Introduction to UX Research Methods

Introduction to
User Experience Methods
Introduction to User Experience Methods
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09 September 2011 @dgcooley #FCSTL
Danielle Gobert Cooley
@dgcooley

About me
12 years as user researcher/usability specialist
BE, Biomedical & Electrical Engineering
MS, Human Factors in Information Design
Selected Employers & Clients
2
danielle@dgcooley.com
@dgcooley

Important Things to Know About UX Methods
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Please Remember
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Things to Know
The purpose of these methods is to inform your design.
They are notvalidation methods.

Let Me Repeat That
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Things to Know
They are not validation methods.

You Are Not Your User
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Things to Know
YOU
NOT YOU

Why Do It? To Avoid Ending Up Here
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Things to Know

One More Thing…
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Things to Know
They are not validation methods.

Usability Study
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Questions It Answers*
How easy or difficult is it to use the product?
How efficiently do people use the product?
Do the users understand the product’s terminology?
Do the controls make sense?
Can people find the information they are seeking?
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Usability Study
* Depends in part on prototype fidelity … more on that in a few moments.

How It’s Done
Recruit representative end users.
Observe impartially as they attempt to perform tasks with a prototype.
Typically, participants are asked to think aloud as they use the prototype to perform the tasks. This provides insight into WHY certain interface elements are confusing and what might work better.
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Usability Study
Tips…
Recruiting the right users is key!
Avoid bias everywhere – in task phrasing, your and your observers’ body language, and in verbal questions asked.
Recordings are great, but huge time sucks.
Quantitative studies often aren’t worth it.

A Note About Prototype Fidelity
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Usability Study

Advantages
Controlled setting means easier logistics.
Recording and observing is easier, too.
For the rare quantitative study, lab-based testing makes it easier to use such tools as Morae or Ovo.
Lab-based testing has fewer variables to control, which can be a factor for more rigid studies.
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Usability Study

Disadvantages
Lab setting provides no context of use.
Labs can be expensive to rent or build
(but they don’t have to be)
Participants are sometimes timid in a lab setting
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Usability Study

Field Study
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Questions It Answers
How do environmental circumstances affect the usability of the product?
How have people worked around issues with the product?
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Field Study

How It’s Done
Observe impartially in the environment in which the product will be used as they attempt to perform tasks with a prototype.
Collect artifacts.
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Field Study

Advantages
Gathers contextual data
Ambient light, noise
Distractions
Participants usually less intimidated
Much more convenient for participants, so recruiting can be easier
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Field Study
Contextual Inquiry?
Though the terms are often used interchangeably, Contextual Inquiry is actually a type of field study that follows a very specific format.

Disadvantages
Logistics are more difficult for researchers.
Observation is more challenging.
Recording is more challenging.
Security issues sometimes prohibit photographs or other recording.
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Field Study

Card Sort
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How would the users organize the product’s content and features?
Do the users largely agree on how the content should be organized?
Do the users agree with the categorizations proposed by the project team?
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Card Sort

How It’s Done
Identify content items to be categorized
Participants sort the content items into groupings that make sense to them.
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Card Sort
Two types …
In an OPEN card sort, participants create the categories.
In a CLOSED card sort, the researcher establishes the categories.

Advantages
Incredibly inexpensive
Done very quickly with remote evaluation tools.
Asynchronous, so scheduling is not an issue. Participants take part at their convenience.
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Card Sort

Disadvantages
More complicated with large sets of cards.
Really, there’s almost no reason NOT to do a card sort, unless you don’t plan to use the results.
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Card Sort

Tree Test
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Can users find content in the proposed navigation?
Do the proposed group labels correctly reflect the content within them?
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Tree Test

How It’s Done
Set up study with IA to be evaluated.
Give participants specific content elements to find in that architecture.
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Tree Test

Advantages
Incredibly inexpensive
Done very quickly with remote evaluation tools.
Asynchronous, so scheduling is not an issue. Participants take part at their convenience.
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Tree Test
Yep. Just like card sorting!

Disadvantages
The full IA and nav structure must be created in order to execute a tree test, so there is significant investment in the “prototype,” if you will.
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Tree Test
Tree Test vs. Card Sort
An OPEN Card Sort generates an information architecture.
A CLOSED Card sort usually evaluates high-level labeling.
A Tree Test evaluates findability in an existing information architecture.
OK. This one IS a validation method.

Survey
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What is the users’ opinion about various facets of the product?
How do users believe they use the product?
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Survey

How It’s Done
Recruit participants
Write survey
Relax while the data rolls right in.
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Survey

Advantages
Cheap
Fast
Remote
Easy data collection
Large number of participants
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Survey

Disadvantages
Data are self-reported.
What people do is not the same as what people SAY they do.
Good question curation is surprisingly challenging.
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Survey

Expert Review
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Does the product comply with conventions and best practices?
Has the expert seen issues in the past with any of the design elements or interaction techniques used in the product?
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Expert Review

How It’s Done
An experienced UX Specialist analyzes the product, looking for common mistakes or interface elements or interactions that are not consistent with best practices.
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Expert Review
Heuristic Evaluation?
Though this term is thrown around a lot, a Heuristic Evaluation is really a specialized type of Expert Review.

Advantages
Considerably less expensive than lab or field studies
Often relatively fast – again, as compared to lab or field studies.
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Expert Review

Disadvantages
No actual end-user perspective.
Experts vary. 
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Expert Review

Other Techniques
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In No Particular Order…
Journaling Studies – Users keep a journal of their interactions (good and bad) with the product.
A/B Testing – Two different versions of a product are placed online and success rates analyzed.
Analytics – Web site or product metrics are analyzed to determine user success or failure.
Personas – Descriptive profiles of representative end users. This is actually an output of field research.
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Other

Recap & Additional Resources
User Experience is important. Really.
These are NOT validation techniques!
There are a lot of methods to choose from.
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Nov 2011

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Introduction to UX Research Methods

by Danielle Cooley

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