Design in general follows a very user-centered framework. At LavaLab, we start by focusing on the user and what problems and needs they may have. Beginning with your users enables you to better empathize with who you are solving for and evaluate which solutions are the most effective.
This process is best known as user research, which covers a wide range of quantitative and qualitative tools to help you measure and, more importantly, analyze user behavior. User research is a crucial process that designers frequently revisit, starting from the innovation stage all the way to the launch and scale phase. Conducting formative and summative research helps you gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences and intentions of your users throughout your product’s development. It will ultimately inform your design decisions and direct the way you track your product’s impact and success.
In this article, you will learn about the basic methods of doing user research and the best practices for designers.
User Research Methods
Quantitative Research
Quantitative research allows you to gather more measurable data to find patterns and trends. This method requires a more statistical approach to make sure you are gathering unbiased and objective data. These studies range from A/B testing to website analytics. This type of research gives you a good idea of what is happening and can assign numbers to the utility of the product. This can better inform how you prioritize your designs or which user to focus on first.
Qualitative Research
On the other hand, qualitative research will typically involve tools such as surveys and interviews. Ethnographic field studies are methods that can help you assess who your users are and why they behave the way they do. These studies often range from one-on-one interviews to large population-wide surveys. The size of your study depends on your project’s capacity and budget to conduct the research, as well as the questions you are trying to get answered: however, you may find that only interviews can weed out the unique insight that online surveys may otherwise skim over. The benefit of qualitative research over quantitative research is that it allows you to ask more open-ended questions and get to the “why” behind the numbers.
Deciding Which One to Use
As mentioned at the beginning, user research is conducted at any point in the design process. The stages of design require both formative and summative research: gaining insight into behaviors and the content of use in the former and evaluating specific strengths and gaps for users in the latter. Therefore, qualitative research is typically used at the beginning of product development for discovery and observation: insight and testimonies at this point play a huge role in inspiring your design criteria and identifying the main pain points for users. Quantitative user research, on the other hand, is typically done on the final working product to track usability or evaluate metrics of success and inform the next steps of development.
Despite both methods obtaining very different results, designers often use both in conjunction to gain a comprehensive idea of their users. Quantitative research will usually provide the answer to the “what” and “how” questions, whereas qualitative research will provide the answer to the “why.”
Best Practices
We Are Not Our Users
The best part of user research is that it forces you to recognize your own limits as a researcher and designer. Afterall, we can’t read our user’s minds, nor should we be trying to. The means of user research is for us, as designers, to reach out to our key stakeholders and truly get to know their pains and frustrations. This makes us more invested in the problem we want to solve as well as involve the user in the solution-seeking process (learn more about the disability dongle to avoid “savior” design)
Design for Universal Access
Be sure to talk with a range of different users. Many designers forget to look beyond the scope of their intended audience. Most times, venturing away from who you think is your target group may open your eyes to a different set of challenges that may completely alter the accessibility of your design. Ensuring that you design for all means putting in the work to speak and listen to a diverse set of potential users.
Conducting User Ethnographic Research
The framework AEIOU (activities, environments, interactions, objects, and users) can help you mitigate personal bias and break down your observations of user goals and pains during ethnographic research. Try not to let your interest in the topic influence your interviews/questionnaires; ultimately, you want to document as much raw information as possible so the data can be transferable to other eyes on your team. Don’t skip this listening phase of user research. This is the most important part of user research: your ability to recognize and comprehend what your users are telling you and to be able to translate this information into actionable design criteria. The purpose of user interviews is to inform your next steps.