The document discusses UX research planning and methods. It defines what UX research is, including listening to and observing users to understand needs, confirm hypotheses, and inform products. It also defines what UX research is not, such as confirming biases. The document provides guidance on planning UX research, including determining purpose, available resources, stakeholders, and selecting appropriate methods like interviews, surveys and usability testing. It discusses challenges of UX research like competing priorities, tight deadlines and budget constraints.

1. Planning
Research
IxDA UX Research Group
- Jieyun Yang, 4th Sep 2019

2. What UX Research is and is not1
2
3
4
Planning the approach
Case studies
Challenges

3. What UX Research is and is not1

4. What UX Research is
• Listen and observe users
Approach Function
• Confirming hypothesis
• Understanding business and users
• Identifying goals
• Uncovering unmet needs
• Informing the product / process
From our first session:

5. What UX Research is
• Listen and observe users
Approach Function
• Confirming hypothesis
• Understanding business and users
• Identifying goals
• Uncovering unmet needs
• Informing the product / process
From our first session:
Learn&Explore,Validate&Measure

6. What UX Research is
Function
• Aligning the understanding of users
• Connecting the users and business
• …
Other perspectives

7. What UX Research is
Function
• Aligning the understanding of users
• Connecting the users and business
• …
Other perspectives
Why ?

8. What UX Research is
• Creating positive impact on business and users
• Reducing risk/waste in building a product/feature/service doesn’t create value
for users
• …
Value
Other perspectives

9. What UX Research is not
• Confirming bias
• Assuming
• Guessing without measuring
• Talking too much
From our first session:

10. What UX Research is not
Other perspectives
• A phase or process
• A methodology or framework
• A political tool
• Science

11. Planning the approach2

12. Planning the approach
When to use which method

13. Existing research
Purpose
Organisation Resources
When - Project brief
Object

14. Purpose
• Who are the user we will design for?
• What are their needs and goals?
UsersBusiness
• What problem are we solving?
• How did this problem get brought up?
• Have we tried to solve it before? How?
• What are the business goals of the project?
• How do we define and measure success?
Assumptions? Misalignments?

15. Purpose
Overall design process
• UX Research happens at all the
stages and leads the direction
• UX Research should be engaged
before establishing the project
The Design Thinking Playbook - Michael Lewrick

16. Purpose
3 purposes
• Exploratory
• Explanatory
• Evaluative
The Design Thinking Playbook - Michael Lewrick

17. Purpose
Exploratory
• What’s up with…
• Discover unmet needs
• Help define the value proposition
The Design Thinking Playbook - Michael Lewrick

18. Purpose
Explanatory
• What and how
• Solution to solve the problem
The Design Thinking Playbook - Michael Lewrick

19. Purpose
Evaluative
• Are we getting close and why
• Identify gaps and opportunities
for optimising
The Design Thinking Playbook - Michael Lewrick

20. Organisation
• Who are the stakeholders involved and supporting the project?
• What are their levels of influence,interest,availability and expectations over the course of the project?
• How do they stand to benefit or suffer with the success or failure of your work?
• What is the likelihood that any of them have the power or potential to prevent project success?
• What are the organisational priorities?
• What constraints do we have?
• What are the biggest risks and concerns for the project?
• How will the project affect the organisation? What potential changes will be required and who will be responsible for that?
Understand the relationships

21. Resources
• What resources are available?
• What is the deadline?
• How much budget do we have?
• What are tradeoffs if we have competing priorities?
The art of balance Most
negotiable
Least
negotiable
Time
Cost
Scope
UX
Trade-off sliders

22. Existing research
• What do we know about our users? Was there any research done in the past?
• Who are our competitors and how are they solving the problem?
• What makes us unique? How will we differentiate?
Identify literature review requirement
https://wallpaperstock.net/wallpapers/thumbs1/49613wide.jpg https://conversionxl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/locmax-1-568x338.png

23. Which method
Attitudinal vs.Behavioural
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/which-ux-research-methods/ https://www.nngroup.com/articles/which-ux-research-methods/
Qualitative vs.Quantitative

24. Which method
Purposes and objects
https://www.ibm.com/design/research/ Just Enough Research - Erika Hall

25. Which method
Users Organisation Product Competiton
Exploratory
Contextual Enquiry
Interview
Customer Statics
Literature Review
(Desktop Research)
Survey
User Journey Map
Persona / Empathy
Map
Diary Study
Literature Review
(Desktop Research)
Interview
SWOT Analytics
Business Canvas
Contextual Enquiry
Survey
Expert Review
(Heuristic Analytics)
SWOT Analytics
Explanatory
Contextual Enquiry
Interview
Survey
Contextual Enquiry
Interview
Card Sorting
Ideation Workshop
Competitor Analytics
Evaluative ? ?
Tree Test
Usability Testing
A/B Testing
Behavioral Analytics
Usability Testing
Expert Review
(Heuristic Analytics)

26. Which method
Project phases
• Discover
• Define
• Design
• Deliver • Expert review
• Competitive review
• Contextual enquiry
• Interview
• Focus groups
• Customer statistics
• Innovation Lab
• Stakeholder map
• Trade-off sliders
• Survey
• Point of view
• Personas
• Empathy maps
• Task model
• User journeys
• Business Model Canvas
• Elevator Pitch
• How might we…
• Ideation workshop
• Storyboard
• Information architecture
• Prototype
• Tree test
• Card sort
• Usability testing
• Behavioral analytics
• A/B test

27. Who should participate
• Build and use stakeholders map and RACI matrix to inform who to engage
• Identify your “friend”,“enemy” and “middleman”
• Keep the Project Management Office lean
• Collect opinions from many people,make decisions with few stakeholders
• Work with the team closely
• Engage with manufactory,legal and finance team in a relatively later stage
Recommendations

28. Just enough research
• Focus on the outcomes,not the outputs
• Start to prepare documentations from day 0
• Engage the stakeholders early to inform and guide the research
• Keep learning and keep iterating,adjust the approach to adapt feedback,
ideas and changes
• Leave time to debrief after finishing each session
• Don’t forget to consider the time required for association: aligning
availabilities,sending invites,booking rooms,requesting for office/shop
shadowing,traveling…

29. Case studies3

31. Challenges4

32. Challenges
Value
• When the CEO/VP is going to dictate what you do
• When the managers claim that they know everything about the
users and their problems already
• When the managers/devs tell you that nothing compares with real
product feedback,let’s just ship it first
• When people have different expectations
• When you are asked to justify your research by science

33. Challenges
Resources
• When you face tight deadlines: “We don’t have time,it will take too long”
• When the manager thinks that Research will change the scope of the project:
“let’s just skip it”.
• When the manager tells you “we can’t do research as we don’t have the
expertise or the budget”