A Comprehensive Overview of User Experience Research Methods.

User Experience Research is all about studying how real people use things like websites, applications, or products. The goal is to find out what works well and what does not, so we can make them better.

Researchers ask questions, observe users, and collect data to figure out how to create things that are easy to use, enjoyable, and meet the users' needs.

In this talk, you'll learn how to apply the various research methods in identifying valuable insights to inform your design decisions and improve the overall user experience.

Transcript

1. UX Research Methods
   

   View Slide

2. ● UX Designer at Blaccess.
   ● UX Research Mentor.
   ● Building Pink Summer of Tech, She
   Code Africa and Friends of Figma.
   About Me
   

   View Slide

3. Introduction to UX Research
   

   View Slide

4. View Slide

5. User Experience (UX) is more than following a collection of rules and
   heuristics in the product design process. As the name suggests, it is subjective—
   the experience that a person goes through while using a product. Therefore, it is
   necessary to understand the needs and goals of potential users, their tasks, and
   context, which are unique for each product.
   What is user experience?
   

   View Slide

6. "User experience research is all about studying how real people use things like websites, apps, or products.
   The goal is to find out what works well and what doesn't, so we can make them better. Researchers ask
   questions, observe users, and collect data to figure out how to create things that are easy to use, enjoyable,
   and meet the users' needs.
   "In essence, UX research helps designers and developers create user-friendly and effective solutions by
   gaining insights into user behavior, preferences, and pain points. It's like detective work to ensure that
   what's being built truly serves the people who will use it.
   What is user experience research?
   

   View Slide

7. A user experience researcher leverages quantitative and qualitative research
   methodologies to understand and optimize a product’s usability.
   A user researcher removes the need for false assumptions and guesswork by using
   observation techniques, task analysis, and other feedback methodologies to
   understand a user’s motivation, behavior, and needs.
   What does a user experience researcher do?
   

   View Slide

8. User-Centered Design? Key Principles:
   UCD is an approach to product and
   service development that priotizes
   the needs and preferences of the
   end-users at every stage
   • User involvement - Actively engages users
   throughout the design process.
   • Empathy - Understands users' goals, tasks, and
   frustrations.
   • Iterative - Continuously refines designs based
   on user feedback.
   • Usability - Strives for products that are easy to
   learn and use.
   • Accessibilty - Ensures inclusivity for all users,
   regardless of abilities.
   

   View Slide

9. WHY UX
   Research?
   Importance of UX research in product design
   • User-centered design:
   UX Research ensures your product is built with the user's needs and
   preferences in mind.
   • Enhanced usability:
   It helps create products that are easy to use, reducing frustration and
   boosting satisfaction.
   • Identifying problems:
   UX Research uncovers issues early, saving time and resources in the
   long run.
   • Optimizing features:
   It helps prioritize and refine features to deliver what users truly value
   • Competitive edge: Better user experiences lead to loyal
   customers and a competitive advantage.
   

   View Slide

10. Some of the results generated through UX research confirm that improving the
    usability of a site or app will:
    • Increase sign-ups
    • Increase customer satisfaction
    • Boost loyalty to the brand
    

    View Slide

11. Additionally, and aside from benefiting the overall user experience, the integration
    of UX research into the development process can:
    • Minimize development time
    • Reduce production costs
    • Uncover valuable insights about your audience
    • Give an in-depth view into users’ mental models, pain points, and goals
    

    View Slide

12. NOTE:
    Conducting useful user experience research doesn’t have to cost a lot of money or take a lot of
    time. By utilizing the power of digital tools, inexpensive research methods, and close
    observation of customer interactions, a business can get the raw data and insights it needs to
    improve the user experience for its audience without breaking the budget.
    

    View Slide

13. Steps in conducting user research:
    

    View Slide

14. • Define a focused research plan
    • Recruit participants
    • Employ one of the many user research methods
    • Collect data and simplify the findings
    • Distill research findings into an action plan for UX
    designers
    

    View Slide

15. Types of UX Research
    

    View Slide

16. Primary Research: Secondary Research:
    Original research that is completed by you or your
    design team. Primary research typically takes
    place after secondary research has helped shed
    light on why the problem exists and what’s been
    done to address it in the past.
    The tasks performed and insights gained during
    primary research relate back to the design problem
    you are attempting to solve.
    Any research that was done by someone else, and
    it’s a great way for designers to familiarize
    themselves with the history of different design
    problems.
    The areas explored during secondary research
    needn’t relate directly to the design problem.
    Sometimes, seemingly unconnected topics can
    bring clarity and innovation.
    

