An Experience Level Agreement or XLA is a written agreement between a service provider and its users. It’s what bridges the understanding between the user’s expectations and the service provider’s capabilities. That’s because, unlike Service Level Agreements (SLA’s) that focus purely on the technical aspects of service delivery, XLAs are user-centric and cover the value and outcome of the services provided.
Why It’s Important to UX
User Experience (UX) isn’t only the most crucial aspect of a website or application, as it’s what brings users back, but it’s also been found to be one of the highest-ranking factors in search engine results.
An XLA is important to UX because it can help your product provide better services to your users. It even helps ensure that everyone involved is on the same page. That way, both the service provider and the users are clear on what’s expected of each other, which in turn leads to a better overall experience for the user.
Aside from these, here are other benefits of XLA to UX.
- They Help Set Expectations
Experience level agreements are important because they help set the expectations for both the service provider and the client. They can outline things such as what services will be provided, how long it should take to deliver those services, and what the expected outcomes are.
When it comes to user experience, this is especially important because it can prevent any surprises down the road. In application, this can be as simple as a website user expecting information to appear when a corresponding button or icon is clicked and the service provider not giving such function. It can also be more serious, such as an application user expecting an immediate response to their query and not receiving one.
- They Help Improve Communication
There are many ways to create an engaging UX. It can be in the form of great color combinations for your website, an uncluttered user interface (UI), and even by posting the right images. However, you’ll never know what your customers truly want, and that’s why XLAs are important.
An XLA allows communication to flow between the parties. Good communication is key to any successful relationship, and the same goes for service providers and their users. When it comes to XLAs, this is done by having regular communications between the two groups. This can be in the form of status reports, which can keep everyone updated on the progress being made and any issues encountered.
It’s also important to have a designated point of contact for both the service provider and the users. That way, if either side has any questions or concerns, they know who to go to.
- They Increase Efficiency
There are many ways to improve business’ efficiency. One of which is through digital integration. In the process of integrating websites or apps, however, it’s also important to consider that it should be friendly to its users, which is where XLAs play an important role.
When experience levels are identified and set, it can help improve efficiency as the service provider knows what the users exactly want. This, in turn, can also help increase overall productivity because it reduces any unnecessary repetition and wasted time. That way, the service provider is able to come up with better ways of identifying what users look for before they’ve even asked for it.
This is especially true when it comes to projects and applications, where things like timeframes need to adhere to. If an app user sets a deadline before its release, for example, but the service provider didn’t meet that deadline because an issue emerged, this can lead to unpleasant surprises.
- They Improve Quality
When users know that how they react or respond to situations can have an impact on how services and products are made, it can help improve the overall quality of a provider’s work.
For example, if a website user knows they aren’t getting any response from the service provider to their queries, contrary to what’s written to the agreement, this may make them more likely to report future issues or problems. This leads to the opening of opportunities for service improvement even before the product gets released into the market.
- They Help With Problem Resolution
In any relationship, there’ll be disagreements and problems that need to be resolved. The same goes for service providers and their users. Experience Level Agreements can help with this by outlining not only the outcomes expected but also the probable steps that should be taken when a problem surfaces.
This can include things such as how to escalate the issue, who to contact at each stage, and what to expect in terms of response time. This can help to speed up the problem resolution process and can help to keep everyone on track.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, Experience Level Agreements are important because they benefit everyone involved – service providers and their users alike. They improve overall communication, increase efficiency, help improve quality and provide a framework for problem resolution.
By setting expectations up front, it can help reduce any surprises or disappointments that may occur. Thus, if you’re looking to improve your user experience, consider integrating XLAs into your projects.