Research-Driven Design
Jackson Fox | UX Designer | jacksonfox@gmail.com
DC Design Talks | 2/29/2008

What is research-driven
design?

Research is all about
observation
of the user...

...so research-driven
design is grounded in
the user’s reality...

...because we want to
give people what they
need, which isn’t always
what they want.

Research- Theory-Driven Data-Driven
Driven Design Design Design
Empirical Derived from Web
observation theory analytics

It’s all the same thing
really

Back in the
olden days...
(in the fifties actually)

Intuition
vs.
Research

Our theoretical heritage
> Cognitive Psychology
> Experimental Psychology

Welcome our new social
science overlords
> Sociology
> Social Psychology
> Anthropology
> even... Marketing

We observe the user...

> Usability Testing > Card Sorting
> User Observation > Analytics
> Contextual Inquiry > Focus Groups
> Interviews > Etc...
> Surveys

Then we analyze the data...
And we draw conclusions

AKA, the “Wheel of
Science”
Theory
Observation Hypothesis
Generalization

Good Times

More trouble than it’s worth

Research is only as
much effort as you
make it
In science we talk about “experimental
design” — choosing the right methods and
the right samples

Crushes the creative spirit

Research informs design,
it doesn’t replace it
We use user research to ground
our efforts in reality, and to
validate our choices

Not really scientific at all

Quantitative Qualitative
Counts and Qualities and
measures characteristics
Objective Subjective
Neither is more “scientific” than the other

What is “good” research?
> Randomization > Implementation
> Control > Analysis
> Reliability > Interpretation
> Validity

In fact, it’s all just
common sense

Actually, that’s not
always a bad thing
Just because the results are “common sense”
doesn’t mean that the effort is wasted

In fact, many times we
want the results to be
common sense

One last thing...

E-Z Design Research
TM

Someone else has done
a lot of work, and we
get use it

Design
Papers Books
Guidelines
Prioritizing Web
Usability.gov SURL Usability
NN/g, UIE, Etc... ACM SIG-CHI Designing Interfaces
But! Be critical of the research you see. Ask
yourself if it’s good science.

1. Research-driven
design grounds us in
reality

2. Don’t be afraid of the
touchy-feely stuff

3. If something is worth
doing, it’s worth doing
right
...and design research is worth it!

Thanks!
Jackson Fox
UX Designer, Lulu.com
jacksonfox@gmail.com

DC Design Talks
February 29, 2008

Yay!