with no theoretical guarantee.

Answer 26

heuristics

Question 27

The use of heuristics is often contrasted with _________________, ____________________, or _____________________, according to which people use rationalistic and systematic ways to solve problems and generally seek the optimal results.

Answer 27

• probalistic
• statistical
• rationalistic reasoning

Question 28

The use of ____________________ is often contrasted with probalistic, statistical, or rationalistic reasoning, according to which people use rationalistic and systematic ways to solve problems and generally seek the optimal results.

Answer 28

heuristics

Question 29

The advantages of _________________________ is that it is cheap, intuitive (since you are applying a set of predefined rules/heuristics), it hardly requires any planning, and it can be used early in the design process (it does not require a nearly finished user interface). The disadvantage is that there is a focus on problems rather than solutions.

Answer 29

• heuristic evaluation

Question 30

The advantages of heuristic evaluation is that it is ___________________, _______________ (since you are applying a set of predefined rules/heuristics), _________________________________, and it can be used early in the ________________________ (it does not require a nearly finished user interface). The disadvantage is that there is a focus on problems rather than solutions.

Answer 30

• cheap
• intuitive
• it hardly requires any planning
• design process

Question 31

The advantages of heuristic evaluation is that it is cheap, intuitive (since you are applying a set of predefined rules/heuristics), it hardly requires any ___________________, and it can be used early in the design process (it does not require a nearly finished user interface). The disadvantage is that there is a focus on ____________________ rather than _______________________.

Answer 31

• planning
• problems
• solutions

Question 32

They are called “heuristics” because they are _________________________ and not specific usability guidelines.

Answer 32

• broad rules of thumb

Question 33

Blind imitation is the most certain path to___________.

Answer 33

failure

Question 34

Every design solution is unique not just to the ______________________________ but also because of the _____________________________.

Answer 34

• problem at hand

- target audience.

Question 35

Good design is the result of thorough ______________________, with considerable effort in _____________________ with users, framing _________________, and ___________________, _________________ and _______________________ solutions under context.

Answer 35

• process
• empathizing
• problems
• ideating
• prototyping
• evaluating

Question 36

There is no substitute for ______________________.

Answer 36

• user testing

Question 37

Only _____________ evaluation in the context of your project scope and target audience can prove whether a design really works.

Answer 37

• user-based

Question 38

Only user-based evaluation in the context of your ______________________ and ______________________ can prove whether a design really works.

Answer 38

• project scope

- target audience

Question 39

Comparing will only be useful if you look for the _________________behind the aesthetic value of a design.

Answer 39

“why”

Question 40

Comparing will only be useful if you look for the “why” behind the _______________________________________.

Answer 40

• aesthetic value of a design

Question 41

What is the purpose of a competitive analysis in UX? (3 points)
A) To find elements of design from other projects that you can copy directly for your own, speeding up development

B) To critically assess how others have solved design problems similar to yours and identify opportunities and weakness(es) so as to improve your design

C) To give customers a sense of confidence that you know what the latest design trends are

Answer 41

B

Question 42

When you come across a great-looking bit of design, you should… (3 points)
A) Try to incorporate it into your next project to ensure that it is a “state-of-the-art” solution.

B) Never incorporate it into your own projects, because of potential copyright issues.

C) Examine why the design works and where it breaks down, based on your knowledge of usability heuristics and the intended problem/audience.

Answer 42

C