User research is often initiated during a sprint, after a design is implemented, or is part of the MVP. But, mindfully planning research earlier reaps far better results.
Barriers from all angles can make doing user research seem impossible. But recognizing the challenges and knowing you are not alone in having them, makes them easier to overcome so that you can get user data after all.
The question of "how many users" has 3 answers when doing contextual inquiry: users per visit, visits per day, and the total number of visits in a study (which again varies depending on the type of design project).
Maintaining participants’ data privacy and security before, during, and after data collection is critical to the user-research process. It protects participants from data breaches and cyber threats.
Whether you’re running in-person or remote research on AR apps, ensure that the test is safe for study participants, the task wording is easy to understand, participants know what to expect in advance of the session, and your recording equipment can capture the participant’s screen and their movements.
Modern day UX research methods answer a wide range of questions. To help you know when to use which user research method, each of 20 methods is mapped across 3 dimensions and over time within a typical product-development process.
Identifying the main themes from user studies (such as interviews, focus groups, diary studies, and field studies) is often done through thematic analysis.
Directed user research where you ask people closed-end questions can bias the outcome in favor of those things that are being asked about. Unguided studies are often better at revealing true user preferences.
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.
Qualitative user research aims at insights, not numbers. Metrics for individual users help tell the story of how each person did, but mean values across a small sample won't be reliable.
To help you know when to use which user-research method, 20 methods are mapped across 3 dimensions and over time within a typical product-development process.
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.
There will never be firm rules for every detail of good user research, but cultivating a researcher's mindset will help you make sure that your research findings are valid.
Field studies and diary studies are two research methods that help you learn about your users' real-world context, which is important for good design. They have different advantages and downsides.
Both UX research techniques help you gain quantitative insight into user behavior. Each method provides different types of information and can answer different kinds of research questions, however.
