Analytics say what happened, not why
A drop-off in a form is visible in the data and inexplicable from it. Watching someone attempt the form explains it in minutes.
Omni Core · Object
UI and UX Optimization
Making the things people actually use work: understanding how they are used, deciding deliberately, testing changes rather than assuming them, and being usable by everyone.
The term
What it is
Interfaces are improved on opinion more than on evidence, because opinion is free and evidence takes a week. The result is a series of confident changes with unmeasured effects.
Watching five people use something reveals more than any amount of analytics, and it takes an afternoon. It is the highest-return research available and is skipped because it is uncomfortable.
Accessibility belongs here rather than as a separate compliance exercise. An interface unusable by part of the audience is unusable, and the changes that fix it usually improve it for everyone.
Why it earns a place
What goes wrong without it
Most changes have no measurable effect
The honest finding of most testing programmes is that the majority of changes do nothing, which is worth knowing before scaling them.
Accessibility is usability under constraint
The changes that make an interface work with a screen reader, a keyboard or poor eyesight tend to make it clearer for everyone.
One level in
The modules within ui and ux optimization
Four working areas: understanding how things are actually used, deciding what to change, establishing whether the change worked, and making it usable by everyone.
Understanding use
How people actually use the thing, established by watching rather than by inferring from analytics. The cheapest and least-used research available.
LearnDesign decisions
What is being changed and why, with the reasoning recorded so that a later change does not undo it for reasons nobody remembers.
LearnTesting changes
Establishing whether a change improved anything, on a measure agreed beforehand, with enough volume to be readable.
LearnAccessibility
Whether the interface works for people using assistive technology, keyboards only, or with impaired vision or motor control. A requirement rather than an enhancement.
Learn
Across the framework
What it touches
- Customer SupportSupport contacts are the cheapest available list of interface problems, and it is rarely read as one.
- Market CoreConversion problems in the buying journey are frequently interface problems.
- Brand CoreThe visual system constrains interface design and should not prevent it from working.
- Business CoreAccessibility is a compliance obligation in most jurisdictions and belongs in the register.
Beyond the framework
Models worth knowing here
The Omnigoal says where this belongs and what it touches. It does not tell you how to think about it — other people have done that, and done it well. These are theirs.
Nielsen’s usability heuristics
Jakob Nielsen · 1994Also known as The 10 usability heuristics, Heuristic evaluation
Ten general principles for interface design, used as a checklist to find problems without recruiting users.
Visibility of system status, match with the real world, user control, consistency, error prevention, recognition over recall, and the rest. They were derived by factor analysis of hundreds of real usability problems, which is why they are broad — each one covers a family of failures rather than a specific rule.
- Reach for it when
- As a first inspection pass before user testing, where a few evaluators will find most of the serious problems cheaply.
- Where it stops
- Heuristic evaluation finds violations of principles, not the things real users actually stumble over. It reduces the need for testing; it does not remove it.
Jakob Nielsen, “Enhancing the Explanatory Power of Usability Heuristics”, CHI ’94; refined 1994–2020.
The double diamond
UK Design Council · 2005Two cycles of widening then narrowing: first to find the right problem, then to find the right answer to it.
Discover, define, develop, deliver. The reason there are two diamonds rather than one is the whole argument: teams converge on a solution before they have converged on a problem, and the first diamond exists to make that difficult. The widening halves are the ones under pressure to be skipped.
- Reach for it when
- At the start of any redesign, particularly one that began with a proposed solution.
- Where it stops
- It describes a shape, not a practice. Drawn on a plan while the team works the way it always did, it changes nothing.
UK Design Council, 2005; revised as the Framework for Innovation, 2019.
The Fogg Behaviour Model
B. J. Fogg · 2009Also known as B = MAP
A behaviour happens when motivation, ability and a prompt arrive at the same moment — and fails if any is missing.
Motivation and ability trade off against each other: something easy enough needs little motivation, something hard needs a great deal. The design consequence is the useful one, and it runs against instinct — when people do not do something, making it easier works more reliably than trying to make them want it more.
- Reach for it when
- When a step in a flow is being abandoned and the proposed fix is more persuasive copy.
- Where it stops
- It is a model of the moment, not of habit or of whether the behaviour was good for the person. Its close relation to persuasive design makes the ethical question unavoidable rather than optional.
B. J. Fogg, “A Behavior Model for Persuasive Design”, Persuasive ’09, Stanford, 2009.
These are other people’s models, named here so you can go to the source and use them properly. The Omnigoal is not affiliated with their authors and is not endorsed by them; nothing of theirs is reproduced here — no canvas, no diagram, no wording. Each is described in our own words, with the originator credited, because the framework is a place to put thinking, not a replacement for the people who did it. Model names and trademarks belong to their respective owners and are used here only to refer to the work itself.
Every model in the framework, and where each one belongsWatch five people use it. It takes an afternoon and reveals more than any amount of analytics.
The other objects in the Omni Core
Customer Journey Mapping
Visualises the entire customer journey from initial awareness to post-purchase, providing a comprehensive understanding of the customer’s interactions and experiences. This process identifies key stages, critical moments, and pain points that influence customer satisfaction and loyalty. By mapping out these journeys, businesses can design targeted interventions to enhance each phase of the customer lifecycle, ensuring a cohesive and satisfying experience.
LearnCustomer Feedback
Collects and analyses customer feedback to gain valuable insights into their experiences and areas for improvement, driving continuous enhancements in service and product offerings.
LearnCustomer Support
Provides effective and efficient support to resolve customer issues, emphasising the importance of customer satisfaction and loyalty through responsive and helpful service.
LearnPersonalization
Tailors interactions and experiences based on individual customer preferences and behaviour, enhancing engagement and satisfaction through customised content and recommendations.
LearnLoyalty Programs
Develops and manages programmes that reward and incentivise repeat customers, fostering long-term loyalty and positive experiences through attractive rewards and benefits.
LearnOmnichannel Integration
Ensures a consistent and seamless experience across all channels, integrating personalised interactions and synchronised customer data to provide a unified and cohesive customer journey.
Learn