The document discusses the importance of user research in understanding users as human beings and their behaviors. It highlights various user research methods such as interviews, ethnographic studies, and usability testing while emphasizing the need to design user-centric products. It contains a specific case study on improving the experience of novice users ordering stamps, detailing the research goals and insights obtained during the process.

1. users are people, too
using user research to remember
your users are actually people.
rachel price

2. who am I?
user researcher
information architect
partner at factor
UW iSchool alum
bandleader

3. user research is
observation

4. what people are doing
how they are doing it
why they are doing it

5. relieve your users of blame

6. add understanding to data

7. This is exactly what I
needed to know.Why is she looking at
me?
I don’t understand what
he means.
add understanding to data

8. make evidence-based
design decisions

9. generative evaluative

10. generative
generates understanding
of behaviors and needs,
agnostic of your thing.
ethnographic field studies
diary/camera studies
surveys
user interviews
…and more!
evaluative

11. generative
generates understanding
of behaviors and needs,
agnostic of your thing.
ethnographic field studies
diary/camera studies
surveys
user interviews
…and more!
evaluative
evaluate, against a
determined set of metrics,
how well your thing serves
user needs.
card sorts (open or closed)
A/B tests
usability testing
eye tracking studies
…and more!

12. deep dive:
user interviews!

13. 1.why interview?
2.design a user research program
3.conduct the interviews
4.analyze your findings
5.translate your findings to design decisions

14. when you talk to users, you realize
that they are actually human beings.

16. when you talk to users, you find out some
pretty surprising things. they challenge
your assumptions.

17. 1.why interview?
2.design a user research program
3.conduct the interviews
4.analyze your findings
5.translate your findings to design decisions

18. STAMPede!

19. “hobbyist customers are dumb and
don’t know how to order. this costs
us a lot of money.” -the client

20. “hobbyist customers are dumb and
don’t know how to order. this costs
us a lot of money.” -the client
“hobbyist customers are unfamiliar with the
custom stamp ordering world, and don’t
know what questions to ask, or what is
expected of them in order to purchase.”
-the user researcher

21. “we want hobbyists to buy things
from us. how can we make them
buy things from us?” -the client

22. “we want hobbyists to buy things
from us. how can we make them
buy things from us?” -the client
“let’s do some research and turn it into a
journey map so you can see where
things are going awry…and hopefully,
fix them.” - the user researcher

23. identify
research goals
what do we know?
what do we want to
know?

24. identify
research goals
what do we know?
what do we want to
know?
how do novice users figure out
which stamp to order?

25. identify
research goals
what do we know?
what do we want to
know?
how do novice users figure out
which stamp to order?
how do hobbyists describe
stamps? what language do they
use?

26. identify
research goals
what do we know?
what do we want to
know?
how do novice users figure out
which stamp to order?
how do hobbyists describe
stamps? what language do they
use?
what projects are hobbyists
trying to complete with stamps?

27. identify
research goals
what do we know?
what do we want to
know?
how do novice users figure out
which stamp to order?
how do hobbyists describe
stamps? what language do they
use?
what projects are hobbyists
trying to complete with stamps?
how do hobbyists figure out
which stamp they need?

28. how do novice users figure out
which stamp to order?
how do hobbyists describe
stamps? what language do they
use?
what projects are hobbyists
trying to complete with stamps?
how do hobbyists figure out
which stamp they need?
what inspires hobbyists to start
new projects?
identify
research goals
what do we know?
what do we want to
know?

29. who should we talk to?

30. 1.why interview?
2.design a user research program
3.conduct the interviews
4.analyze your findings
5.translate your findings to design decisions

31. go where your
participants take you.

32. don’t lead your
participants.

33. commit to
awkward silences.

34. notetaking
take all the notes.
they are the foundation for
everything else.

35. 1.why interview?
2.design a user research program
3.conduct the interviews
4.analyze your findings
5.translate your findings to design decisions

36. affinity diagramming
go cluster!

37. 1.why interview?
2.design a user research program
3.conduct the interviews
4.analyze your findings
5.translate your findings to design decisions

38. let’s make a journey map!

39. Am I supposed to be using a ‘stamp plate’? A
‘stamp machine’? Which one am I supposed to
buy? I couldn’t figure it out. I ended up buying
a stamp plate, when what I really needed was
a stamp plate WITH a stamp machine.
How was I supposed to know that?
“
”

41. Hobbyists think
about specific
projects. So, use that
subject matter on
your site!
Better have good
SEO!
Could test out using
holiday themed
stamp collections as
an organizational
method.

42. Hobbyists are
project-oriented, so
they want to
accomplish
something quickly.
Hobbyists look
at images to
make decisions.
Hobbyists don’t
understand the
language you’re
using on your
product pages.

43. Hobbyists are having
trouble
understanding what
they’re buying.
you ruined
Christmas!
Wrong orders cost
money &
misunderstandings
make their
experience negative.

44. user research is challenging.

45. user research is rewarding.
user research is challenging.

46. …when you do it right.
user research is rewarding.
user research is challenging.

47. thank you!

48. further resources
Dan Szuc & Josephine Wong’s take on facilitating great user interviews:
http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2014/05/deeper-understanding-
stories-observations-and-insights.php
Explaining UX Research to Clients (A List Apart)
http://alistapart.com/article/can-you-say-that-in-english-
explaining-ux-research-to-clients
When to Use Which UX Research Methods
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/which-ux-research-
methods/
Interviewing Users (Steve Portigal)
http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/interviewing-users/