8 Key rules of asking questions in UX Research and beyond

Important things to consider when you are seeking valuable and reliable insights

The way you ask a question can result in very different information. It can be the difference between unlocking valuable actionable insights, or misleading points that have deviated from the truth. Having seen first hand how user react, not just my questions, but the questions of others, I now make sure that I try to follow these 8 rules when asking questions. This is easier said than done however, as thinking of questions in the moment away from a discussion guide is a skill in its own right.

1. Never ask someone what they want

This is one of the most fundamental points. If you ask users what they want you can quickly go down a path to fail. Why? Because asking someone what they want is not a true indication of their needs and goals.

For example, if you asked someone what they want to eat and they say a chocolate bar. There is so much you are missing out on and the solution they have come up with may not be the best. Assuming a chocolate bar is the best, we don’t know which brand they like, if they have any allergies or the size they are after.

If we did research which didn’t directly ask what they wanted, we may have found out that they were hungry and just craved a sugar rush. In that case would something like a watermelon be better suited to them as this will satisfy both their needs. There will be odd occasions where asking someone what they want is a route you can go down, but make sure it is the right occasion.

Another important point to remember is that when asking people what they want, answers they produced can be influenced by similar apps or products they’ve used.

For example if they are feeding back on a fitness app and they use one which has recipes, they may just replay an experience they are familiar with and not something they use.

In short, if you do ask users what they want, it can result in the participants suffering from the availability bias.

It is our role to decide what will fulfil the users needs the best through research, ideation and…