UX (user experience) research is the systematic study of target users and their requirements, to add realistic contexts and insights to design processes. UX researchers adopt various methods to uncover problems and design opportunities. Doing so, they reveal valuable information which can be fed into the design process.
We can divide UX research into two subsets:
- Qualitative research — Using methods such as interviews and ethnographic field studies, you work to get an in-depth understanding of why users do what they do (e.g., why they missed a call to action, why they feel how they do about a website). For example, you can do user interviews with a small number of users and ask open-ended questions to get personal insights into their exercise habits. Another aspect of qualitative research is usability testing, to monitor (e.g.) users’ stress responses. You should do qualitative research carefully. As it involves collecting non-numerical data (e.g., opinions, motivations), there’s a risk that your personal opinions will influence findings.
- Quantitative research — Using more-structured methods (e.g., surveys, analytics), you gather measurable data about what users do and test assumptions you drew from qualitative research. For example, you can give users an online survey to answer questions about their exercise habits (e.g., “How many hours do you work out per week?”). With this data, you can discover patterns among a large user group. If you have a large enough sample of representative test users, you’ll have a more statistically reliable way of assessing the population of target users. Whatever the method, with careful research design you can gather objective data that’s unbiased by your presence, personality or assumptions. However, quantitative data alone can’t reveal deeper human insights.
We can additionally divide UX research into two approaches:
- Attitudinal — you listen to what users say — e.g., in interviews.
- Behavioral — you see what users do through observational studies .
When you use a mix of both quantitative and qualitative research as well as a mix of attitudinal and behavioral approaches, you can usually get the clearest view of a design problem.
“Falling in love with a problem happens through observing it happen in a relevant context, where the problem is occurring to people in your target audience.”
— Tomer Sharon, Validating Product Ideas
Use UX Research Methods throughout Development
The Nielsen Norman Group — an industry-leading UX consulting organization — identifies appropriate UX research methods which you can use during a project’s four stages. Key methods are:
- Discover — Determine what is relevant for users.
- Contextual inquiries — Interview suitable users in their own environment to see how they perform the task/s in question.
- Diary studies — Have users record their daily interactions with a design or log their performance of activities.
- Explore — Examine how to address all users’ needs.
- Card sorting — Write words and phrases on cards; then let participants organize them in the most meaningful way and label categories to ensure that your design is structured in a logical way.
- Customer journey maps — Create user journeys to expose potential pitfalls and crucial moments.
- Test — Evaluate your designs.
- Usability testing — Ensure your design is easy to use.
- Accessibility evaluations — Test your design to ensure it’s accessible to everyone.
- Listen — Put issues in perspective, find any new problems and notice trends.
- Surveys/Questionnaires — Use these to track how users’ feel about your product.
- Analytics — Collect analytics/metrics to chart (e.g.) website traffic and build reports.
I’m grateful for this epic journey in the past two years, and I’m looking forward to what the future holds. My hope is to contribute more to my UX community and spark the conversation on retrospection, learnings, and growth. I would love to hear more people share their thoughts on their journeys. Please get in touch via LinkedIn.