    View Slide

17. Quantitative Research: Qualitative Research:
    (statistics: can be calculated and computed; focuses on numbers
    and mathematical calculations) Quantitative research is primarily
    exploratory research and is used to quantify the problem by way of
    generating numerical data or data that can be transformed into
    usable statistics e.g., the online surveys.
    Pros:
    Ease of comparison, High precision, Highly Objective and hence
    less researcher bias
    Cons:
    Costly, Time consuming, Limited context (you may overlook
    important factors by generalizing )
    (insights: concerned with descriptions, which can be observed but
    cannot be computed). Qualitative user research is a direct
    assessment of behavior based on observation. It’s about
    understanding people’s beliefs and practices on their terms, e.g.,
    interviews and moderated usability studies.
    Pros:
    In-depth understanding of motivation, attitude, behavior.
    Helps researchers understand the ‘why’ behind user behaviors
    Best for small-sized samples, Less expenses made during research
    Cons:
    Prone to high researcher bias(different researchers may analyze
    the same result differently) and time consuming
    

    View Slide

18. UX RESEARCH METHODS AND FRAMEWORKS
    

    View Slide

19. View Slide

20. UX research methods are a long list of methods employed by user researcher, whose
    central focus is the user and how they think, behave, their needs and motivations
    Here are some examples of the types of user research performed at each phase of a project;
    

    View Slide

21. Card sorting involves participants being given an unsorted group
    of cards.
    Each card has a statement on it relating to a page or section of the
    website. The participants are then asked to sort the cards into groups
    and name them.
    A practical use of card sorting is to help determine how users
    would classify and organize topics for a website or app.
    The results of the card sort can then be used to construct an
    information architecture that fits their needs and goals.
    01. Card Sorting:
    

    View Slide

22. View Slide

23. Guerrilla research is a low-cost research methodology that
    usually involves conducting user research outside of the office
    i.e., approaching potential users in places like bookstores and
    coffee shops.
    To find the best data for your research, target the areas where
    your particular audience likes to congregate. Go to places where
    your audience will have the time to help you, like in a cafe, park,
    or sports venue.
    This type of user research can be fun and informative, and people
    are usually happy to share their technological experiences with
    professionals who are in a position to improve them.
    Often, going up to people and asking for their time and opinion
    on a product prototype in exchange for a coffee and a snack
    works really well. At work, you can ask “regular folks” such as
    non-designers, non-product people, and non-engineers to give
    you feedback on a design.
    02. Guerilla UX Research:
    

    View Slide

24. View Slide

25. Focus groups are a moderated user experience research
    discussion with a group of representative future users,
    allowing you to learn about user attitudes, ideas, and
    desires. Again, it doesn’t have to cost a lot. Gather users
    together in an informal setting to discuss your products and
    services.
    You need to take your time and ensure your focus group
    demographic is diverse. Prepare for the meeting, identify
    key areas you would like to discuss, and make sure you
    have adequate resources and background info so you can
    answer any questions your group may direct back to you.
    03. Focus Groups:
    

    View Slide

26. User interviews are one-on-one sessions that can be
    conducted in a variety of ways. Users tend to give a lot of
    clues during an interview, such as making verbal side-
    comments, or non-verbal gestures.
    These observations can give insights into how users are
    truly feeling and thinking and it’s important the researcher
    do more listening than talking, record qualitative feedback,
    observe, and avoid leading questions.
    User interviews can be challenging to schedule, and many
    UX researchers lose participants due to scheduling conflicts.
    Luckily, nowadays we can use online tools like Google Meet
    or Zoom which dramatically reduces the time it takes to
    organize multiple in-person interviews.
    Remote interviews won’t give you the volume of data that
    other types of user research methods will, but they can be
    useful in terms of uncovering major usability issues and
    analyzing various reactions to them.
    04. User Interviews:
    

    View Slide

27. View Slide

28. A Persona is a representative user based on available data and user
    interviews. Though the personal details of the persona may be fictional,
    the information used to create the user type is not.
    Persona serves as a guide to better understand who the core users are and
    what is going on in their minds. They are typically used when a designer
    or researcher is seeking to address tasks that need to be performed, pain
    points, how users feel, and what they are trying to achieve.
    For example, if we have a persona attribute that signals
    “impatient/busy/always in a hurry,” we can make certain design
    decisions which enable this user to take shortcuts within the
    product and thus save them time.
    Another use of personas is getting everyone (product, engineering,
    marketing, sales, and customer service) on the same page about
    who the users are, thereby facilitating a more unified user
    experience.
    05. Personas:
    

    View Slide

29. View Slide

30. Surveys are scalable, inexpensive, and a quick way to collect specific
    information from hundreds of users who fit the personas we defined early
    on in the research process. Closed questions provide users with a fixed set
    of responses (i.e., yes/no, multiple choice, numerical scale, etc.),
    whereas open questions allow users to answer however they’d like.
    Surveys are easy and less costly, and while surveys are certainly a great
    tool, they shouldn’t be used exclusively (i.e., combine Surveys with other
    research methods).
    06. Surveys: A significant amount of time should be dedicated to preparing surveys, and
    ultimately analyzing the findings in order to eliminate inappropriate
    participants.
    Also, it is critical to develop a set of well-thought-out screener questions
    and to properly analyze the data once it is collected. There are a variety of
    awesome online survey tools available e.g., Typeform and Google Forms.
    N/B: You have to be aware that many users disregard surveys, so don’t
    expect a huge response rate.
    

