Therese Fessenden is a Senior Experience Specialist with Nielsen Norman Group and host of the NN/g UX Podcast. Her research focuses on understanding human behavior, attitudes, and expectations in order to better orchestrate system and service design strategies.
In a focus group, a facilitator solicits feedback from a small group of people. While insufficient as a standalone research method, data from a focus group still has value.
Some of the biggest pitfalls in running remote or hybrid UX workshops come from poor choice of remote tools, poor agendas, or not managing expectations appropriately before the meeting.
Better designs should never come at the cost of another person’s wellbeing. Informed consent is a fundamental part of an ethical research program, which respects participants and protects them from harm.
People react user experience at 3 levels of emotional processing, as defined by Don Norman: visceral, behavioral, and reflective. Understanding these different levels is important for better UX design.
Probing vs. leading. Saying enough to make your participant comfortable, but not so much you derail the research. 5 pitfalls in the user interview process are demonstrated so that you can avoid them the next time you talk with users.
If your product doesn't exist yet, and you don't even have a prototype, you can (and should) still base design decisions on user research. Observational research methods can gather information about user needs and provide input to new-product ideation.
The reciprocity principle states that people, when given something upfront, tend to feel a sense of obligation to repay what has been provided. Login walls reverse this sequence and require users to disclose personal info before allowing access to content. People often resent this, and may not be as forthcoming or cooperative as a result.
Know the inherent biases in your recruiting process and avoid them in order to recruit study participants that are representative for your target audience.
A design system is a set of standards for managing design at scale, reducing redundancy and creating a shared language and visual consistency across channels.
