Wireframes

As the first letter indicates - great UX design is all about putting the user first. Every aspect of software, an app or a website must first consider the user's needs, or it won't succeed - people will stop using it. 

The first step in any UX design is knowing your user - know what they are trying to accomplish, what motivates them and how they intuitively want to do it, then work up from there. 

When designing a UI, I first look at what the company is trying to deliver, then focus on how the user wants to get there. Understanding and empathizing with the needs and goals of users helps me locate the pain point and find elegant solutions that ultimately result in a better user experience.