There are millions of applications and every day hundreds of new application are published. However, we don't use all of those applications. In the abundance of selections, we eventually end up being creatures of habit. Try to name the applications you use every day. I am sure most of us are quite predictable and we use the same common applications; WhatsApp (or the preferred instant messenger in your country), Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, etc.
Why is this the case? There are many reasons. To name a few, it could be an effect of viral marketing using social media, a certain app naturally overtakes our life as a modern means to connect people, or an app tries to change the way we used to live in the past and succeeds in educating us to adopt a new phase in our modern lives. These things didn't happen overnight. They started from providing one simple service to people and as they gain better recognition and their businesses grow, they continue to develop their products on a different level. Compare Facebook between how it was when you first opened your account and how it looks today, or what appears on your wall.
There are many experts involved in developing better applications. Fundamentally, many experts in various areas study and conduct their research in areas such as human sociology, human psychology, social science and so on. As a result of this comprehensive research, they could develop their applications to meet people's needs and as a result they make us adopt their ways as if it is the way we live now.
I sometimes find applications which try to deliver too many features without clear directions as if the more contents or features they convey, the more they could be seen as a versatile and ambitious business models to users. But, I think this approach can have pitfalls. I often am stumble, trying to understand how and why I need the app, but, eventually, I fail to engage with even a thing from the application. If the application has aesthetically and interactively drawn me, I may spend a little bit more time playing around with it, but, that's it.
This happens quite easily in particular to the businesses dealing with complex problems and data. I believe this issue usually arises from a lack of different perspective points of view and diversity. These problems only can be amended by conducting iterative usability testing based on UX designers knowing what testing would bring out the best outcomes. There is a wide range of UX research methods, but, the key is that you should know which one would be more beneficial to achieve the maximum result within the limited time and resources.
When we undertake the application development, all the team members should be on the same page regarding their target customers and their product. For example, enterprise products may require users to have certain specific domain knowledge. The bottom line is that we should keep in mind 'the user-centred design' and this design process cannot be preceded without understanding what the end-users' needs are and what data is valid.
As a UX designer, we sometimes need to make assumptions about the users. However, we should be mindful of these assumptions rather than making a hasty decision that they are correct. We can improve the design through the iteration of user testing and refinement. After all, UX design is responsible for the holistic experience of users and solving a complex problem in a simpler way. In order to do that, it requires the iteration and refinement of the flows.
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