Flows

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What are Flows?

In the context of user experience design, flows refer to the sequence of steps that a user takes to complete a task or achieve a goal within a product or service. Flows are often visualised as diagrams or maps that illustrate the user's journey through the product or service.

Flows typically include the following elements:

  1. End-to-end user goals: The user's intended outcome or purpose for using the product or service.
  2. User actions: The specific steps that the user takes to achieve their goal.
  3. System responses: The feedback or output that the system provides to the user at each step.
  4. Decision points: Points in the flow where the user must make a decision or choose between different options.
  5. Loops or branches: Alternative paths or scenarios that the user may follow depending on their choices or the system's response.

Flows are often used in the design process to help identify areas of the user journey that may be confusing, frustrating, or inefficient. By analysing the flow, designers can identify opportunities to streamline the user experience, remove unnecessary steps, and provide clearer feedback and guidance to the user.

Overall, flows are an important tool for understanding and improving the user experience, and can help designers to create products and services that are intuitive, efficient, and effective.