Keeping your customers real
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This document discusses user experience (UX) research methods and best practices. It outlines the differences between UX research and market research, describing UX research as focusing on what people do and how they use products through smaller sample sizes. The document then covers various UX research methods like usability testing, prototyping, eye tracking, personas, surveys, interviews and diary studies. It emphasizes the importance of basing personas on direct user research and using them to build consensus and foster empathy throughout the design process. Finally, it provides tips for remote UX research, mobile research, card sorting, recruiting participants and maintaining best practices like checking biases.
Keeping your customers real
- 1. Keeping your customers real Jon-Eric Steinbomer, Director of Research Lean Startup Circle - 2013
- 2. | © Progress UX LLC2
- 3. | © Progress UX LLC UX Research is not Market Research 3 User Experience Research •What people do •How people use •Smaller sample sizes Market Research •What people say •What people will buy •Larger sample sizes
- 4. | © Progress UX LLC4 About Progress Austin, Texas Home Office and Usability Lab Bellevue, Washington Satellite Office
- 5. | © Progress UX LLC Core UX Research Methods 5 Usability Testing Remote and Lab-Based Prototype Testing App (mobile) Research Eye Tracking Natural Interface (NUI) Research Expert Review Out of Box Testing User Research Card Sorting Tree Testing Personas Surveys Contextual Interview/On- Site Visits Diary Studies Listening Lab
- 6. Personas 6 The over-achiever The follower The Idealist © Nick Agin
- 7. | © Progress UX LLC What are Personas? 7 “Personas are not real people. They represent real people throughout the design process. They are hypothetical archetypes of actual users.” Alan Cooper
- 8. | © Progress UX LLC Why Personas? 8 • The “average” user does not exist. • We are not our users. • Build consensus. • Foster empathy. • Support ideation. • Research study recruiting.
- 9. | © Progress UX LLC Endless flavors! 9
- 10. | © Progress UX LLC Characteristics of Ineffective Personas 10 • Contain too much “fluff” information. • Are based on dubious or unknown sources. • Aspirational - who you wish your customers were. • Static. • Are not used.
- 11. | © Progress UX LLC Characteristics of effective personas 11 • Are based on direct user research. • Convey only relevant information, i.e. - what people want, what they are, what they do - their story! • Are iteratively refined and validated. • Are often referenced in discussions and ideation. “Roger”“Early Adopter”
- 12. | © Progress UX LLC Final thoughts on personas 12 “Personas are not real people. They represent real people throughout the design process. They are hypothetical archetypes of actual users. Although they are imaginary, they are defined with significant rigor and precision.” Alan Cooper
- 14. | © Progress UX LLC Remote UX Research - Expanded Reach 14 Researchers Participant Observers Participant Participant Participant Participant Participant Participant Participant Participant Observers
- 15. | © Progress UX LLC Remote benefit - ethnography Participants are more comfortable as they speak to us using their own OS, browser, resolution, etc. 15
- 16. | © Progress UX LLC Remote UX Research & Real-time Interaction 16
- 17. | © Progress UX LLC Remote UX Research Best Practices • Mind the time zones. • One moderator per session. • If time allows, start broad, then narrow down to your subject (website, prototype, product). • Have a backup plan for the screen-share. 17
- 18. Mobile/Hardware Research Back to the lab! 18
- 19. | © Progress UX LLC In-Person and On-Device 19
- 20. | © Progress UX LLC Mobile app/Hardware Research 20 http://www.mrtappy.com/
- 21. | © Progress UX LLC Out of Box Testing (OOBE) 21
- 22. Card Sorting 22
- 23. | © Progress UX LLC Card Sorting Helps us understand: • user-derived labels (what do people call things) • which items belong in existing categories (what goes where) 23
- 24. | © Progress UX LLC Card Sorting with OptimalSort 24
- 25. | © Progress UX LLC Card Sort Results 25 Dendrogram visualization
- 26. | © Progress UX LLC Tree Validation Helps us understand how well a given navigation structure works 26
- 27. Diary Studies 27
- 28. | © Progress UX LLC Diary Studies - Longitudinal UX Helps us gain: • Iterative feedback collected over time and use. • Take us beyond initial discovery. 28 research.microsoft.com
- 30. | © Progress UX LLC Identify who you want to speak with 30 • Personas • Marketing data • Call center data • Sales staff
- 31. | © Progress UX LLC Cast the net 31 Forums Social media Ethnio - Live Intercept
- 32. | © Progress UX LLC Screen each candidate 32
- 33. | © Progress UX LLC Compensation 33
- 34. A few best practices 34
- 35. | © Progress UX LLC35 “everything we perceive is filtered and biased by our version of things.” “...understand one’s behavior free from the tyranny of one’s own expectations and biases.”
- 36. | © Progress UX LLC UX Research best practices 36 • Keep your ego in check. • “Users” don’t exist, they are (we are) real people with complex and sometimes messy lives. Dig in to find people’s story. • Conduct regular product research with real people. Weekly or bi-monthly if possible. Get it on the calendar.