user experience research definition

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User Experience Research: Definition, Types, Steps, + Uses

Have you ever noticed how your favorite applications and websites appear to read your mind? How do they smoothly anticipate your wants and make you feel like a tech-savvy superhero? It isn’t magic; it is the result of User Experience Research!

UX research is a dynamic and ongoing process that is essential in developing effective and user-friendly products or services. It fills the gap between user expectations and design decisions, resulting in higher product satisfaction and better business-related results.

Continue reading to learn more about user experience research, how to do it, and how researchers may use it.

What is User Experience research?

User Experience research or UX research is defined as users’ systematic study to discover behaviors, needs, motivations, and trends through observations, analysis, and other user feedback.

UX researchers use different methods to understand problems and draw opportunities to stand out amongst their competition. Organizations conduct UX research to precisely understand how real customers react to the products or services in the real world.

Types of UX research methods

We can divide UX research into two dimensions depending on the product type, its environment, the research size, and your timelines. Let’s look at both measurements.

Quantitative vs. qualitative research

Quantitative research is the study of a population through the use of surveys and questionnaires. Quantitative research helps to generalize findings and understand what a specific population likes and dislikes. This data collection technique is generally mathematical in nature.

Qualitative research helps researchers gather information by observing users in field studies or focus groups. Qualitative research brings sense to the motivations and reasons for consumer behavior. The users are generally in small numbers belonging to diverse backgrounds and help answer the ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about consumer behavior.

LEARN ABOUT: Qualitative Research Questions and Questionnaires

Attitudinal vs. behavioral research

“Attitudinal research” applies to what users say, while “behavioral” applies to what they really do. What users and customers usually say and what they do are sometimes pretty different. Researchers often conduct attitudinal research to measure customers’ needs and beliefs.

However, researchers lean towards behavioral research for insights as data on what users tend to do is more relevant. Website A/B testing is an excellent example of behavioral research because it gives researchers critical insights into how users perceive and act on different versions of the same site.

Steps to conduct user experience research

Conducting user experience research is a structured procedure that helps discover significant insights for improving the user experience. Here are the five steps to conducting user experience research:

Step 1: Define objectives

Always define the goals of your research before you act. Understand what you want to discover about your customers and their requirements.

By defining the objectives of your study, you can set the foundation for targeted and purposeful studies. Your goals should include a thorough understanding of your clients and their individual needs. This first stage acts as a compass to ensure that your research efforts are focused on measurable outcomes.

Step 2: Set a hypothesis

Set a hypothesis on what you feel you know about the users. This hypothesis serves as a preliminary assumption, a starting point that you will test and modify during the study process. A well-crafted hypothesis helps guide your research efforts and serves as the foundation for structured inquiry.

Step 3: Choose a suitable method(s)

Choosing the best research techniques is similar to choosing the right tools for a job. The method you’ll adopt is heavily influenced by factors such as project kind, available resources, research team size, and deadlines.

Whether you use surveys, interviews, usability testing, or a combination of methodologies, the goal is to customize your options to the specific context of your research, assuring effective data collecting and insight development.

Step 4: Apply the research method(s)

Conduct research using the research method(s) you chose and start collecting user data about their preferences, likes, dislikes, and needs. Conducting user experience research involves actively engaging with your target users and collecting valuable data.

This step entails creating surveys, setting up usability testing, conducting user interviews, or deploying any other chosen methodologies. UX researchers use a number of user research methods to conduct UX research. By directly interacting with users, you gain firsthand insights into user behaviors, preferences, and pain points.

Step 5: Synthesize feedback

Compiling and synthesizing the feedback is critical as data from your research activity comes in. This involves thoroughly examining user data and discovering trends, patterns, and variations. Collect and analyze the user-feedback data to fill in your knowledge gaps. Use this knowledge to improve and enhance your offering.

You can develop and improve your offers based on actual consumer demands by using synthesized feedback as a source of insights to direct your decision-making.

Uses of User Experience Research

UX research is a comprehensive toolkit for researchers. It allows them to navigate different stages of design and development while uncovering a variety of user insights. Researchers use UX research for the following:

Discovery means understanding what the users find relevant. Researchers either interview the user in their environment or ask them to maintain a record of their daily interaction with a design. Researchers look for insights into user habits, needs, and preferences during this phase.

UX researchers may conduct interviews with users in their natural surroundings or ask them to keep a record of their everyday experiences with a specific design to do this. Researchers can better empathize with users’ experiences and discover insights that help drive the design process by immersing themselves in their reality.

Exploration involves investigating many options and solutions to meet the different requirements of customers. During this phase, researchers look at possibilities to address the needs of all users. Card sorting is one of the interactive UX research methods to understand precisely what people like and dislike.

