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User Research Methods

MAD9034

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User Research

Definition and Goals

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User research focuses on understanding user behaviors, needs and motivations through interviews, surveys, usability evaluations and other forms of feedback methodologies. It is used to understand how people interact with products and evaluate whether design solutions meet their needs.”

wikipedia.org/

Building empathy for users�Who are the users?

What are their goals, needs and expectations interacting with your product?

What is the context of use?

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UX Design Process

Empathize with users

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Empathize

Study user behaviours, research user goals, understand client objectives

User research
Stakeholder interviews
Competitive analysis
Marketing research
Brand needs

Define
Design/Ideate
Prototype
Test
Implement + Measure

Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-thinking/

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User Research

Why user research is important and how to do it

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Why

To understand the users’

Behaviours
Needs
Motivations

How

Observation techniques
Task analysis
Other methods of collecting feedback

How to choose the research method

Type of product
Project timeline and resources
Specifics of the work environment

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User Research

A selection of methods used in UX Design

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Card Sorting
Contextual interviews/Observation Sessions
First Click Testing
Focus Groups
Heuristic Evaluation/Expert Review
Individual Interviews

Personas
Prototyping
Surveys
System Usability Scale (SUS)
Task Analysis
Usability Testing
Use Cases (Usage Scenarios)

UX Research Cheat Sheet

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Card Sorting

User Research Methods

Image source

Allows users to group labels written on cards in categories that make sense to them. This helps ensure that the application structure matches the way users think.

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Card Sorting

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/card-sorting-definition/

Card sorting allows users to group your product’s information in categories.
You can ask users to group cards in their own categories - this is known as open card sorting.
You can ask users to place the cards in predefined categories - this is known as closed card sorting.
A classic example of using card sorting is to figure out the information architecture of a site, but there are other applications.

If there is time, give the example from the customer conference. Image in Google drive.

Card sorting is a quick way to collect insight from users or customers and it doesn’t have to take too much time and resources.

One of the companies I worked for organized an annual customer conference that was very well attended.�The UX team had a little table in the main lobby where customers roamed around during the breaks between talks to find food, to talk to other people, or to check out what the different booths had to offer.

We were competing for their attention during the short breaks so we had to be creative and come up with something that would entice them to stop at our booth and chat with us for a few minutes.

The UX team was working on the redesign of a landing page and we wanted to know what is the most important information that an HR specialist would want to find on their landing page.�We created cards for a card sorting exercise. Each card had one word representing functionality that could be displayed on the landing page.

The conference had given the participants a pass with 8 slots to fill out with stamps. They could get a stamp if they stopped at a booth and engaged in a conversation with the booth keepers.

This was the incentive for customers to come to our booth. Once they came, they had a lot of fun with the card sorting exercice, it was something meaningful to them, easy to do and fun.�Soon, our booth was the most frequented one and we had at least 10 people around it at all times.�This story tells you that UX designers sometimes have to be creative in the absence of perfect setups, big budgets and resources.

We gathered a lot of meaningful information and contacts of people who agreed to speak to us later.

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Contextual Interviews (Inquiry)

User Research Methods

Image source

Enable you to observe users in their natural environment, giving you a better understanding of the way users work.

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Contextual Inquiry

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/contextual-inquiry/

Contextual interviews are very powerful, my favourite method of learning about the users because it enables User Experience Designers to observe users in their own, natural environment that gives designers a better understanding of the context in which users use a product.
Before the pandemic, contextual interviews were conducted by visiting the customer or user’s work place to observe them use the product in the natural environment.
During the pandemic, the site visits were not possible and they moved online
Now there is a split, but either way, even if it happens online, you can ask people to take you on a tour of their office, you can observe things and ask questions to understand their surroundings, setup, what other devices or software they use in conjunction with your product.

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First Click Testing

User Research Methods

Image source

A testing method focused on navigation, which can be performed on a functioning website, a prototype, or a wireframe.

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First Click Testing

https://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/first-click-testing.html

First Click Testing is a testing method focused on navigation. The goal of this type of testing is to see where a user clicks first on the interface in order to complete a task that you give. You can perform this type of testing with:

functional product
prototype
mockup
paper prototype

Optimal Workshop is a good testing tool that enables a UX designer or researcher to perform many types of testing, one of them being first-click testing. You upload a mockup, write the task and share the link with your users. They click with the mouse where they think they should to perform the intended task. The application records the clicks of all users and creates a heat map that shows you where people clicked, similar to what you see in this image.

