DIY User Research
how to make stuff people want to use
leisa reichelt
disambiguity.com
LondonBarcamp3 - November 07

disclaimer:
usually the answer is ‘it depends’ but that’s
not v useful, so these are some lines in the
sand that have proven useful to me when
DIY/guerrilla research is required.

why do user research?

100x
After Launch
Cost of making changes
6x
1x During
During Development
Design
r.s pressman, ‘software engineering, a practitioners approach’ mcgraw-hill

‘we tend to project our own
rationalisations and beliefs onto
the actions and beliefs of others’
don norman - the design of everyday things

‘to design an easy-to-use interface,
pay attention to what users do, not
what they say. self reported claims
are unreliable, as are user
speculations about future behaviour’
jakob nielsen

user research helps you uncover,
understand and design for
real user requirements

if your users are *really* just like you (e.g.
37 Signals) or you’ve designed for this user
group successfully before
and you already know them,
you may not need to research.
if you find yourself using stereotypes and/or cliches...
or using family members as examples,
you probably need to research.

when (in a project) to
conduct research

the BEST use of research
time/budget is to test
> PROPOSITION,
> CONCEPT,
> MESSAGING and
> HIGH LEVEL I.A.
whilst gathering USER GROUP insight
using a low fidelity prototype.

use as much and whatever
prototype you can.
paper is fine.
wireframes also fine
somewhat interactive. fine.
don’t spend too much time on design or
build before you research.

types of research

there are lots of different ways to research
quantitative (e.g. surveys.)
qualitative (e.g. interviews, card sort)
ethnographic (‘user stalking’)
longitudinal (continues over time)
contextual (in the context of use)
lab based (semi contextual if possible)
... and more

your best standard research approach
will be a series of
45min interviews
with 6-8 participants.
... but think about:
- what you’re trying to learn
- how you could make it as contextual as possible
...don’t be afraid of getting a bit creative

DIY user research

> recruit via family & friends network
> six is enough (as long as they’re the right six)
> *bucks is just fine
> record your research (audio/video)
> take time to analyse your findings

affinity sorting is the fastest way to get the
most understanding from your research
...do it.

timing: allow a few days to recruit, a
day or two to interview, and a
couple of days to analyse findings.
DIY research is fast.

How to interview

> introduce the session
(esp. inform and ask permission re: recording)
> good rapport = good research
(take time to make it clear you care about their opinion)
> don’t tell them you’re the designer
(they’ll not want to hurt your feelings, they want to please)
> it’s not a test
(if anything is being tested, it’s the design - NOT the participant)
> only *their* opinion counts
(we don’t care about what other people might think or do)

> define your research questions
> plan & practice the ‘script’
> start as wide as possible, narrow slowly
> keep it contextual, not speculative
> show, don’t tell (observation = good)
(show me how you do that?)
> uncover mental models
(if you clicked there, what do you think would happen?)
> ask OPEN questions
(ask questions to get them talking NOT yes/no answers)
> take care not to lead
(you can have leading questions AND leading structures)
> never leave them hanging
(if they’re struggling, save them)

Questions?
leisa.reichelt@gmail.com
disambiguity.com