The design process is incomplete without user experience research. This allows designers to design better products by understanding what users want and how they use them. How do you conduct the necessary research to inform your design decisions? Erin Sanders’ “Research Learning Spiral” outlines the steps to conduct user experience research. Objectives – The question or questions we want to answer Hypotheses: What do you think you already know? Methods – How do we collect information? Synthesis — Use our data to answer the question or to disprove the hypotheses. UserTesting is a popular choice, but there are many other options that you should consider. What are the most effective ways to do quality research? And what mistakes should you avoid? You should start your user research as soon as possible. It is best to start user research as soon as possible. This will allow potential users to have an impact on final product shape and, therefore, its ultimate success. While your product is still flexible, gather feedback from users while you don’t feel pressure to meet deadlines. Your product will have a better chance at satisfying the needs of your users if you start by focusing on them from the beginning. You must set goals and keep them in mind to get the best out of your research. You will be able to avoid stumbling and getting sidetracked by planning the way you conduct your research. You should set mile markers and not deviate from them when you travel between them. Once you reach a milestone, it is important to take the time to evaluate your situation and adjust your goals as necessary. You should not assume that products that aren’t physically tangible don’t need user experience research. This is an old trap to avoid. No matter what product you have, it is important to conduct research. Below are some examples of non-physical product and the recommended actions to follow: Websites – Users must still be able navigate websites smoothly. They also need to be capable of finding it easily. Search engine optimization is likely to be an important consideration. Classes – Students who are enrolled in classes want to engage with material and content that is interesting to them and holds their interest. Diverse Services – You need to make sure that your service (and perhaps even sell it) is relevant to the customers you’re trying to reach. Good user experience research starts early and is based on effective data collection. Then, you can take action based on the results. It is essential that your entire team works together and communicate clearly from conception through release in order to achieve this. _______________________________________________________ Interesting related article: “What is Customer Experience?”
