Five Ways To Do User Research In The Enterprise Without Talking To A Single User

Patrick Neeman | @usabilitycounts #iac19 | www.usabilitycounts.com
Five Ways To Perform Research In The
Enterprise Before Talking To A Single User

EVERY UX PROFESSIONAL EVAH:
“WHEN DO I GET TO TALK TO USERZ?!?”

@usabilitycounts #iac19
Gatekeepers
Customer fatigue
Expensive proposition
No budget
Research jail

They’re in red
They’re busy with their job
They don’t want to train you  
on your application
Your users hate you

Learn how they work
Learn how they think
Learn how they talk
Meet them where are
It’s Groundhog Day  
and you’re Bill Murray

I don’t conduct research  
to get answers. I conduct
research to ask better
questions.”
Ha Phan 
@hpdailyrant
“

Why should I research this way?
So you’ll have better questions before talking to users.

Customer Relationship Management
Human Capital Management
Supply Chain Management
User Experience
Software Interfaces
Specialized language

3
Ways To Say New
5
Actors
80%
For 7 Patterns
914,000,000
Results

How many legal professionals does it take 
to agree on what to call a lightbulb?

Content Style Guide

Microsoft Oﬃce + Other Products
1.2 Billion Users
Use an Office product or service (according to Microsoft)

Language is a system that
consists of the development,
acquisition, maintenance and
use of complex systems of
communication.”
Wikipedia
“

Inputs
Research the domain
Buy a domain dictionary
Buy Microsoft Manual of Style
Inputs & Outputs
Outputs
Content Style Guide
User Scenarios
User Journeys

Information Technology Spend: 
Technology and Finance
Demand Generation Marketing
User Interfaces
New school is old school

Instructional Design Vs. Design Thinking
Emphasize Deﬁne Ideate Prototype Test
Design Thinking (1992)
Analyze Design Develop Implement Evaluate
Addie Model (1975)

Everything has a process.  
This is a learning opportunity.

Capture
Lead
Qualify
Lead
Educate Pursue

Example Application Research

Inputs
Understand other domains
Screen shots of other applications
Talk to ﬁve people
Inputs & Outputs
Outputs
Comparative Analysis
Screenshot Inventories
User Journeys

Users know their jobs better than you. 
Let them describe it in their words.

Job Descriptions
1,500
Users
5
Actors
1
Set of Personas

Example LinkedIn Proﬁle

Persona Research
1,500
Users
5
Actors
1
Set of Personas

Persona Research

Inputs
Get lists of your users
Research external sources
Construct aﬃnity diagrams
Inputs & Outputs
Outputs
Actors + Personas
User Scenarios
User Journeys

It’s a table. Stop redesigning it.

Salesforce Lightning
IBM Carbon
SAP Fiori
Atlassian
Design Systems

Don’t make shit up.
Start with shit that works.

The Patterns
Search View Detail View Form View Modals

Site Inventory
110
Screens
23
Patterns
80%
For 7 Patterns

Modal Inventory
85
Modals
7
Modals For One Pattern

Input
Research other systems
Use existing frameworks
Document your application
Inputs & Outputs
Output
Content Audit
Site Map
Storyboards

Professional Services
Customer Success
Product Management
Engineering
Others are talking 
to users for you!

Usage analytics
Support tickets
Customer requirements
Custom report extracts
User assistance
Examples

Monthly unique users by organization
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
Outliers
Research Focus Who You Can Help

First visit of the month by organization
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
53
00
21
9
1
18

Use data to identify patterns

Train others to perform research

Inputs
Build relationships
Train others to do research
Perform content audits
Find usage data anywhere
Inputs & Outputs
Outputs
Usage Analytics
Content Audits + Aﬃnity Diagrams
User Journeys

Research isn’t about talking to users.
It’s about understanding them.

@usabilitycounts | www.usabilitycounts.com
Thank you!

Five Ways To Do User Research In The Enterprise Without Talking To A Single User

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