Know Your Audience: Low-Budget Research Methods
•
1 like•760 views
A presentation by SAI at BarCamp Nashville 2014 on four low-cost methods of user research you can do to gather information on how your visitors interact with your website.
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (19)
Similar to Know Your Audience: Low-Budget Research Methods
Similar to Know Your Audience: Low-Budget Research Methods (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Know Your Audience: Low-Budget Research Methods
- 1. Know Your Audience Low-Budget Research Methods Davis Miller & Mark Wood October 18, 2014 BarCampNashville 2014
- 2. Meet the Presenters Mark Wood UX Architect and Designer, SAI dmiller@systemsalliance.com linkedin.com/in/wdavismiller @davis221 Davis Miller Business Development, SAI mwood@systemsalliance.com linkedin.com/in/woodmark615 @woodmark #bcn14_knowyouraudience
- 3. Online Surveys Focus Groups Card Sorts Usability Tests Audience Research Methods
- 4. Quick Poll
- 5. Value of User Research Website visitors are often a mystery User research helps solve the mystery. Define and target your primary audience Develop goals and objectives Consider pros and consof methods Combine methods for most effective results Repeat over time
- 6. Best Practices Be open to critical feedback Prepare clear, specific questions Sample size Set expectations of time commitment Incentivize participants Promote
- 8. Why? Provides clear, reliable, actionable insight Estimates the knowledge, attitudes, opinions, and behaviors of the target audience Shows trends and consensus Know Your Audience Online Surveys More quantitative info
- 9. Pros/Cons Pros Fast Inexpensive Large audience response No interview bias Compare results over time Cons Survey fatigue Margin of error Large sample size What they say vs. what they do Know Your Audience Online Surveys TIP Conduct the same survey as a benchmark before a redesign and again after to measure improvement.
- 10. BestPractices Keep it shortand simple Word questions in your audience’s language and with clear results in mind Ask your audience to self-identify Brand it Keep it interesting Know Your Audience Online Surveys
- 11. Avoid straight-lining Question Formats Know Your Audience Online Surveys Limit number of matrix questions Offer clear distinction of rating choices with a neutral response Limited number of items to rate Brief wording, alphabetical listing
- 12. Tools & Costs Survey Monkey Free (10 questions per survey, up to 100 responses) Gold ($300 per year, unlimited questions, unlimited responses, advanced logic, text analysis) Have a bigger budget? Purchase audience participation for $1 per response. Know Your Audience Online Surveys
- 13. 2 Focus Groups
- 14. Why? Face to face feedback target audience Go beyond superficial answers Uncover insights into attitudes and behaviors Know Your Audience Focus Groups More qualitative info
- 15. Pros/Cons Pros Gain insight into user interaction Stimulate discussion Personal response Cons Need experienced facilitator Group influence Small sample size Time commitment Geography Know Your Audience Focus Groups TIP Validate findings by combining qualitative results with quantitative feedback.
- 16. Best Practices Know Your Audience Focus Groups Decide on the range of topics Develop open-ended questions to encourage discussion Pretest questions Go to your audience Lead with a skilled moderator Record the session
- 17. 3 Card Sorts
- 18. Why? The most important input into the structure of your website comes from your audience. Card sorts allow you to get insights as to how they would organize content. Know Your Audience Card Sorts Helps define structure
- 19. Two types of Sorts In open sorts, participants place content cards into categories that they make up and name. In closed sorts, participants place the content cards into pre-defined categories. Know Your Audience Card Sorts
- 20. Pros/Cons Pros Easy to create Small sample size Good way to hear from a variety of voices Fun Cons Time consuming for participants Difficult to analyze Know Your Audience Card Sorts TIP Ask follow-up questions so that participants can provide more details into their thinking.
- 21. Best Practices Know Your Audience Card Sorts Give clear directions Limit the number of cards in your sort Randomize the cards if possible
- 22. Tools & Costs Optimal Sort by Optimal Workshop Free (10 people, 30 cards) Monthly ($109 for unlimited people and cards, for one month.) Annual subscriptions to all Optimal Sort products Have a bigger budget? Purchase audience participation, for example 50 U.S. participants in 2-3 days for $456. Know Your Audience Card Sorts
- 24. Why? You can observe how people interact with your website You can test in person or remotely Know Your Audience Usability Tests Focuses on behavior
- 25. Pros/Cons Pros Gain insight into user interaction Fast Inexpensive Can test, iterate, test again Cons Simulation vs. real experience Needs to be moderated Know Your Audience Usability Tests TIP Ask follow-up questions so that participants can provide more details into their thinking.
- 26. Best Practices Know Your Audience Usability Tests Avoid using the same terminology as your navigation Ask participants to self-identify Testing the product not the participant Add follow-up questions Set clear tasks
- 27. Tools & Costs Chalkmark by Optimal Workshop Free (10 people, 3 tasks) Monthly ($109 for unlimited people and tasks, for one month.) Annual subscriptions to all Optimal Workshop products Have a bigger budget? Purchase audience participation. For example 50 U.S. participants in 2-3 days for $422. Know Your Audience Usability Tests
- 28. Final Thoughts
- 29. Responsible Research Respect people’s privacy and protect personal information Ask for permissionto record interviews Investigate whether legal signoff is needed Determine if consent forms are required Make sure incentivesare allowed Understand what information can and can’t be shared
- 30. Good research = exceptional user experience
- 31. Questions?
- 32. Stay in touch: www.systemsalliance.com @systemsalliance info@systemsalliance.com Thank you! Davis Miller dmiller@systemsalliance.com Mark Wood mwood@systemsalliance.com Contact