This interaction method helps researchers better understand users’ mental models and how they expect information to be organized. By investigating these preferences, UX designers may create interfaces and structures that fit customers’ needs, resulting in more intuitive and user-friendly designs.

Usability Testing

Usability Testing is an important stage in the UX research process because it allows designs and prototypes to be thoroughly tested. Testing helps you evaluate the design process thoroughly. UX researchers evaluate the product’s usability, functionality, and overall experience.

Usability testing involves observing real users interact with a prototype, product, or service. A UX researcher can modify the design and make informed decisions to produce a more seamless user experience by identifying pain points, problems, and places of misunderstanding. Companies test products to ensure they’re easy to use and accessible to everyone.

Listening to user feedback and viewpoints is essential for getting insights and putting design issues into context. Listening assists UX researchers in putting issues in perspective. It helps them find unseen problems to fix quickly.

Surveys and Questionnaires are useful tools that help researchers track user feelings. UX researchers can frequently seek user feedback via surveys, questionnaires, and feedback sessions. This method enables researchers to measure user sentiments, identify potential problems that may not be obvious at first, and fix them as soon as possible.

Benefits of UX research

The benefits of conducting UX research are numerous, contributing to both product quality and business success. Here’s a closer look at the main benefits of incorporating UX research into your design and development processes:

Better products

Involving your potential customers directly helps you gain a lot of knowledge on what the customers prefer, what their pain points are, and what will help the overall improvement of the product.

Happy users

UX research helps you collect unbiased feedback directly from your customers – your most reliable feedback source. It is the best actionable feedback source because it is not influenced by company leaders, investors, or other outsiders.

Business growth

Understanding what your customers seek helps organizations spend less money and time correcting flawed designs. It helps to speed up the product development process and boosts customer satisfaction.

User Experience research is an ongoing process. It connects user expectations and design decisions to create seamless product experiences. It discovers user behaviors and preferences using approaches such as quantitative and qualitative research, as well as attitudinal and behavioral insights.

QuestionPro research enables you to effectively develop, distribute, and analyze surveys, acquire useful insights, and make data-driven decisions across a wide range of research areas. It speeds up the research process, increases user interaction, and ultimately helps you better understand your target audience and improve your products or services.

Looking to deliver an exceptional customer experience? Discover more about how to delight your customer at every touchpoint and turn them into brand advocates.

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What is UX Research: The Ultimate Guide for UX Researchers

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User experience research is a crucial component of the human-centered design process and an essential part of creating solutions that meet user expectations and deliver value to customers. This comprehensive guide to UX research dives into the fundamentals of research and its various methods and includes tips and best practices from leading industry experts.

Make informed design decisions with user research

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UX research: Your ultimate guide to nailing user experience and exceeding expectation

User experience research, or UX research , is the process of gathering insights about users' behaviors, needs, and pain points through observation techniques and feedback methodologies. It’s a form of user research that looks at how users interact with your product, helping bridge the gaps between what you think users need, what users say they need—and what they actually need.

The goal of UX research is to understand your users and gain context and perspectives to help make informed decisions and build user-centered products. It’s an essential part of designing, developing, and launching a product that will be an instant hit—but it should also be used throughout the product’s lifecycle post-launch to keep updated, and ensure new features are relevant to your audience.

As Sinéad Davis Cochrane , UX Manager at Workday, explains: “UX research represents insights gathered directly from users and customers, that helps you make product decisions at every stage of the development process.”

Is UX research the same as user research?

The terms ‘user research’ and ‘UX research’ are often used interchangeably, but they do differ. User research is the parent of UX research; it’s a broader research effort that aims to understand the demographics, behaviors, and sentiments of your users and personas.

UX research, on the other hand, is a type of user research that’s specific to your product or platform. Where user research focuses on the user as a whole, UX research considers how they interact with, respond to, and feel about your product or concept itself.

In both cases, the overarching goal is to get to know your users, understand what they need from your product, gain context to help make informed decisions, and build human-centered experiences.

Involve your users at every stage of your design process

Create research projects with Maze using customizable templates, and start making data-informed product decisions

Why is conducting UX research important?

In an ideal world, users would find your product easy to navigate, your net promoter score (NPS) would be off the charts, and you’d see adoption and activation rates skyrocket. In reality, however, this can be a challenging dream to achieve—but it is possible. The only way to build a product that users really resonate with is by involving them throughout the development process and building with them.

UX research is more than just a single ‘step’ in the development process: it should happen continuously, throughout the product lifecycle—so whether you’re building new products or iterating on existing ones, every decision is informed by user insights.

