The document outlines a structured approach to user experience (UX) research, emphasizing the importance of understanding the context within which research is conducted, including company culture, strategy, and business goals. It presents a five-step framework for conducting research: prepare, run, synthesize, share, and reflect, while highlighting collaboration with stakeholders and the need to minimize bias during studies. Finally, it discusses how to effectively communicate research insights to ensure their value is recognized alongside tangible deliverables.

1. Getting started with
User Experience
Research
Carol Rossi
August 2017

2. Thanks to our sponsors!

3. I often hear …
“I need to do a usability
study”
“We need to send out a
survey”

4. People tend to use the
technique they
already know
to answer ALL research questions

5. It’s a lot easier to look at things
tactically than
strategically

7. Why are we doing research?
To be able to make better,
more well-informed
decisions

8. So before you start running a study,
think about
Context

9. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/which-ux-research-methods/
One way to think about Context

10. What do I mean by CONTEXT?
How does your research contribute
to your company?

11. People have a much easier time
understanding and
valuing things that are
tangible.

12. What are you delivering?
Who What How tangible is it?
Designer Designs: Wires,
InVision, PSD files
Tangible

13. What are you delivering?
Who What How tangible is it?
Designer Designs: Wires,
InVision, PSD files
Tangible
Developer Code Tangible

14. What are you delivering?
Who What How tangible is it?
Designer Designs: Wires,
InVision, PSD files
Tangible
Developer Code Tangible
Product
Manager
The Product! Tangible

15. What are you delivering?
Who What How tangible is it?
Designer Designs: Wires,
InVision, PSD files
Tangible
Developer Code Tangible
Product
Manager
The Product! Tangible
Researcher Insights Intangible

16. IMPORTANT to figure out how to
make the insights be as
valued as the tangible deliverables

17. Context - of your company
1. Culture
2. Strategy
3. Business Goals

18. https://www.fastcodesign.com/90135223/the-golden-age-of-ux-
wont-last-heres-how-to-prepare-for-whats-next

19. What are the Beliefs and
Behaviors that determine how
people interact?
1. Culture

20. What’s Valued at your company?
1. Culture
How do people
Communicate?

21. How does the product you’re working on connect
to the other products made by your
company?
2. Strategy
How does your company want to leverage its
assets to beat competitors?

22. What does your company mean by Growth?
3. Business goals
How does the product you’re working on make
money for the company?
What is your product manager’s primary
business goal right now?

23. Good Design
=
Growth Design

24. Okay, so how do you execute
the research that gets the insights you
need based on this context?

25. Steps for ANY research project
1. Prepare
2. Run
3. Synthesize
4. Share
5. Reflect

26. best practice:
Work collaboratively so
ownership of insights is
shared

27. Involve
key stakeholders in the
planning and execution of the study
Work collaboratively

28. Steps for ANY research project
1. Prepare
2. Run
3. Synthesize
4. Share
5. Reflect

29. 1. Prepare
Determine approach
Identify objectives
Create a research plan
Identify target participants
Write tasks

30. 1. Prepare
Determine approach
Identify objectives
Create a research plan
Identify target participants
Write tasks

31. What is the
business question
you are trying to answer?
1. Prepare: Objectives

32. Are you trying to answer a
Strategic or a Tactical
question?
1. Prepare: Objectives

33. Strategic research answers these kinds of questions:
● Who are our users?
● What do they need?
● How does our product fit into their lives?
● What competitors or other
products do they use?

34. Tactical research answers these kinds of questions:
● What issues do people encounter when they use
our product?
● How desirable is our product?
● What do they actually do with our product?
● How well can people perform desired tasks over
time?

35. Do users understand how to perform
a task (e.g., buy a pair of shoes, read a review)?
You've got 5 design alternatives and you
can only AB test 2 of them - how do you narrow your
choices?
What motivates different types of
users (e.g., full-time students, returning students,
people training for a job)?
Typical questions designers are trying to answer

36. 1. Prepare
Determine approach
Identify objectives
Create a research plan
Identify target participants
Write tasks

37. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/which-ux-research-methods/

38. Business question Approach
Do users understand how to perform a task
(e.g., buy a pair of shoes, read a review)?
Usability test
You've got 5 design alternatives and you
can only AB test 2 of them - how do you
narrow your choices?
Usability test
What motivates different types of users
(e.g., full-time students, returning students,
people training for a job)?
Interview /
Field study

39. 1. Prepare
Determine approach
Identify objectives
Create a research plan
Identify target participants
Write tasks

40. Who are your target users /
personas?
1. Prepare: Participants
You need to be able to find those
people!

41. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/why-you-only-need-to-test-with-5-users/
90% of usability issues are uncovered
with 8 users

42. 1. Prepare
Determine approach
Identify objectives
Create a research plan
Identify target participants
Write tasks

43. What tasks will you give the
user to get to your
objectives?
1. Prepare: Tasks

44. Identify the end result you want the
person to get
DO NOT spell out the steps
1. Prepare: Tasks
It’s tempting to think about helping
them but avoid the temptation

45. 1. Prepare
Determine approach
Identify objectives
Create a research plan
Identify target participants
Write tasks

46. Remember: this is a collaborative
effort.
Write down the plan, share
with team, discuss, get
agreement BEFORE you
run the study.
1. Prepare: Research plan

49. Steps for ANY research project
1. Prepare
2. Run
3. Synthesize
4. Share
5. Reflect

50. IMPORTANT:
reduce bias
2. Run
What is bias?
Influencing the results of
the study by using poor research
techniques.

51. IMPORTANT:
reduce bias
2. Run
Why is bias a bad thing?
You can’t reliably answer
your business question with
biased data.

