Building user-centric Blockchain experiences.

Okay, for you to be here means that you already know what blockchain and blockchain apps are. However, to cross all Ts, let’s look at what blockchain is below.

Blockchain is a database that stores data in blocks and encrypted format and chains that are used to record transactions. The blockchain is an immutable distributed ledger with use cases beyond cryptocurrencies(which seems to be the most relatable uses cases for it today).

By immutable, this means that the records and transactions that take place on the blockchain cannot be changed. The ledger is a digital record of transactions or data stored in multiple places known as nodes on a computer network. These nodes are electronic devices that maintain copies of the blockchain and keep the network functioning. This helps for the immutability nature of the chain. Because every node has its own copy of the blockchain, the network must approve any newly mined(the process of adding transactions to the large distributed public ledger of existing transactions, known) block for the chain to be changed.

From the explanation above, we can deduct 3 main concepts in the blockchain which are;

• Nodes
• Blocks
• Minining

It’s important we understand the technical part of the blockchain and how things work beneath the surface even as product managers/designers and researchers, this will help us come up with more wholesome solutions for the users. Now that we are done with this, let’s go to the next step to explore ways to build more user-centric experiences for blockchain users.

If you’re either of these people mentioned above, by now you must already know that the first step to solving the problems of digital products’ users is to identify the problems they’re facing which Problem Identification. So what exactly are the problems that users face with blockchain apps?

Even though blockchain has many possibilities and promises major breakthroughs, the truth is that the average man on the street does not understand what it really is and this is because blockchain has been designed in such a way that it is difficult for non-technical to understand. Blockchain has been in existence for more than a decade now and according to research, more than 50% of the world’s major companies consider it a top priority in the next 5 years. let's see how this is true below;

1. The complexity in address reading: in blockchain, the address looks like this 1DkyBEKt5S2GDtv7aQw6rQepAvnsRyHoYM and normally we’re expected to remember our addresses. Not only are the addresses hard to read, but also are not possible to change. Even though this is done for security, the average user still has an unpleasant user experience with it.
2. The Use of Jargons in Place of UX copies: The average human using blockchain apps does not care and understand industry-specific terminologies instead they just want to get to use the service, yet this is what is mostly used in the apps instead of languages that the user understands and most times the users spend time learning these jargons instead of actually starting to use the service.
3. Speed: If you have used a couple of blockchain apps, you must be aware that the transaction speed is mostly slow and sometimes does not even complete. While this is more of a technical issue, it has resulted in a bad user experience for the users. One of the ways this can be made better is by communicating transaction wait times to users using. When transactions are pending, delayed, or timed out should be communicated to the user to help improve the experience.
4. Engineer only features: blockchain has offered a good number of awesome features(at least people who understand the tech know this). However, the Emeka(a name for guys in eastern Nigeria) who lives down the street does not need these features such as knowing how to create smart contracts which in turn requires the knowledge of expert engineering skills like programming languages such as Haskel, C++, etc. This in general leaves the normal user handicapped and stand as a great barrier to DApps

Ways to solve these problems

1. Test out prototypes with real humans: In designing for the centralized app, it’s a common process to carry out usability testing with real humans, even though a good number of people still do not follow these processes. However, in decentralized app design, I believe no or not enough usability testing is being carried out looking at the problems outlined above. Proper usability testing allows you to hear from users, both directly or through observations and solves almost all the UX issues even before they are developed.
2. System status and feedback: in Jakob Nielsen’s Heuristic principles of design, the first principle states the importance of keeping the user informed on what’s happening on the system. This is one thing that is missing in decentralized and blockchain applications. When a user is using a platform for some sort of transaction, make sure to give him/her a confirmation of validation. If there is a delay of any kind, do well to also inform the user as this increases the adoption rate of the platform.
3. Better and easier UX Copies: This is one solution I know will solve more than 1 problem. providing better UX content will solve issues like the jargon problem I outlined above and make the users feel more at home while navigating the platform. It even goes further to serve as an education to the users. If simple copies replace jargon, not only will users feel at home more, but they will learn the navigation and experience faster.

In Conclusion;

The blockchain already has amazing technology. However, only a small % of humans need to understand the technology which has affected the adoption rate. A more effective way to grow the adoption rate is to make the technology for users easy to understand and use without always sounding like we’re targeting techies. We also need more frontiers like user researchers, product managers, and product designers to come into the blockchain space because these are people who are more user-centric than Engineers.