![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.pixeltie.com.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image7.png\")
\nSource: UX Process by UX Mastery<\/a><\/div>\n
Stop Using Excuses and Focus on the Outcome<\/h3>\n
When we address the importance of research as part of our UX process to clients, we often receive the same kind of feedback:<\/p>\n
- \n
- We have a tight timeline or limited budget and we prefer to skip this step to focus on design;<\/li>\n
- We don\u2019t see the value of research;<\/li>\n
- We don\u2019t need research, we know what our users want<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Even if the first answer seems fair, be aware that not investing in research will cost you far more than if you did. One of the most common mistakes that people make when thinking of a product idea is solving a problem that simply doesn\u2019t exist or that isn\u2019t bad enough for people to bother fixing it.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.pixeltie.com.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image8.png\")
<\/p>\nIf you assume the wrong pain points that your users are facing and make inappropriate changes and adjustments, you\u2019re simply going to be out of business!<\/p>\n
So if you are working on a mobile app, web app or website and as long as you are looking to make your product useful to your users, make no mistake: you simply cannot afford to not do research for your product.<\/p>\n
No UX Research = Waste of Time, Effort, and Cost<\/h3>\n
When you jump directly into production without making any research, it simply means that you consider your actual knowledge as true fact rather than assumptions that need to be validated.
\nYou may, however, find that after you have shipped your product and when real users started to use it, concerns and problems might start to flow due to multiple factors such as:<\/p>\n- \n
- Your initial assumptions about the user were completely or partially wrong;<\/li>\n
- Your final product is not user-friendly;<\/li>\n
- Your product features are confusing for the end user;<\/li>\n
- Your product has great features that no one uses or want;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.pixeltie.com.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image4.gif\")
<\/p>\nAnd the consequences of not having done research to validate these points earlier will translate to a waste of development time, effort, cost, a high customer support bill and ultimately less revenue.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s say you have developed a mobile app for your fintech product. Because you didn\u2019t see the need for user-testing before development, you now face a situation where you forgot to add a \u201cconfirmation\u201d screen for transactions. Some of your customers end up transferring $1,000 instead of $100 to their telecommunications provider and got mad about it. As your development cycle gets farther along, major changes like this one will become more and more expensive to implement. On top of that, you\u2019ll have to grapple with increased customer support, not to mention the irreparable damage to your reputation.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.pixeltie.com.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image5.png\")
<\/p>\nIn other words, you could have saved a huge amount of time and money by getting this screen right the first time!<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.pixeltie.com.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image2.png\")
<\/p>\nValidate your Hypothesis!<\/h3>\n
“I think perhaps the number one skill is understanding how to check your biases at the front door.”
\n– Steve Fadden, Director of Analytics UX Research at Salesforce<\/p><\/blockquote>\nSorry to disappoint you, but even if you are the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, you DO NOT represent your target audience even if you are a user of the product. The only way you will find your answer is somewhere in the real world outside, and your customers can help you find it.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes my product really solve the identified problem for my specific market?\u201d<\/p>\n
UX research focuses on understanding the user behaviour, needs, experience, and motivations. It allows you to start the production phase with a clear insight about the end user, the problems that need to be addressed, and ensures that the final solution is usable and meet the user needs and expectations.<\/p>\n
This is why it is essential to validate your ideas before starting to build or revamp your product.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.pixeltie.com.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image6.jpg\")
<\/div>\nDifferent Types of Research for Different Purposes<\/h3>\n
There are many types of research methods out there and as many ways to collect information about your users: focus group, click tests, A\/B Testing, user interviews, surveys…<\/p>\n
So how do you know which kind of research to conduct, and when or how to get the right sort of information from your target users?<\/p>\n
For now, you just need to know that there are 2 main methods with different objectives.<\/p>\n
Quantitative Research<\/strong> is used to quantify a problem. A simple example will be A\/B Testing: You upload 2 forms online with the same end goal but with a different layout and you redirect 50% of your audience to the first one and 50% to the second one. By doing that, you\u2019d have empirical data on which layout attracts more users to do a certain action so that you can take note of which works better.<\/p>\n
Qualitative Research<\/strong> is used to gain an understanding of underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations. For this one, let\u2019s use Usability Testing as an example:
\nSame project but this time you observe a group of people testing your form number 1 and try to identify any patterns in their behaviour\u2026 Then you realise that this form has a bad conversion rate because your users simply can\u2019t validate it. Indeed, you have forgotten the \u201cmandatory\u201d icon next to the email address so each time they click on \u201cSubmit\u201d without giving their email away, they can\u2019t see what went wrong and just leave the page.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.pixeltie.com.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/image3.png\")
UXdesign.cc<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u201cQuantitative research tells you WHAT your problem is.
\nQualitative research tells you WHY you have that problem.\u201d
\n– Laura Klein<\/p><\/blockquote>\nA common argument for not conducting user research is that they can be costly. This is not true and I will list a couple of low-cost methods to put you on the right path:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Ethnographic Studies:<\/a><\/strong> Go out and observe your potential users in their environment to understand the problems they are facing and gain knowledge to support design decisions later on.<\/li>\n
- Competitor Testing:<\/strong> Test your competitor\u2019s product and learn from their mistakes to avoid doing the same ones.<\/li>\n
- Five-second tests:<\/a><\/strong> Optimise the clarity of your designs by measuring their first impressions on users.<\/li>\n
- Simple Preference Testing:<\/a><\/strong> Choose between design variations by asking users which one they prefer.<\/li>\n
- Guerilla User Tests:<\/strong> Offer to buy somebody a coffee if they spend 10 minutes looking at your product. See how your users are struggling to understand what they\u2019re supposed to be doing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Just Do It<\/h3>\n
Research does not consist of asking your target what they want and developing the corresponding application. On the other hand, conducting research before design will allow you to understand what your product must be, how people will react to it and it simply works.<\/p>\n
Many managers see UX research as an overall phase that adds cost, time, and effort to the project. While it might be true on the short-term, the consequences of not applying UX research will be far more disastrous for your product and business success on the long-term.<\/p>\n
That is the simple truth – if you\u2019re doing the right sort of research at the right time, you will end up saving time and money, as well as ensuring you stay on the right path of product development.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
For further reading<\/h4>\n
- \n
- UX for Lean Startups by Laura Klein<\/a><\/li>\n
- How research should inform product design \u2013 Q&A with Steve Fadden, Director of Analytics UX Research at Salesforce<\/a><\/li>\n
- Why PMs Need Qualitative Research<\/a><\/li>\n
- The Price of Not Doing a Proper UX Research<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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- How research should inform product design \u2013 Q&A with Steve Fadden, Director of Analytics UX Research at Salesforce<\/a><\/li>\n
- Competitor Testing:<\/strong> Test your competitor\u2019s product and learn from their mistakes to avoid doing the same ones.<\/li>\n
- Ethnographic Studies:<\/a><\/strong> Go out and observe your potential users in their environment to understand the problems they are facing and gain knowledge to support design decisions later on.<\/li>\n