Performing a competitive analysis is one of the earliest research steps in the UX design process. A UX competitive analysis should be done prior to starting work on a new project. Since competitors can emerge at any time or may increase (or improve) their offerings, the competitive research should be iterative and continue as long as you are working on that project.

Considerations for competitive analyses

• Create a short list of main comparison criteria before you start. You can always add more criteria if it makes sense. This will keep your research guided.
• Remember to add the product you’re designing to the analysis to see how your product compares to the competition.
• Know when to stop. Start with 3-5 main competitors. Once you uncover the information you need in order to inform your design decisions, it’s time to stop.
• Don’t simply copy the designs you find in your research. The competitors may not be using best practices. Instead, be inspired by the solutions found in your research and adapt the solutions to fit your brand, product, and users.
• Be tool agnostic. Choose the tool that helps you present your findings based on the information you are documenting and sharing.
• Know when to perform a “comparative analysis.” Study solutions from products that are not direct competitors. For example, if you are designing a solution that includes a calendar scheduling feature, explore the best calendar scheduling solutions, regardless of the vertical.

Starting a UX competitive analysis

Some common questions to begin a UX competitive analysis are:

• Who is currently trying to solve this problem?
  • How are they trying to solve the problem?
  • What their main differentiator or unique value-add is for their business and products
• Did anyone try to solve it in the past and fail?
  • Why did they fail?

Once the main competitors have been identified, conduct a heuristic evaluation of the competitor’s end-to-end user experience. When possible, keep in mind your product’s goals, how you want users to feel about using your product, and why they would prefer using your product over the competitors. Here are some common user experiences to evaluate:

• Sign up & Login
  • Ease of account creation
    • Fast or slow
    • Hard or easy
  • Social Sign up/Login
• Initiating the main task
• Performing the main task
• Successful completion of the main task (learn more about task analysis)

Steps to Do a UX Competitive Analysis

To get started on your UX competitive analysis, define your goals, access the competition, and start comparing products with these steps:

1. Outline your goals and define your product. Ask yourself, why are you doing this competitor analysis and what do you hope to achieve? Be specific in your goal and design focus to keep your analysis on track.