Read the latest articles on UX research methodology and the best ways to communicate research to stakeholders.
December 9, 2020 — In this article, Victor Yocco discusses some areas of ethical consideration for UX practitioners when conducting UX research, and explores potential solutions to preventing research from venturing into unethical territory.
Read this storyDecember 7, 2020 — In this edition of Discovery, we’ll take a closer look at the discussion guide — the main document you use to run your UX research sessions. Whether you’re conducting a usability evaluation or a one-on-one user interview to understand a specific domain, the discussion guide is more...
Read this storySeptember 22, 2020 — Errors can provide a lot of diagnostic information about the root causes of UI problems and the impact such problems have on the user experience. The frequency of errors—even trivial ones—also provides a quantitative description of the performance of a task.
Read this storySeptember 20, 2020 — Task analysis refers to the broad practice of learning about how users work (i.e., the tasks they perform) to achieve their goals. Task analysis is crucial for user experience, because a design that solves the wrong problem (i.e., doesn’t support users’ tasks) will fail, no matter how good its UI.
Read this storySeptember 13, 2020 — Benchmark your UX by first determining appropriate metrics and a study methodology. Then track these metrics across different releases of your product by running studies that follow the same established methodology.
Read this storySeptember 1, 2020 — Usability testing can be used to uncover problems and assess the experience. Many usability tests will play both roles simultaneously, formative and summative, so the sample size ends up being a balance to meet the needs of both.
Read this storyAugust 23, 2020 — It’s important to identify people whose behavior is not representative for your user population and exclude their data from your analysis. In this article, we’ll discuss how to identify three types of problem participants: outliers, cheaters, and professional participants.
Read this storyAugust 22, 2020 — I’ll walk you through some of the most popular guerilla UX research methods: live intercepts, remote and unmoderated studies, and using low fidelity prototypes. I’ll cover pros, cons and tips to make sure you make the most of your guerilla research sessions.
Read this storyAugust 17, 2020 — The democratization of UX research is an approach that centers on empowering various teams within an organization to conduct UX research, analyze the results, and take action on them. UX professionals and teams must take responsibility for empowering other individuals and teams to conduct UX research.
Read this storyAugust 16, 2020 — ResearchOps refers to the orchestration and optimization of people, processes, and craft in order to amplify the value and impact of research at scale. ResearchOps is a specialized area of DesignOps focused specifically on components concerning user-research practices.
Read this storyAugust 11, 2020 — Affirmations are not about ego stroking or superficial flattery. They’re really about creating a safe space in which participants notice the remarkable things they have done, and feel comfortable speaking from a place in which they believe it.
Read this storyAugust 7, 2020 — Quantitative UX research is typically conducted using surveys or feedback buttons, as well as A/B testing, clickstream analysis, site analytics, user session data, app analytics, search logs, and bug tracking.
Read this storyAugust 3, 2020 — In May 2020, User Fountain conducted a study of the usability-testing industry to research digital professionals’ attitudes and opinions and learn how companies are managing usability testing and user research, as well as the challenges within the space.
Read this storyAugust 2, 2020 — In my role with Project Redesign at NCoC.org, and in partnership with New America’s New Practice lab, I led a team of researchers to interview people from across the U.S. in May and June to learn what it has been like to apply for unemployment and other benefits during the pandemic.
Read this storyJuly 31, 2020 — While most software developers find that the nature of writing code lends itself easily to the agile practice of slicing work into small chunks, designers and researchers have a much harder time. One reason for this is that some design work takes a long time. Especially user research.
Read this story