Why user flows are essential in our process

Vasudha Mamtani
UX Collective
Published in
5 min readJun 4, 2020

While working on a project which involved re-designing a HUMONGOUS investment portal, my team and I faced an odd issue.

After starting off right, doing our research, creating an exhaustive Information Architecture and a Styleguide, we were in the midst of creating wireframes. We realized that in all our haste, we had skipped on an important step of our design process: we never created User Flows.

As designers, we have all heard about what User Flows are, and how essential they are. While we hold User Research and Information Architecture in high regard, User Flows are often neglected or forgotten about in lieu of tight timelines.
But last week, I got a first-hand experience of why disregarding User Flows is not an option in our processes anymore.

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When we designers begin a certain project, we seldom have an idea of how certain user journeys pan out. We definitely are NEVER sure of what components, even at a high level, might come into play in the screens we design. For this purpose, it is essential for us to not just create User Flows, but also maintain them during the lifetime of our project.

I have worked with 3 types of User Flows:

1. The initial flow-charts

Before we even think about the word wireframe, flow charts are what should have our focus. In the initial stages of design, it is essential to map out the flow of what we believe would be the journey of the user.

In the preliminary stages, the user flows that are created don't need to be perfect. They can be scrappy, but they need to depict the journey well.

A basic signup/login journey
A basic signup/login journey flowchart

Why do we do this? Creating a flow diagram at the beginning not only brings perspective for the long haul, but also allows us to map out the several different scenarios that usually go unnoticed since we are usually busy charting out the happy flow.

If we’re aware of the different states well in advance, we can plan solutioning them from the beginning, rather than doing patchwork when they are discovered by accident.

Side note: a great way to step up your user flows and make them extremely informative for future use is to include details like what the intent of the screen is, or the kind of content/fields it could have in the future.

For example — The Password Reset screen in the above example could include a list of fields as well as the reset rules that would be applicable on the particular screen.

2. The component flows

Once the design language has been set, and we have started to churn out something that may resemble screens, that is the time to get started on the flows in parallel. At this stage, the crude boxes that we created at the beginning can be replaced by the screens, or at least a vague idea of a screen and the components that would comprise it.

Component Flow for a basic signup/login journey
Component Flow for a basic signup/login journey

Why do we do this? Now that we already have a flow in place, we can start chalking out the high-level components that will come into use and define their usage patterns.

Not only does this help us bring in consistency into our designs, it also helps us get a bird’s eye view of what a final draft of the finished product would look, and function like.

For example, in the component flow above, the components that can be identified are Page screen, Overlays, Success screens, Tab components, Stepper, etc.

3. The final flows

While not mandatory, these flows are, in my opinion, the perfect way to document a large number of journeys that make up an application.

Final flows are usually created with designs that have been approved and signed off. Click-through prototypes usually the equivalent of these flows, since they allow us to understand the end-to-end journey. But in case of a large-scale applications, it sometimes becomes imperative to document the flow of the entire application using real screens.

Final Flows for a donation application
Final Flows for a donation application

Why do we do this? This flow comes handy when working on projects that are not only of a humongous scale, but also last for months, or even years.
In such an environment, it is essential to have a living document that becomes the bible for the rotating group of individuals who work together.

On a parting note, A User Flows is that element of the design process that has become an essential.

It is an artefact that not just needs to be created at the beginning of the design process, but also something that needs to be meticulously maintained throughout the lifecycle of the project.

While it is recommended to create and maintain the three flows listed above, it might be difficult to do all three in projects that are short term. It is still essential to create and maintain either the initial flow-chart or the component flows.

The Flow that you create will not only help you understand how all journeys tie to each other, it will also help you estimate high-level component usage and come very handy while maintaining large-scale applications over a long period of time.

Additional references —

  1. Confused about how User Flows differ from Information Architecture? Refer this article.
  2. Additional details about User Flow — Here

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