52. Three biggest bias mistakes I see:
Asking leading questions
Talking too much
Asking people what they
would do
2. Run

53. Avoid:
Asking leading questions
2. Run

54. 2. Run
Leading questions Non-leading questions
Are you feeling frustrated
because this is hard to do?
Didn't you see the blue
button?
Why wasn't it clear that
you should've clicked on
the green button?

55. 2. Run
Leading questions Non-leading questions
Are you feeling frustrated
because this is hard to do?
I think I just heard you say
this is hard. Tell me more
about that.
Didn't you see the blue
button?
Why wasn't it clear that
you should've clicked on
the green button?

56. 2. Run
Leading questions Non-leading questions
Are you feeling frustrated
because this is hard to do?
I think I just heard you say
this is hard. Tell me more
about that.
Didn't you see the blue
button?
Tell me all the things you
can do on this page.
Why wasn't it clear that
you should've clicked on
the green button?

57. 2. Run
Leading questions Non-leading questions
Are you feeling frustrated
because this is hard to do?
I think I just heard you say
this is hard. Tell me more
about that.
Didn't you see the blue
button?
Tell me all the things you
can do on this page.
Why wasn't it clear that
you should've clicked on
the green button?
Tell me what you’d expect
to happen if you clicked on
the green button.

58. Avoid:
Talking too much
2. Run
Instead:
Just give them the task and watch/
listen.
Silence is your friend.

59. Avoid:
Asking people what they
would do
2. Run
Why:
People are terrible predictors
of future behavior.

60. Steps for ANY research project
1. Prepare
2. Run
3. Synthesize
4. Share
5. Reflect

61. Goal is to identify key insights
What do they mean for your project?
What potential solutions do you
see?
3. Synthesize

62. 3. Synthesize
Remember: this is a collaborative
effort.
Get the key stakeholders in the
room to synthesize together.

63. 3. Synthesize: affinity diagramming

64. Steps for ANY research project
1. Prepare
2. Run
3. Synthesize
4. Share
5. Reflect

65. People have a much easier time
understanding and
valuing things that are
tangible.
4. Share

66. IMPORTANT to figure out
how to make the insights
be as valued as the tangible
deliverables
4. Share

67. Make insights Actionable.
How?

68. Make insights Actionable.
Consider the Context
(i.e., Culture, Strategy, Business Goals)
and Connect the insights back to
the context.

69. Yes, write a quick summary of
the study but don’t rely on that
as your only deliverable.

70. After Key
Insights, list:
Objectives
Participants
Approach
Tasks

71. 4. Share
Usability severity scale
Success Irritant Moderate Severe
Task
successfully
completed!
Minor
consistency
issue, some
hesitation or
slight
irritation
Participant
struggled but
completed task
with significant
delay or
frustration
Task failed

72. 4. Share
Team prioritization scale
Objective Issue Usability
Severity
Action
Can users
successfully
register?
Password
error
message
unclear
Moderate Team member: AM
Provide specific error
message “Password
must contain 6
characters …”
Fix during next sprint.

73. 4. Share
Find culture-specific ways to
communicate insights
Museums
Video showings
Tell stories
Blogs
https://medium.com/@FBResearch/beyond-bullet-points-
four-creative-ways-to-share-research-c10fa047f025

74. Steps for ANY research project
1. Prepare
2. Run
3. Synthesize
4. Share
5. Reflect

75. What went well?
What would you do
differently next time?
5. Reflect

76. UserTesting.com
https://www.usertesting.com/resources/checklists
UXPin
https://www.uxpin.com/studio/blog/how-to-run-an-insightful-usability-test/
Nielson Norman Group
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/
InVision
https://www.invisionapp.com/blog/data-driven-usability-testing/
Carol’s blog post
http://www.carolrossi.com/blog/2017/1/10/getting-started-with-ux-research
Don’t Make me Think Steve Krug
https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Think-Revisited-Usability/dp/0321965515/ref=sr_1_1?
ie=UTF8&qid=1502487811&sr=8-1&keywords=don%27t+make+me+think
Observing the User Experience Goodman, Kuniavsky, Moad
https://www.amazon.com/Observing-User-Experience-Second-Practitioners/dp/0123848695/ref=sr_1_1?
s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1502487909&sr=1-1&keywords=observing+the+user+experience
Resources - some articles & books on UX Research

77. PRACTICE!
✓ PURE OBSERVATION
✓ FEELING
✓ MEANING
Thank you.