These five essential research methods will help you understand and design for your audience like never before!
Understanding users
Understanding users is key to building products that delight, engage, and serve them well. Luckily, there are many ways to do just that. Whether you’re just dipping your toes into UX or you’re a seasoned pro, these five user research methods are essential tools to have in your belt. We’ll dive into each method and give you real-life examples, so you’re not just flying blind!
🎤 User Interviews
Ever heard of getting insights straight from the horse’s mouth? Well, in UX research, the horse is your user, and the insights are the valuable nuggets of information they share during user interviews.
Example:
Let’s say you’re developing a meal-planning app. During a user interview, you might ask, “What’s your biggest frustration with current meal-planning tools?”.
The answer could reveal that users find it hard to get personalised recipe suggestions, which could guide you in developing a better recommendation feature.
👤 Contextual Inquiry
Why ask users what they think they do when you can observe them in their natural habitat? Contextual inquiry involves watching users interact with your product in real-world situations. It’s like being a detective, without the magnifying glass.
Example:
Imagine you’re building a new e-commerce platform, and you want to know how users navigate online stores. You observe someone trying to buy a new pair of shoes, noting every click, hesitation, or confused look. This real-world insight helps you improve navigation and checkout processes.
✏️ Surveys
Need feedback from a large group of users in a short amount of time? Surveys are your go-to. They’re great for gathering quantitative data (like user satisfaction scores) and qualitative insights (like what feature users would love to see next).
Example:
For a fitness app, you could create a survey asking, “Which feature do you use most often?” and “What would improve your workout experience?”. With responses from hundreds or even thousands of users, you can spot trends that individual interviews might miss.
🧑💻 Usability Testing
Ever wondered how easy your product is to use? Usability testing is all about giving users tasks to complete and observing how well they manage (or how many times they scratch their heads). It helps identify usability issues before you release your product into the wild.
Example:
You’ve built a new website, and you ask users to find and purchase an item. If they’re taking too long or getting lost on the homepage, usability testing will highlight these problems early on. You can then adjust navigation, improve layout, or simplify the shopping process.
🗂️ Card Sorting
Ever wondered how users would organise information in your app or website? Card sorting is a technique where users group content into categories that make sense to them. It’s perfect for designing menus, product categories, or information architecture.
Example:
If you’re designing a new knowledge base for your product, you might ask users to group different help articles. Seeing how they organise content can help you build a more intuitive structure, making it easier for future users to find what they need.
To wrap it up, these five user research methods—User Interviews, Contextual Inquiry, Surveys, Usability Testing, and Card Sorting—are essential tools in your UX toolkit. By applying them, you’ll gain valuable insights into what your users truly want, and more importantly, what frustrates them.