practical user research
how to do it.
what to do with it.
leisa reichelt | disambiguity.com
ua conference europe 2008
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ms_abitibi/1462557669/

practical user research
how to do it.
what to do with it.
leisa reichelt | disambiguity.com
ua conference europe 2008
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ms_abitibi/1462557669/

http://www.yarr.org.uk/

How to talk like a pirate: Startin' Rules
• Double up on all your adjectives and you'll be bountifully
bombastic with your phrasing. Pirates never speak of \"a
big ship\", they call it a \"great, grand ship!\" They never
say never, they say \"No nay ne'er!\"
• Drop all your \"g\"'s when you speak and you'll get words
like \"rowin'\", \"sailin'\" and \"fightin'\". Dropping all of your
\"v\"'s will get you words like \"ne'er\", \"e'er\" and \"o'er\".
• Instead of saying \"I am\", sailors say, \"I be\". Instead of
saying \"You are\", sailors say, \"You be\". Instead of saying,
\"They are\", sailors say, \"They be\". Ne'er speak in anythin'
but the present tense!
http://www.yarr.org.uk/

Hints & Tips
• If it be helpin', start yer sentence wi' a \"Arr, me
hearty,\" in a deep, throaty voice — ye'll find that
the rest be comin' much easier.
http://www.yarr.org.uk/

Pirate Vocabulary
•
Ahoy: Hey! , Avast: Stop! Aye: Yes
Aye, Aye!: I’ll get right on that
•
Grog: A pirate's favorite drink.
•
Lily-livered: faint o' heart
•
Loaded to the Gunwales (pron. gunnels): drunk
•
Matey: A shipmate or a friend.
•
Me hearty: a friend or shipmate.
•
Scallywag: A bad person. A scoundrel.
•
Scurvy dog!: a fine insult!
•
Shiver me timbers!: an exclamation of surprise, to be shouted
most loud.
•
Squiffy: a buffoon
•
Swashbucklin': fightin' and carousin' on the high seas!
•
Thar: The opposite of \"here.\"
•
Walk the plank: this one be bloody obvious.
•
Yo-ho-ho: Pirate laughter http://www.yarr.org.uk/

yo-ho-ho!
shiver me timbers

i love this hotel :)

i love this hotel :)
- six pillows!
- an ironing board
- a kettle for making tea ...

i love this hotel :)
- the door card <insert picture!>

good user experience doesn’t
have to be flashy

motorola razr

let them have user research!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/padday/1513526079

UA & UX
UX = User Experience

why do user research?

supposing is good. finding out is better.
- mark twain

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

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mugur/153914184/

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

do I really need to do it?

do I really need to do it?
if:
a) your end users are just like you and/or
b) you’ve designed for these users before and know
them well

do I really need to do it?
if:
you find yourself resorting to stereotypes and
cliches (esp. involving your mother or
grandmother), you need to research.

when in a project to do
user research?

generative research
prototype
evaluative research

ways to do it

quantitative vs qualitative

quantitative vs qualitative
Quantitative research is the systematic scientific investigation of
quantitative properties and phenomena and their relationships.
The objective of quantitative research is to develop and employ
mathematical models, theories and/or hypotheses pertaining to
natural phenomena. The process of measurement is central to
quantitative research because it provides the fundamental
connection between empirical observation and mathematical
expression of quantitative relationships.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_research

quantitative vs qualitative
Qualitative research ...aim(s) to gather an in-depth understanding
of human behavior and the reasons that govern human behavior.
Qualitative research relies on reasons behind various aspects of
behavior. Simply put, it investigates the why and how of decision
making, not just what, where, and when.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualitative_research

quantitative vs qualitative
mathematics and natural sciences
statistically sound, scientific
large random samples
questionnaires, surveys, tests

quantitative vs qualitative
social sciences
insight gathering, exploratory
small sample sizes
participatory, observational, interviews, analysis of documents
and materials.

quantitative & qualitative

qualitative for insight

speaking of ‘scientific’

speaking of ‘scientific’
don’t defend qualitative research ‘scientifically’
avoid using statistical terms or approaches
actually...
just stay away from numbers altogether!

In earlier research, Tom Landauer and I [Jakob Nielsen]
showed that the number of usability problems found in a
usability test with n users is:
N(1-(1-L)n)
where N is the total number of usability problems in the
design and L is the proportion of usability problems
discovered while testing a single user. The typical value of
L is 31%, averaged across a large number of projects we
studied. Plotting the curve for L=31% gives the following
result:

The most striking truth of the curve
is that zero users give zero insights.
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000319.html

‘formal’ qual

lab based research

focus groups - care!

field research
(ethnography)

‘guerrilla’ qual

silverbackapp.com

new research tools

search.twitter.com

flickr.com (groups)

drupal.org project
opensource research & design

recruitment
- aim for six participants per key user groups
- BUT remember that one is better than none!
- you can outsource this to qualitative research recruitment companies
- or use your networks (I use Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter a lot!)

test materials / prototypes

interview technique

interview technique
> 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’

interview technique
> 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)

analysing research

research analysis (affinity sort)

solo analysis vs group analysis

presenting research

reports
research reports
http://www.flickr.com/photos/iheartcanada/497799011/

workshop findings

personas
personas
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anikarenina/550438755/

Appearance
- what it looks like and how it is arranged
Usability
Interaction
- how the user interacts with the product components
Information
- the information required by the user at different stages
User Structure
Experience - the right elements in the right order
Concept
- the model for how the value is delivered
Proposition
- the value to the customer

just because nobody complains
doesn’t mean all the parachutes are perfect
- benny hill
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division,Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

thank you :)
leisa reichelt | disambiguity.com
leisa@disambiguity.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ms_abitibi/1462557669/