Listening Research Methods

Listening research methods are used to listen to users of a product in order to understand existing problems and uncover new issues. These methods could include user surveys, web analytics, frequently-asked-questions (FAQ) reviews, and diary studies.

User surveys are a UX research method that designers and researchers create for a group of participants to answer about a topic or product. A user survey should include an introduction, survey questions, and a wrap-up.

In the listening stage of user research, surveys are used to learn more about how users experience a product or feature. This could include measuring metrics like net promoter score (NPS) and customer satisfaction score (CSAT) or surveys deployed at key points in the flow on a website or product as intercept pop-ups.

Closed-ended survey questions can be answered by yes or no, multiple choice, scales, or net promoter score questions. These questions provide quantitative data, allow researchers to compare responses across participants, and conduct quantitative analysis to identify patterns.

Open-ended survey questions ask participants to write out their answers in the form of free responses. These questions generate qualitative data and are often used to get additional context about participant responses from closed-ended questions.

Web analytics are a measurement of user behavior on a website or app, providing quantitative insight into product or design performance and user behavior. These can include behavior metrics, such as engagement and conversion data, and attitudinal metrics, such as net promoter score (NPS) and user retention rate.

A frequently asked questions (FAQ) review is a user research technique that collects and reviews user questions from support emails or chats, social media, online forums, and other channels. This data from users talking about a product is used to develop a list of frequently asked questions. This can reveal trends about common user issues to address through design.

Diary studies are a form of user research that collects longitudinal, longer-term qualitative data from participants by asking them to complete entries in a diary, which may include a series of prompts. These studies allow researchers to examine how participant attitudes and behavior evolve over a set time period.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are measurable, quantifiable metrics that a team chooses to focus on as they work toward a specific objective. There can be multiple KPIs for a specific team or objective, but choosing a few initiatives is what keeps the team focused. Thinking about analytics should start when project planning begins by setting clear goals and KPIs that line up with broader organizational goals.

Behavioral UX metrics, also known as descriptive or performative metrics, focus on how users use a given product or design. These metrics include reach data, engagement data, conversion data, demographic data, heatmaps, scrollmaps, and clickmaps.

Attitudinal UX metrics focus on what users self-report or perceive about a product or design. These can include metrics collected through surveys, such as net promoter score (NPS), customer satisfaction score (CSAT), system usability scale (SUS), and web analytics like daily/monthly active users, user retention rate, and churn rate.