User experience is a dynamic field with constant upgrades in how designers meet user needs. At its base lies a critical factor that helps UX designers know what users want and need instead of what they can do. UX design research helps designers listen to their target users to understand their changing needs and preferences.
But how can UX researchers succeed in their research game? What principles should guide them? We composed this post to help UX researchers in any SaaS web design agency hone their skills. Read on to sharpen your UX research skills.
What Is UX Research?
Credit: from Hotjar
Let’s define UX research before delving into how a researcher can conduct it effectively using established principles.
User experience (UX) research is the process of discovering how customers interact with brands on a practical, functional level and observing how easily they can complete their tasks and meet their goals.
This process delves deeper into discovering user behavior, motivations, and needs by observation, task analysis, and other feedback types. Sometimes, it involves working directly with target audiences through UX testing sessions, remote observation using digital tools, and collecting user feedback through surveys.
UX Research Methods
UX researchers usually use quantitative or qualitative research methods to do their jobs.
Quantitative
UX researchers use a quantitative approach with tasks that can produce numerical data or data they can translate into statistics. Excellent examples include surveys, website activity interceptors, polls, and experiments.
Qualitative
In this method, researchers use qualitative data to observe and understand behavior through physical movement or speech. Qualitative studies usually rely on the subjective user experiences and meanings assigned to those experiences. Examples of such studies include contextual observation, field research, interviews, controlled usability testing, and ethnographic studies.
A UX design researcher chooses a method depending on what they wish to develop. Other research techniques are card sorting, focus groups, prototyping, and use cases.
Top Ten UX Design Research Principles
Below are the leading principles that guide UX researchers in their work.
Increase Sample Sizes for Better Accuracy
Bigger and more accurate sample sizes are more likely to yield more reliable data. The general consensus is that researchers can double accuracy by increasing their sample size by four.
Participants Must Reflect Personas
You must get your target users’ persona before engaging them because some people don’t fit your target market. Otherwise, you might engage the wrong people by trying to please everyone and bring them on board.
Know Where You Are in The Design Process
Your research should reflect your current position in the design process. UX research at the product’s final development stage will significantly differ from that of a product in its initial or middle stages. Thus, your design stage directly determines the kind of research technique you use, the sample size, and the questions you will ask, making the study exploratory or confirmatory.
Choose and Stick to One Scale
Don’t use several methods to scale ratings because you will most likely confuse yourself and your stakeholders. Also, don’t worry about your rating system as long as it produces desired results. You may use stars or numbers; the only rule is to ensure that your research data is accurate and easy to read to make sense to your clients.
Shorten Reports
No matter how accurate your research findings and data are, never bog your clients with long essays or book stories. As much as possible, shorten your reports. Keep the longer report versions if you wish to publish your findings one day. Your UX research reports will be more attractive if you fill them with colorful charts and minimal text explaining each section’s meaning.
Use Various Tools for Better Results
Successful UX researchers should utilize every tool in their toolbox to give their clients more value for their money. Still, ensure you don’t use all of them simultaneously; it’s an art in itself to determine which method produces the best results. Therefore, try mixing them in different proportions to know which one works best under particular circumstances.
Understand that Observers Observe Differently
Successful UX research hinges on the understanding that different observers make sense of the observed things differently. They don’t necessarily need to share your perspective on certain issues. Therefore, don’t fear increasing the number of observers or subjecting the collected data to peer review to boost the research outcomes.
Teamwork Is the Way to Go
Teamwork is the essence and heart of successful UX research. Remember, UX design is a team sport requiring effective communication and collaboration. So, never approach your research results with an ownership mentality because nobody owns them.
Approaching your research process with this mindset helps every stakeholder. Don’t put yourself in the center to personalize the research results because your findings are always a part of the bigger picture called product design. Instead, place yourself in your client’s shoes and allow a free flow of ideas to prioritize user needs and experience.
Understand That Every User Matters
While a larger sample size yields better results, you can’t ignore the power of a single user in your research. Please note that some problems are so prevalent or universal that one user’s views can capture what 1,000 users would have said. So, it’s vital to focus on the right procedure instead of a large sample size. It doesn’t matter how many users go through research simulations as long as the process is broken.
There Are No Absolutely Wrong or Right Ways
The tech industry has thousands of “gurus” who develop trendy research methods. Every expert wants their method to become a standard that guarantees success. However, none of them can reasonably and accurately claim their approach is absolutely right. Use your discretion and maturity to explore the best tools by focusing on their underlying principles, not fancy names.
Conclusion
Understanding and applying UX design research principles is critical for success. Use the top ten principles we’ve shared to improve your UX research approaches and procedures. They’re sure to increase your chances for success and give you much more valuable UX research findings.
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