User Research

User research identifies, observes, and studies target users and their behaviours. User research can affect decisions across an organization, such as which products are developed, what they look like, and how they are sold. Regular user research is also part of a robust iterative design process, helping designers test and evaluate UI/UX changes.

User Research Process

The step-by-step process for user research is explained below in detail.

Planning: The first step in performing user research should be establishing a research plan. Here, the team will determine and document what information they need, why they need this data, and how it will be obtained. Organizational considerations like scope, timelines, and deliverables should also be established during this phase, and all stakeholders should be identified and informed.

Execution: Here, the research team will use the appropriate methodologies determined in the planning phase to gather data on target users. These methodologies might include user surveys, which send question sets to large groups of users; focus groups, in which a moderator leads in-depth conversations with small groups of users; or any number of other avenues of data collection.

Analysis: After gathering large quantities of raw data, the user research team will evaluate the data for actionable insights, considering the goals established during planning. Researchers will first check the quality of the data: “Does it appear the users understood this survey question? Did this focus group stay on topic? Did this tracking tool function as expected?” They will then examine the data for trends or groupings that can be reasonably applied to the userbase at large: “Enterprise decision-makers among the userbase express ABC preference; X% of daily users exit the site at XYZ page.”

Reporting: Finally, researchers will translate their analyzed data into an easily understandable research report. This report should also include a high-level summary of the execution process and tie both the research findings and the research execution to the initial research plan.

User Research Considerations

The considerations that designers should make in terms of user research are decribed below in detail.

Designers must consider whether they working with qualitative or quantitative data. Quantitative research data can be expressed numerically, such as “75% of users who reach this page exit the site” or “65% of survey respondents are men aged 30-45.” Quantitative research can take the form of site tracking, closed-ended survey questions, or behavioural assessment, among other methodologies. Qualitative research data typically expresses judgment or evaluation from individual respondents. A qualitative report might read, “User expressed difficulty discerning text from a background with colour combination A” or “Researcher observed user frustration trying to access feature B.” Designers seeking qualitative data can utilize interviews, open-ended survey questions, or a number of other methodologies. Quantitative research paints a clearer, more reliable picture of a user base and their behaviours, while qualitative research allows for a more in-depth explanation of those behaviours. Effective researchers will use a variety of methodologies to identify and solve user problems.

When creating user research studies, designers will also consider whether they want to perform attitudinal or behavioural research. Attitudinal research relies on self-reported data to discern users’ opinions or preferences, while behavioural research observes user actions, either in real use cases or in controlled environments. Attitudinal research allows researchers to gather more information; they might ask clarifying questions to further discussion in a focus group or include open-ended questions about reasons behind user preference in a survey. Behavioural research allows researchers to gather reliable information; users may respond one way when considering a hypothetical but behave differently when using the product themselves. Both types of research can provide valuable insight in making design decisions.

Within behavioural research, designers must also consider whether they will study observed behaviour or prompted behaviour, also referred to as scripted behaviour. Observed behavioural data is typically collected by studying actual user actions in a product already launched, with as little interference as possible from the researchers. For example, tracking cookies on a website can record a full user journey, from how they originally navigated to the site to what page they visited when they exited. Prompted behavioural data is collected in more controlled settings, where researchers might give study participants a goal, such as “purchase X item with discount code XYZ” or “navigate to ABC feature from the home page,” while noting detailed behaviour and feedback. Observed behaviour can predict future user actions more reliably, while prompted behaviour gives a more granular view of user actions and attitudes.

Designers and researchers should also consider participant selection when planning a user study. User surveys, focus groups, and similar methodologies will always be subject to selection bias, a phenomenon in which the population of users willing to participate in the study are not representative of the user base as a whole. Concerns around participant selection will also include scaling and privacy. Generally, the more participants a study has, the more representative it will be of the whole userbase and the better it will be at predicting future behaviour; however, the more participants a study has, the more resources it will require, and researchers often find themselves working around time and funding limitations. Privacy becomes a sliding concern with today’s advanced tracking tools. Cookies may provide detailed user demographics, or heatmap plugins might give insights into granular cursor behaviours, but some users find these tools invasive. Researchers will find themselves balancing their organization’s data requirements with its values and ethics.

User Research Results and Products

An important skill for user researchers to cultivate is translating raw data into easily digestible information and actionable insights. Data visualization is a major part of that skill set, in which the research team uses visual design tools like charts and graphs to communicate this information at varying levels of depth. Research teams may also generate user personas and user stories, tools that serve as useful shorthand references for designers, developers, and marketers.

User Research Benefits and Shortcomings

The benefits and shortcomings of user research are following:

• User research is a critical tool in identifying user pain points and can directly help teams ease those problems.
• When user research delivers clear user personas, preferences, and stories, it provides a clear, documented goal that can serve as a uniting reference point for disparate teams across an organization.
• User research tends to favour quantitative over qualitative data, sometimes leading to features favouring engagement and conversion over user value or organizational goals.
• User research can limit the scope to improving existing product features, making finding new, innovative solutions harder.