How to get you know your users deeply and find juicy insights, whether or not you have a rich budget or a deep background in the field - workshop delivered at UX London 2015

1. Rich UX Research for Everyone
UX London, 2015

2. Interesting Questions
➔ Do Android users understand the
hamburger menu?
➔ Is this font size readable on an iPad mini?
➔ Does my new sign-up process reduce
abandons?

3. More Interesting Questions
➔ Will people make purchases on mobile? Do
they prefer a native app or the mobile web?
➔ What are the barriers to signing up for food
aid?
➔ How and how often do people check their
social media messages?

4. Really Interesting
Questions➔ When are people happy?
➔ How do people mentally model the process
of voting?
➔ What does publishing really mean to self-
published authors?
➔ What are the information needs of newly
diagnosed cancer patients?

5. I’m Cyd Harrell (@cydharrell)
I’m Product Director at Code for
America
My favorite tools: empathy & duct tape

6. How do people really use phones
in their cars?

7. Engineer
UX
Designer
Data
Scientist
Government
Partner

8. Really Interesting
Questions➔ When are people happy?
➔ How do people mentally model the process
of voting?
➔ What does publishing really mean to self-
published authors?
➔ What are the information needs of newly
diagnosed cancer patients?

9. Publishing: Steven’s Story

10. This afternoon’s agenda
➔ 14:20 Deeper Remote Research Methods
➔ 15:10 Diary Studies: Theory
➔ 15:30 BREAK
➔ 16:00 Diary Studies: Practice
➔ 16:30 Recruiting the Right People
➔ 17:15 Questions & Wrap Up

11. Not just remote testing,
remote research

12. You know this one, right?

13. Exercise
➔ Broad Research Goal: understand planning behaviors on
mobile
➔ Participant Task: plan a group dinner at a nice restaurant
➔ Moderator Goal: sketch a map of what’s important
➔ Constraint: sit behind the participant - you’re not allowed
to see their face

14. Observations?

15. Experience Sampling

16. Experience Sampling

17. Cyd’s results

18. What would you actually
need to do this?

19. Toolkit for Simple Experience Sampling
➔ SMS
➔ People’s phone numbers
➔ Mobile forms

20. Mobile Forms

21. Questions?

22. Co-design remotely

23. Google Draw Testbeds

24. Google Draw Testbeds

25. Let’s try it!

26. The research lab
in your pocket

27. The old toolkit

28. The new toolkit

29. Components of a Diary Study
➔ Writing
➔ Photography
➔ Audio recordings
➔ Video recordings
➔ Participant interactions

30. Questions?

31. Break time!

32. Welcome back!

33. Writing Diary Study Prompts

34. Writing Diary Study Prompts

35. Diary Study Responses

36. Diary Study Responses

37. More Diary Study Prompts

38. More Diary Study Prompts

39. Diary Study Responses

40. Exercise
➔ Sample Research Goal: understand how couples share
news, information, tasks, & affection while separated
➔ Participant Task: up to you

41. Share your prompts

42. dScout freebie

43. Questions?

44. Get the right people
or go home

45. Participant Options
➔ Someone on your team
➔ Grab someone who isn’t involved in your project
➔ IM your outside friends for a quick look
➔ Panels & agencies that match demographics
➔ Real users from email & consent lists
➔ Physical & web intercepts
realness

46. Real people,
real contexts of use

48. ➔ Why are you doing this work?
➔ What exactly are you asking? (How much time, where,
when)
➔ Who do you need? (tasks or demographics)
➔ Who is asking?
➔ Who vouches for you? (official sponsor or trusted leader)
➔ Will there be a reward or incentive?
➔ Can this be confidential or anonymous?

49. Snowball Recruiting
➔ Start with your own network
➔ Use social media and email
➔ Craft your appeal with forwarding in mind
➔ Ask every participant who else they know who can help
Pro tip: include bio or personal information in forwardable
appeals “Matt is a local father and researcher”

50. Anatomy of a recruiting tweet
@person we’re interviewing [job or characteristic] about [topic]
on [dates] (paid research) -interested? [LINK]
I’m looking for [job or characteristic(s)] for a [research activity] on
[dates] incentive £x [LINK] please RT
Pro tip: edit your profile to mention “UX Researcher” and
“Current Study: (study topic)”

51. Anatomy of a recruiting email
Dear community leader,
Thank you so much for passing this on to your [members]. We’re
hoping to interview [job or characteristic] about [topic] on
[dates] at [place]. These will be [one hour] interviews and will be
[entirely confidential]. We are offering an honorarium of [£x].
We have been working in [place or field] for [5 years now] and
have so appreciated the participation of the community. This
research will directly help with efforts to improve [thing] and
we will share our results via [reporting method].

52. Incentives that work

53. “Thank you so much, I
really appreciate your
taking the time to talk
to me.”

54. Paid Incentive Goals
➔ Draws in users without an agenda
➔ Doesn’t draw in prize hunters
➔ Doesn’t cloud the study question
Logistically
➔ Collect minimal personal information
➔ Deliver quickly
➔ Appropriate for location

55. Exercise
➔ Broad Research Goal: your own next study
➔ Participant Needs: consider demographics, tasks, timing
➔ Task: create the appeal to reach out to these participants...
or those who represent them

56. Share your appeals

57. Choosing which people

58. Back to Forms
➔ No more than 5 questions
➔ Always ask an open-ended
question
“What’s your biggest challenge in arranging child
care?”
“Why did you come to this website today?”
“What was the occasion for the last travel
reservation you booked?”

59. Back to Forms
“What’s your biggest challenge in arranging child care?”
➔ Pro Tip: How to find actual speakers of a language:
“ What happens when you let go of a balloon?”
“ Qu'est-ce qui se passe quand vous lâchez un ballon? ”

60. Exercise
➔ Broad Research Goal: your own next study
➔ Participant Needs: consider demographics, tasks, timing
➔ New Task: create the screening survey to identify the right
participants

61. The right person is
someone who cares,
who is available and
communicative.

62. Final questions?

63. Thank you Igor & Liga!

64. You can reach me at
cyd@codeforamerica.org
@cydharrell

65. Thank you for coming!
Go run some amazing research.