    View Slide

31. View Slide

32. Usability testing identifies user frustrations and problems with a site
    through one-on-one sessions where a “real-life” user performs tasks
    on the site being studied.
    During a usability test, users’ complete tasks while the UX
    researcher observes and takes notes.
    Incentives are often offered to users, but some UX researchers
    believe this adds a strong element of bias to the test. (Because
    sometimes, the uses might feel like yeah, she’s going to give us
    something so we should give her the answers she wants)
    Usability testing doesn’t have to be an elaborate and expensive
    endeavor involving usability labs with many participants.
    Especially in the case of startups and MVPs, testing with just
    five people will allow you to find almost as many usability
    problems as you actually need.
    07. Usability Testing:
    

    View Slide

33. View Slide

34. When there is a need to test designs variations in order to find
    the most effective one, A/B testing is applied. A/B testing is
    used primarily for conversion optimization, but it can also be
    used as a quantitative UX research method.
    Users are presented with two different versions of a design, and
    they pick which one they prefer; this also works to determine
    which features a user finds most useful, such as a button vs. a
    link.
    UX designers will take this data and refine it to eliminate design
    flaws or use the pros and cons gotten to make a new hybrid
    design for another round of user testing.
    08. A/B Testing:
    

    View Slide

35. View Slide

36. If you are working on a tight budget, use free tools like Google Analytics
    as a starting point for the collection of quantitative data.
    Alternatively, another almost free or low-cost tool such as Hotjar is also
    available for collecting specific product insights from users. The free
    Hotjar Basic has heatmaps—representing user’s clicks, taps, and scrolling
    behavior visually; recordings—watch real visitors on your site as they
    click, tap, move their cursor and navigate across pages.
    Analytics tools usually answer questions like:
    • How long does it take for users to complete a task?
    • Where do they click? (Heatmaps and click-streams)
    • How far do they scroll on pages? (Scroll maps)
    • What features are most popular?
    • What paths do people usually take?
    • When do they leave? (Bounce rates)
    09. Analytics:
    

    View Slide

37. View Slide

38. Use Cases, Parallel Design, Prototyping, First Click Testing, System Usability Scale, Task Analysis,
    etc. are other User Experience research methods that can also be applied in the user experience and
    design process.
    

    View Slide

39. • SurveyMonkey - Online survey and questionnaire tool.
    • Miro – Collaboration and a whiteboard tool
    • Hotjar – Website behavior and analysis and also for data feedback
    • Airtable – Collaboration and also a spreadsheet tool
    • Figma – for collaboration and also prototyping
    • Google Analytics – to track user behavior and website performance
    Common UX Research Tools:
    

    View Slide

40. Report and Documentation
    

    View Slide

41. Common Challenges in UX Research
    • Participant Recruitment; finding the right participants for the research
    • Unconscious bias; maybe from personal convictions or stereotypes
    • Remote Research; some might not be comfortable nor know how to use remote tools
    • Data Analysis; managing large data and translating findings into actionable insights
    • Stakeholder Buy-In; Convince and communicate your findings in a compelling way
    • Evolving Technologies; Keeping up with the rapidly changing tech landscape and ensuring your research remains relevant.
    • Ethical Concerns; respect users privacy and consent. Do not force them
    • Iterative Process; UX research is an ongoing process, brace yourself and don’t give up quickly
    • Time Constraints; Balancing the need for thorough research with project timelines.
    

    View Slide

42. • Understand your audience and tailor your report to their needs and interests.
    • Define your research goals and what you aim to achieve with the report.
    • Organize your report logically.
    • Use visuals (charts, graphs, infographics) to make data engaging.
    • Craft a narrative that walks the reader through the research journey,
    • Include user quotes to add depth and humanity to your findings.
    • Use Plain Language and avoid jargon
    • Be concise and to the point
    • Proofread for errors.
    • Include an executive summary for quick insights.
    • Seek feedback from peers i.e. Peer-reviews
    Creating an Effective UX Research Report:
    

    View Slide

43. User research is at the core of every exceptional user experience. As the name suggests, UX is
    subjective—the experience that a person goes through while using a product. Therefore, it is necessary to
    understand the needs and goals of potential users, the context, and their tasks which are unique for each
    product. By selecting appropriate UX research methods and applying them rigorously, designers can shape
    a product’s design and can come up with products that serve both customers and businesses more
    effectively.
    Conclusion:
    

    View Slide

44. References:
    https://www.toptal.com/designers/user-research/guide-to-ux-research-methods
    https://www.toptal.com/designers/user-research/the-value-of-ux-user-research
    

    View Slide

45. QUESTIONS?
    Twitter@ComfortEzengwaa
    

    View Slide

46. Thanks for Listening!
    

    View Slide