We have organized the structures, screens, and priorities that are often blocked when first applying a user flow chart for non-majors. We have organized key standards, common mistakes, inspection points, and next actions in one place so that you can directly attach them to the actual planning and execution flow, so apply them right away.
user flow chart is the main topic of this guide. If you are applying user flow chart in a real project, start with the structure and checks below.
This article is organized based on the points that frequently get stuck when attaching a user flowchart to an actual work flow.
It is safer to check the current environment and official documents before actual application.
Once you’ve compiled your list of features, it’s time to see what order your users move through. This is the user flow diagram. Although the name seems difficult, the meaning is simple. It is a picture of what a user sees when they enter the service, what buttons they press, what results they get, and where they end up in that order. If you are a non-major and skip this step, there may be many screens but the structure may become more confusing.
User flow is similar to drawing the customer’s movement path.
It’s easy to understand if you think of an offline store. Customers come in, look at the products, select them, pay, and leave. The services are similar. Enter, see, select, complete. If this flow is clear, development becomes easier. On the other hand, if it is unclear where the user starts and ends, the number of screens increases and the number of buttons increases, and the user eventually gets lost.
At first, just 5 steps are sufficient.
There is no need to create complicated diagrams. It is sufficient to write down the following on paper or notepad.
- User enters the service
- View key information
- Do what you want
- Check the results
- Re-enable or quit
For example, a title recommendation tool could be Visit, Enter, Create, Check Results, Copy, or Recreate. Just organizing this much will make it much clearer where the screen is needed and which buttons are needed.
If you think about it separately before and after logging in, the structure becomes clearer.
One of the most common reasons why the flow is disrupted is adding the login status late. At first, it started as a simple service, but as membership registration and My Page came in, the structure suddenly became heavier. So, when drawing a user flow, it is a good habit to divide it into before and after login. If you first decide whether you need to use it without logging in or whether there are functions that can only be used after logging in, unnecessary screens will be reduced.
A well-drawn flowchart is easier to explain.
If you organize the user flow, it will be much easier to explain it to AI later. This is because you can say something like “a structure that inputs data from the main screen, moves to the result screen, and then saves.” Conversely, if the flow is only in your head, prompts may keep changing and screen requests may be inconsistent. Rather than thinking of a user flow chart as material for designers, it is better to think of it as a summary table that explains at a glance the experience you want to create.
You can reduce the number of screens by drawing a flowchart
The real advantage of a user flow diagram is not that it looks pretty. Rather, it is more important that it allows you to decide, “Do I really need this screen?” Screens with overlapping roles in the flow can be combined, and steps that users rarely pass can be boldly removed. The best plan for non-majors is not a lot of screens, but a structure that prevents users from getting lost.
At first, just drawing a few arrows by hand will suffice. A clear flow is more important than complex tools. If you try it today, first write down the start screen and end screen of your service, and then follow only the 3 to 5 necessary steps in between. In the next article, we will look at how to organize the actual screen based on this flow.
As an easy example,
For example, if it were a title recommendation tool, the flow could be very simple. Enter the main screen, enter a keyword, view recommended results, and copy the ones you like. Just by drawing these four steps, you can quickly see which screens are necessary and which buttons are unnecessary.
Quick checklist for user flow chart
Use this checklist before you apply user flow chart in an actual post or product flow.
- Is the first action obvious as soon as the user lands on the page?
- Are intermediate steps simple enough that buttons and explanations do not overlap?
- Does the result naturally lead to a next action instead of a dead end?
- Could you explain the structure again later without adding unnecessary screens?
Related posts
- Organized feature list: How to select a feature list
- When it comes to screen planning, it is more important to avoid confusion than to make it look pretty.
Things to verify before you apply it
- Tool UI and function configuration may vary depending on the time, so it is safer to check again based on the current version.
- Stateful features like external APIs, authentication, and payments can have a much larger structural impact in a real project than in a small example.
