Lightning talk at World Information Architecture Day 2017 in Zurich. At TestingTime, we gain great insights on what type of user research methods are applied by customers. During 2016 we observed interesting trends on how user research methods changed, especially the combination of qualitative and quantitative research.

1. Reto Lämmler
Trends in User Research
Methods
@rlaemmler

2. Methods at a glance

3. Qualitative
• User Test
• Interview
• Focus Group
Quantitative
• Online Survey
• Design Survey
• A / B Test
• Journal Study

4. Trend #1

5. Qualitative studies are getting more
often backed with quantitative data.

6. Why?
Often times decision makers don‘t
trust the small sample size of
qualitative research and want also
quantitative proof.

7. Example:
Redesign of a website‘s navigation.
Besides usability tests, we see an
increase in Treejack surveys.

8. Trend #2

9. User Research at home is trending
more than remote tests.

10. Why?
Interviewing inside the natural
environment answers questions
across the user journey and not
just a single touch point like a
user interface.

11. Example:
Zalando wants to understand the
user journey from buying to
unboxing to dressing to stowing or
returning. Doing this in the lab
wouldn‘t give any true insights.

12. http://www.sonntagszeitung.ch/read/sz_09_10_2016/fokus/
Macht-euch-die-Haende-schmutzig-68910

13. Trend #3

14. Micro tests are preferred over long
formal user research studies.

15. Why?
In an agile environment UX
Designers want to find quick
answers on small design questions
without the need of doing a big
formal user research study.

16. Example:
To verify that a primary call to action
is understood, you don‘t need to do
a 45min in-house user test.
Just run a design survey with
www.verifyapp.com

18. TestingTime‘s approach to
micro feedback.

19. Test now Order test users

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Anna Volker
28, female, Musician
Hamburg
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Hamburg
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