UXDX Stockholm - Is user experience research a science? Piotr Sliwa May 8th 2018

I came from beautiful Warsaw, Poland
Copyrights: www.warsaw-airport.com
UXDX Warsaw, 4th of June

Piotr Śliwa
Is User Experience Research a Science?
15+ years in industry
8+ years in UX
Sociology education
University experience

Professor Plum
from Cluedo

One of Europe’s fastest growing design
and software consulting agencies
www.netguru.co

UX is growing in popularity these days

Job boards are full of UX Researcher positions
demand and supply

Who is an UX Researcher?

A person who applies various techniques
in order to add context and insight 
to the design process

Research is needed to reach
new conclusions, establish facts
and find problems

Sounds serious

Is User Experience Research  
a Science?
Piotr Śliwa
London – 10.05.2018

Why does UX Research need to be a science?
Unified sources of learning (no tutorial shamans)
Change UX perception as wireframes/prototypes
Help to defend research result
Convincing stakeholders / clients

Since I’ve started in UX, I have also
started thinking about how to define and
measure thoughts, feelings & behaviours

…how to get the most out of research

Academic thinking lead me to the conclusion
that UX research is a scientific discipline, as
defined by Karl Popper

The method of science is a method of posing
a bold hypothesis and making inquisitive and
severe attempts to overthrow it!

UX Research methods

UX Research methods
and what we get from other disciplines

Field Study 
Diary Study

Field Study 
Diary Study
Physics 
Biology

User Interview 
Stakeholder Interview

User Interview 
Stakeholder Interview
Psychology  
Social Sciences

Product Discovery Sprint

Product Discovery Sprint
Empirical investigation using the scientific
method

Brainstorming 
(focus study)

Brainstorming 
(focus study)
Social Psychology

Lateral thinking

Lateral thinking
Psychology, Economics

Lateral thinking
Psychology, Economics
Edward de Bono – Nobel Prize nominee in 1967

Heuristics

Heuristics
Cognitive Sciences

Heuristics
Cognitive Sciences
Nielsen Heuristics, Psychological Heuristics

According to heuristics, we use logic  
to validate hypotheses

Mathematical Logics

Cognitive Bias
Daniel Kohneman – 2002 Nobel Prize in Economics
“Prospect theory”

Data analysis 
(Google Analytics)

Data analysis 
(Google Analytics)
Mathematical Statistics, Sociology, Demography

But is it a science?

To call any discipline a science it has to
follow a scientific method.

Scientific method:
Making sure that your claim is restitant to
falsifiability

Scientific method:
Resistant to falsifiability
Has to be publicly announced

Scientific method:
Resistant to falsifiability
Publicly announced
Possible to verify in an experiment

Scientific method vs. Paradigm

Paradigm:
Logically consistent

Paradigm:
The simplest conceptually – Occam’s Razor

Paradigm:
The simplest conceptually
Creative

Creativity makes paradigms (science)
distinct from religion,  
where proof is not possible

But we can prove paradigms by:
Axioms
Hypothesis
Empirically

So again, is User Experience Research  
a science?

We can't call it a science right now,  
but it has the potential to become one.  
 
This is because of its paradigms and
methodology, which are similar  
to other fields of science

Even the best research is nothing
without analysis, synthesis  
and interpretation of the data.

When we’ve got it, we have to illustrate
how the collected data integrates into
high-level strategy and design decisions

What can be measured?

Defining the problem,  
asking the right questions

Context is King!

Common sense makes sense!

How do we apply all this theory
at Netguru?

ASAP

As Simply As Possible
KISS

Why do we need UX Research?
To validate the stakeholder/client vision
To validate scoping assumptions
To create & deliver great product by discovering
the client and the client’s users needs

Research phases (Agile adaptation)
Discover
Explore
Test
Listen

Discover
Inspire, explore and
choose new directions
and opportunities
• Field study
• Diary study
• User interview
• Stakeholder
interview
• PDS
• Requirements  
& constraints
gathering
Sprint 1
Phase
Methods

Discover Explore
and opportunities
Inform and optimise
designs in order to
reduce risk and improve
usability
• Field study
• Diary study
• User interview
• Stakeholder
interview
• PDS
& constraints
gathering
• Competitive analysis
• Design review
• Persona building
• Task analysis
• Journey mapping
• Prototype feedback  
& testing
• Write user stories
Sprint 1 Sprint 2
Phase
Methods

Discover Explore Test
and opportunities
Inform and optimise
designs in order to
usability
Measure product
performance against
itself or its
competition
• Field study
• Diary study
• User interview
• Stakeholder
interview
• PDS
& constraints
gathering
• Design review
• Task analysis
• Journey mapping
& testing
• Qualitative usability
testing (in-person or
remote)
• Benchmark testing
• Accessibility
evaluation
Sprint 3Sprint 1 Sprint 2
Phase
Methods

Discover Explore Test
and opportunities
Inform and optimise
designs in order to
usability
Measure product
performance against
itself or its
competition
• Field study
• Diary study
• User interview
• Stakeholder
interview
• PDS
& constraints
gathering
• Design review
• Task analysis
• Journey mapping
& testing
• Qualitative usability
testing (in-person or
remote)
• Benchmark testing
• Accessibility
evaluation
Listen
• Survey
• Analytics review
• Search-log analysis
• Usability-bug
review
• Frequently-asked-
questions (FAQ)
review
Sprint 3
Pay attention for users
sentiment, reduce
training and
communicate directions
Sprint 4Sprint 1 Sprint 2
Phase
Methods

there’s no chance to fail
with that plan

The Pareto principle states that 20% of the invested input
is responsible for 80% of the results obtained.

So start with small  
but meaningful steps

We do love Product Discovery Sprints, 
and our clients do too

We do love Product Discovery Sprints, 
and our clients do too
Understand
Diverge
Converge
Prototype
Test

If you can only perform a single activity  
to improve an existing system do  
qualitative (think-aloud) usability testing 
which is the most effective method  
of improving usability

• Heuristics
• Cognitive walkthrough
• 247 web usability guidelines
• Competitor review
• Opportunity review
• UX Checklist

There are two main reasons people disagree with a research study
and its conclusions:
– their own research shows something different,  
– or their personal opinions and preferences differ from the
research recommendations.
Disagreements

If your own intuition disagrees with findings, view it as a learning
opportunity that can improve your future insights. Design is not religion.
Design is a business decision. You should follow the data and do what
generates the biggest profits for your product
Disagreements

Q&A
Check out design newsletter: 
www.netguru.co/design-brief

Thanks for having me!
Piotr Śliwa

UXDX Stockholm - Is user experience research a science? Piotr Sliwa May 8th 2018

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to UXDX Stockholm - Is user experience research a science? Piotr Sliwa May 8th 2018

Similar to UXDX Stockholm - Is user experience research a science? Piotr Sliwa May 8th 2018 (20)

More from UXDXConf

More from UXDXConf (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

UXDX Stockholm - Is user experience research a science? Piotr Sliwa May 8th 2018