UX Research Review

Why Research?

• To discover users’ problems, motivations, and goals
• To learn about the conditions under which users perform your task
• Learn about – and from – the competition

Why Not Just Ask People What They Want?

• People are experts in their own problems, not in the solutions.
• People may be unclear as to what they want and what is possible. It’s up to you to interpret what they say. Get them to tell you as much as they can about what and why to uncover hidden motivations.
• It’s your responsibility to hear about problems of many people, and find a solution that addresses a potentially diverse set of problems.

Qualitative vs Quantitative

Qualitative methods such as interviews, user observation, card sorts, and think-aloud usability tests are typically defined as those that help answer questions about “why and how to fix”

Quantitative methods such as A/B tests, timed usability tests and clickstream (user path) analysis address questions of “how many and how much”

Which is more important?

Of course, it depends, but since qualitative methods are usually done during discovery and design, most UXers I know do far more qualitative research.

But quantitative research is important in order to prove value or ROI (return on investment). Remember the $300 million button? In order to prove that the qualitative research findings were effective, they needed to consult the quantitative results.

And consider that qualitative methods such as card sorts and surveys create quantitative results when they are analyzed and compiled.

Generative vs Evaluative:

Generative Research generates information about users before building a product. Generative methods include interviews, surveys, card sorting, and others.

Evaluative Research examines how users work with a product. Typical methods are usability tests and contextual inquiry.

Formative evaluations occur during kickoff, and in ideation, design and prototyping phases. Summative evaluations take place after product release.

Behavioral vs Attitudinal:

Behavioral  = What people do. Many UX activities are behavioral.

Attitudinal  = What people say. Also used in UX, but heavily used in marketing.

This may not be the most important distinction to remember. You’ll learn it when you need it.

User Interviews

• Along with usability testing, perhaps the most important research technique.
• We interview users to learn their deep-seated goals, needs, and pain points. Anyone can guess at what users ‘probably’ need and what features they would ‘probably’ want. That’s not why you will be hired. You are trying to uncover deep needs.
• In order to gain deeper knowledge, you’ll want the user to tell you stories about specific instances and ways in which they’ve approached this task or similar tasks. Describing specific instances gets past a ‘lightweight’ depiction of needs.

Three Keys to Asking Great Interview Questions

• Don’t lead the user.  Don’t ask questions that bias them or seem to indicate a preferred answer. 

• Ask open-ended questions, especially early in the interview. An open-ended question is like an essay question, with no pre-planned answers. Start with open-ended questions. You can ask multiple-choice and yes/no questions later in your interview.
• Ask about specific instances. One of our lead instructors always asks the same three questions:

• Tell me about the LAST TIME you did such-and-such

• Tell me about your WORST experience doing …

• Tell me about your BEST experience doing …

Competitive Research

We reviewed 3 types of competitive analyses:

Comparison Matrix          

These generally compare features and/or usability qualities among different products.

Takeaways: Attractive, concise. Include a brief explanation below

Pluses and Deltas ( / Δ)

These list good and bad qualities among different products. This shows 2 products, but it could be many more.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT is a strategic planning method based on four elements — strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The SWOT framework helps you evaluate the internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats) that impact your products or design decisions.

SWOT is often used in strategic planning to help identify a potential competitive advantage. In a UX competitive analysis it can reveal product issues and determine a course of action. However, note that ‘threats’ may be more relevant to strategic planning than to UX.

Competitive Research:  Resources

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2018/08/guide-competitive-analysis/

https://uxplanet.org/top-things-to-know-about-ux-competitive-analysis-d91689fd8b36