User Research Methods for UX: Part 1

Methods for UX design will wow you

Overview:

• An introduction to research methods for UX
• User research with users and without users
• User research without users

Introduction

• User research is often the first step of a UX design process. You cannot start designing a product or service before understanding what the users want.
• Once you know the best practices in user research, it will help you gain first-hand knowledge of your users to design an optimal product — the one that sells better than your competitors. So, here we go!

User Research Techniques

We do not recommend conducting user research without users. However, owing to budget and timescale constraints, it is quite common for service organizations to perform user research without involving users. The following techniques are adopted:

With Users

• Requirements Capture Workshops
• Contextual Interview
• Usability Testing

Without Users

• Stakeholder Interview
• First-click Testing
• Benchmarking
• Expert Review

User Research with Users

Requirements gathering is an important step before commencing with the design. Prioritizing needs and wants is key here. The following steps are involved:

1. Gather data from users: Do not restrict your definition of users to the actual users of your product. Instead, widen the scope to include a sample that represents each stakeholder.
2. Analyze data to understand user needs: Use statistical techniques to optimize your data into manageable chunks. This will make it easier to analyze and derive insights.
3. Convert user needs into requirements: Once you complete the steps mentioned, it is pretty straightforward to elicit requirements from the…