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Focus Groups

User Research Methods

Image source

Moderated discussion with a group of users, allow you to learn about user attitudes, ideas, and desires.

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Focus Group 101

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/focus-groups-definition/

A Focus Group is a moderated discussion with a group of users that allows UX Designers to learn about user attitudes, ideas, and desires.
It is important that the users who are part of the focus group are representative of the target market.
When people talk about what they want is different than when they are in front of an application interacting with it.
Focus groups have to be organized with a cohesive group of people, make people feel safe to share any feedback they may have.

Try to combine multiple methods for best results.

Use Case

User Research Methods

Image source

Use cases, scenarios and storyboards focus on describing how users use your product and their goals.

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Use Cases

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User Research Methods

Know the User

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	Know the user	Content	Design	Test & Refine
Card sorting
Contextual Interviews
Focus Groups
Individual Interviews
Persona
Usability Testing
Task Analysis
Use Cases
Surveys

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Know the User

Goals

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Building empathy for users�Who are the users?

What are their goals, needs and expectations interacting with your product?

What is the context of use?

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User Research

3 dimensions

Attitudinal vs Behavioural
Qualitative vs Quantitative
Context of Use

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User Research

3 dimensions

Attitudinal vs Behavioural

Attitudinal: What people say (surveys, focus groups, interviews, card sorting) Marketing studies rely on attitudinal research.

Behavioural: What people do (observation sessions, first-click testing, eye tracking, moderated usability testing, A/B testing) Usability studies focus on behavioural research.

Qualitative vs Quantitative
Context of Use

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User Research

3 dimensions

Attitudinal vs Behavioural
Qualitative vs Quantitative

Qualitative: gather data observing users directly

Quantitative: analysis of data gathered from answers to questions

Context of Use

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User Research

3 dimensions

Attitudinal vs Behavioural
Qualitative vs Quantitative
Context of Use

Natural or near-natural use of the product (A/B testing)

Scripted use of the product (usability testing)

Not using the product (interview, card sorting)

Hybrid (participatory design)

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User Research Methods

Know the User

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	Behavioural/ Attitudinal	Qualitative/ Quantitative	Context of Use
Card sorting	attitudinal	qualitative
Contextual Interviews	attitudinal	qualitative
Focus Groups	attitudinal	qualitative
Individual Interviews	attitudinal	qualitative	no product usage
Persona	behavioural	qualitative/quantitative	no product usage
Usability Testing	behavioural	qualitative	scripted usage
Surveys	attitudinal	quantitative

How to choose the right research method

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Warm-up Project

Apple Watch fitness application

Building empathy through user research

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Warm-up Project

Intro and method of work

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Project: Design an Apple Watch fitness application

Method: Fast-tracked, 3-week process following the principles of a design sprint.

Work structure: Groups of 3-4 students

Assignments: Multiple exercises that take you through the phases of the design process

You'll spend the next 3 weeks doing a fast-track through the entire UCD process for a new Apple Watch fitness/activity tracker app.
The purpose of the warm-up project is to prepare you for the work you will need to do on your major project. Use the warm-up project to learn, make mistakes and learn from them, reflect on the experience and know where you need to improve on the next project.
You'll spend a class on each step:

researching
analysis
brainstorming
prototyping
Testing

Think of this project as a warm-up for your major project.
Refresh and deepen your understanding of each step of the design process. Read the articles you haven’t read, watch the videos you may have not watched.�
Groups of 3-4. You stay with your group for the first 3 weeks so choose your group wisely.�
You are encouraged to explore ideas, be creative, think outside the box, however the focus is on going through the process, understanding the value of each phase, learning from this experience to apply to your major project.
There are many fitness apps available. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, however you can explore ways to present the information, the data, the functionality.

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Design Sprint

Quick overview

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A design sprint is a 5-day process developed by Google Ventures for answering critical business questions through designing, prototyping, and testing ideas with customers.

Prep day	Set the stage
Day 1	Set a long-term goal, map the challenge, ask the experts, select a problem to solve
Day 2	Review existing ideas, sketch individual solutions
Day 3	Critique all ideas, vote, combine winning ideas in a storyboard
Day 4	Turn the storyboard into a prototype
Day 5	Test the prototype with customers and decide on next steps

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Design Thinking vs Design Sprint vs Agile

Design Sprint

Image source

Design Thinking is both a problem definition and problem-solving method.

