UX Research (Yes, it's still a thing.)

UX Research
(Yes, it’s still a thing.)
STLX Conference
26 September 2017
@tara_nesbitt @marthavalenta @dgcooley

Tara Nesbitt
Slalom
@tara_nesbitt
Martha Valenta
1904Labs
@marthavalenta
Danielle Cooley
DGCooley & Co
@dgcooley
UX Research (Yes, it’s still a thing.)

Have you ever gotten
midway through a project
only to realize that the
product that was being created
doesn’t solve the problem?

Was it because you suddenly
learned something critical
about the process?
Was it because you were
solving the wrong problem?

@tara_nesbitt @marthavalenta @dgcooley@tara_nesbitt @marthavalenta @dgcooley
Did you know about
UX Research?
didn’t you
UX Research?
perform
Why

“The typical mistake most product teams make is to
ardently believe that they already know the users’
problems. In my 25 years of experience on over 250
projects, not one single product has been focused on
solving the right problem. All of those folks
who thought they knew their users’
problem were dead wrong.”
-Larry Marine
https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2336547/task-analysis-the-key-ux-design-step-everyone-skips UX Research (Yes, it’s still a thing.)

What do you think
UX Research is?

What do you think
UX Research isn’t?

Research n. To travel through, survey; careful, systematic, patient study
and investigation in some field of knowledge, undertaken to discover or establish
facts or principles - vi. To do research; make researches - vt. To do research on
or in; investigate thoroughly
Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language.
Cleveland ; New York :World Pub. Co., 1988. Print.

Why do it?
To keep the
user’s needs
in focus.

Images by Creaticca Creative Agency from Noun Project
You Not YouUX Research (Yes, it’s still a thing.)

UX Research
INVOLVES END USERS

Empathy

Understanding
(Tara add story)
Understanding

UX Research (Yes, it’s still a thing.)UX Research (Yes, it’s still a thing.)
Insight

Research will delay
our launch date.
We already know
what the problems are.
Designers know
what people
need. They are
the experts.
We can’t learn
much from only
five participants.
We just want to launch and see if it
sticks. We’ll ﬁx it later. MVP, baby!
We can’t pay that
much for this.
Our product managers already do
interviews and look at Analytics.
Can’t we run a quick
study with internal
users instead?
Market Research
already answered
our questions.
Research
sounds so
academic.
A/B testing gives us all the answers we need.

“We’ll never see
ROI on that.”
-Manager Who Needs To Be Gently Educated

‵  Save on Development
Costs & Time
‵  Reduces Maintenance
‵  Saves on Redesign
‵  Increases Sales
‵  Increases Traffic
‵  Attracts More Customers
‵  Helps Retain Customers

But, Wait!
There’s More!

‵  Increases Market Share
‵  Improves Effectiveness
‵  Increases Efficiency
‵  Increases User Satisfaction
→ Increased Word of Mouth
‵  Increases Job Satisfaction
‵  Decreases Job Turnover
‵  Enhances Trust

Act Now, And
You’ll Also Get...

‵  Decreases Support Costs
‵  Reduces Training and
Documentation Costs
‵  Reduces Liability Risk

So, Yeah. There’s A
Fair Amount of ROI
on UX Research.

Could We Just Do A
Design Sprint?
That’s Research, Right?
More: Design Sprints are Snake Oil
https://medium.com/research-things/design-sprints-are-snake-oil-fd6f8e385a27

What If We Need
MORE Research?

“I don't want to create a roadblock by
running a usability study that will
expose needs that will necessitate
another whole design sprint.”
-  Product Owner Who Is Going To Fail

Speak Up!
At the onset of a
project, make the case
for research. Assume
there will be research
throughout the project.
*If the people in charge deny your research plan, note it somewhere. I like to send
an email. Pull that out when the project starts to fall apart. UX Research (Yes, it’s still a thing.)

Start with a
research question.
(That is, what do you want to learn?)

How do people think
about their work or
the problem space?
What are the users’
opinions about various
facets of the product?
Do the users largely
agree on how content
and features should
be organized?
How does the
tool work on real
problems in the
real
environment? Do people’s experiences
change over time? How?
How would the users
organize the product’s
content and features?
Do the users agree with the
categorizations proposed by
the project team?
How do users
think they use (or
will use) the
product?
What are people’s opinions about a
specific experience or brand?
How does the usage
environment affect usability
or usefulness? Need?
Do the proposed category labels correctly
reflect the content within them?

There are many
techniques from
which to choose!

Field Studies
Diary Studies
User Interviews
Competitive Analysis
Card Sorting
Prototype Feedback & Testing
Journey Mapping
Usability Testing
Benchmark Testing
Accessibility Evaluation
Survey
Analytics Review
Focus Groups
Contextual Inquiry

Report the results.

“You’ve gotta start with the customer
experience and work backwards to the
technology.
You can’t start with the technology and try to
figure out where you’re going to sell it.”
-  Steve Jobs

Do it!
You’re
Allowed!
Go!* ** *
* **
*
*
*
*

Questions?

World Usability Day
November 9th
If you want to be part of this fun, reach out to:
Martha Valenta
twitter: @marthavalenta
email: mvalenta@1904labs.com

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/which-ux-research-methods/

UX Research (Yes, it's still a thing.)

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