Day #26: The practical beginners guide to user research
Link:
As I have said before my general skill set is in digital design, so I have decided to focus a lot on the research side, I think moving forward I am going to have a UX research category as a page on its own. I hope you enjoy the article as always most of my findings are from blogs and videos I watch. Enjoy!
The 3 categories of user research
- Preliminary user research
- Happens before the design
- Decide on which user groups to target
- Understanding the preferences of the target groups
- Looking at the viability of the product on the market
- Looking at ways to increase the product value
- Common methods in this process include: interviews, surveys and diary entries
- General usability testing
- This explores the structure and functionality of the overall design
- I must investigate card sorting and tree testing, as these are mentioned as processes for this step
- Fine tuning usability
- This is testing decisions that were made in the previous steps
- A/B testing is mentioned here, I have heard of this and would like to investigate it more
Different approaches to user testing
- Unmoderated testing produces natural results, cost less and are easier to schedule
- If the product is complex a user may need to be subtly explained on the process
- Remote testing often has same benefits as unmoderated tests (more natural user behavior)
- On site tests are more well suited for highly confidential products
I enjoyed learning about the different processes and terms and what is beneficial where, however this is not the end for this article. I don’t even think I am half way, so I will be posting on another section pertaining to this article soon
Bye for now!