Design Sprint is purely a problem-solving method for which you need a well-defined problem.

Agile is an approach to building or executing something interactively and iteratively.

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Design Thinking is both a problem definition and problem-solving method. We can use it to discover opportunities, to frame and reframe problems using empathy with our users and customers, and then find solutions through ideating, prototyping and testing.
Design Sprints are purely a problem-solving method. For Design Sprints to work, we must start with a well-defined challenge. Typically, the biggest misuse of Design Sprints is when teams try to use them to define or decide what problem to solve.
Agile comes in different methodologies, the most common of which are: Scrum, Lean, Kanban, XP, and so on. Regardless of the approach, it’s all about building or executing something interactively and iteratively.

Other links for the website: �https://www.nngroup.com/videos/design-thinking-activities/

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/agile-development-and-usability/

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Design Sprint and UCD

Image source

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Day 1	Set a long-term goal, map the challenge, ask the experts, select a problem to solve
Day 2	Review existing ideas, sketch individual solutions
Day 3	Critique all ideas, vote, combine winning ideas in a storyboard
Day 4	Turn the storyboard into a prototype
Day 5	Test the prototype with customers and decide on next steps

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Fitness Application Design

Work breakdown

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Week 2.1 (today)	Form groups. Prepare to learn about your user, context of usage and the problems to solve. Conduct user interviews to “know your user.”
Week 2.2	Map out the problem and select a place to focus.
Week 3.1	Sketch ideas and choose the one to proceed with.
Week 3.2	Create a prototype
Week 4.1	Test the prototype with real people

The Design Sprint

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Fitness Application Design

Examples

Image source

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Today, in class

Preparation for user interviews

User Interviews: How, When and Why to Conduct Them

Writing an Effective Guide for a UX Interview

6 Mistakes When Crafting Interview Questions

Form your groups
Create a user interview script
Each student conducts 3 interviews with 3 different people by Wednesday

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User Interviews

Tips

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Prepare	Plan	Execute
Set goals Select participants Define a protocol Assign roles Make sure you have a note taker!	Create a script to find out: Relevant information about the users of a fitness app A problem to design for ��Max. 15 minutes Dry-run - very important	3 interviews per student, 9 per team Don’t forget the NDA!

Prepare

GOALS: What do you want to learn when you talk to the users?
PARTICIPANTS: Based on the goals, who will be your participants?
PROTOCOL/SCRIPT: What will you ask the participants?
ROLES/SET-UP: How will you set things up to execute the interviews?

Plan

Work within your group to create an interview script keeping in mind what you want to learn from the participants that will help you identify one problem to design for:

General diet and fitness habits
Current and past use of fitness tracker apps
Positive/negative experiences with other fitness trackers
Positive/negative experiences with other apps and services
Desired features in an ideal fitness tracker
Any other thoughts relevant to the user research goals

When you prepare your interview script, think of the time you need to conduct it.

Try to keep the interview to 15 minutes.

Do a dry-run to see if the questions make sense. Adjust if needed.�

Things you are looking for:

Experience with previous fitness apps and frequency of use
What they liked and did not like about these apps
If they did not use other fitness apps, why
Any information that helps you understand the users’ needs from a fitness app. What is important to them, why they would want to use your product, how can you entice them to use a fitness app if they have not used one before.

Execute

3 interviews per student, 9 per team

Explain the goal of the interview
Set the expectation for 15 minutes
Ask for permission to record
Have the participants sign an NDA
Have a note taker

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Exercise 1

User research: Individual interviews

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Details on the course website: Exercise 1

Deliverable: (Figma document with Screenshot submission.)

9 total user interviews
Documented Questions and answers

Note:

Students should have their participants sign an NDA, however are not required to be submitted.

Other:

Here is a link to an interview script example (Figma) which students can use as a base/ reference.

https://www.figma.com/community/file/1099234103535240295/User-Interview-Scripts

Students can make a copy of this and add it to their Figma file.

Using the Figma file:

One member from each group will import the downloaded Figma file into their Figma.
They will then invite their other group members and their prof to the file (With edit permissions.)

By the end of class:

A completed interview script
Their Figma file with all the questions filled in.
One interview completed with someone from another group.

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Coming up

User Research Analysis

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Mandatory

Exercise 1 submission - you will use the interview notes in class to do your analysis