Here’s what you can achieve with continuous UX research:

Make informed decisions based on data

Our 2023 Continuous Research Report shows that 74% of people who do research (PWDR) believe research is crucial to guiding product decisions. Plus, 60% of respondents find that user recommendations inspire new product ideas.

Getting stakeholder buy-in to product decisions can be challenging, but when you suggest changes based on UX research, you have data to back up your suggestions. Your users inform your product, becoming the decision-makers as well as the customer.

UX research helps reduce and mitigate the risk of building the wrong thing—or building the right thing in the wrong way.

Sinéad Davis Cochrane , UX Manager at Workday

Reduce bias in the UX design process

There are hundreds of cognitive biases identified by psychologists, many of which unknowingly influence our decisions and the products we build. But a key principle of great UX design is to put aside existing beliefs, and learn from your users.

“You have to be humble, optimistic, and open-minded,” says Bertrand Berlureau , Senior Product Designer at iMSA. Using effective UX research, you can root out bias or assumptions, and follow real human behavior to inform product decisions.

According to Sinéad, you should consider these questions early in the design process:

• “What are your assumptions?”
• “What are some of the assumptions you’ve been making about your end-users and product without any evidence?”
• “What are the anecdotes or coincidental pieces of information that you hold, and how can you challenge them?”

Biases can subconsciously affect research and UX design, and it can be tricky to identify them. The first step to overcoming cognitive biases is by being aware of them. Head to chapter three of our cognitive biases guide to discover how.

Test and validate concepts

The power of UX research is that it can prove you right or wrong—but either way, you’ll end up knowing more and creating a product that provides a better user experience. For Bertrand, an idea without a test is just an idea. So, before the design process, his team starts with these user research methods:

• Face-to-face and remote user interviews
• Focus groups
• Co-creativity sessions through design sprints, quick prototyping, and hypothesis concepts
• User testing

UX research is the only way to unequivocally confirm your product is solving the right problem, in the right way. By speaking directly to real users, you can pinpoint what ideas to focus on, then validate your proposed solution, before investing too much time or money into the wrong concept.

Work on solutions that bring real value to customers

Another main benefit of UX research is that it allows product teams to mitigate risk and come up with products users want to use. “One of the main risks we need to control is whether users actually want to use a solution we've implemented,” explains Luke Vella , Group Product Manager at Maze. “UX research helps us reduce this risk, allowing us to build solutions that our customers see as valuable and make sure that they know how to unlock that value.”

Luke works on pricing and packaging, an area that requires constant user research. On one hand, he and his team want to understand which problems their users are facing and come up with plans to satisfy those different needs. On the other hand, they need to make sure they can monetize in a sustainable way to further invest in the product. You can only get this perfect balance by speaking to users to inform each step of the decision.

Market your product internally and externally

UX research also plays a crucial role in helping product marketers understand the customer and effectively communicate a product's value to the market—after all, a product can only help those who know about it.

For example, Naomi Francis , Senior Product Marketing Manager at Maze, uses different research methods to inform marketing strategy. Naomi conducts user interviews to build personas, using user research to collect insights on messaging drafts, product naming, and running surveys to gather user feedback on beta products and onboarding.

Understanding how and why customers need and use our product pushes marketing launches to the next level—you can get a steer on everything from messaging to language and approach.

Naomi Francis , Senior Product Marketing Manager at Maze

Types of UX research

All UX research methods fit into broader UX research techniques that drive different goals, and provide different types of insight. You can skip to chapter seven for a rundown of the top 9 UX research methods , or keep reading for a deep dive on the main types of UX research:

• Moderated and unmoderated
• Remote and in-person
• Generate and evaluate
• Qualitative and quantitative
• Behavioral and attitudinal

Where moderated/unmoderated and remote/in-person refer to the way research is conducted , the other types of UX research reflect the type of data they gather.

The most powerful insights come from a mixture of testing types—e.g. attitudinal and behavioral, generative and evaluative, and quantitative and qualitative. You don’t need to run all types of research at all times, but you’ll benefit from gathering multiple types of data throughout different stages of product development.

Moderated research

Moderated research is any research conducted with a facilitator or researcher present. A moderator may observe research sessions and take notes, ask questions, or provide instruction to participants where needed.

Like all research, it’s crucial a moderator doesn’t overly guide participants or influence results. Due to certain types of cognitive biases , people may behave differently while being observed, so researchers often opt for unmoderated methods to avoid results being impacted.

UX research methods for moderated research

• User interviews to speak directly with your target user face-to-face
• Focus groups to gather feedback on a variety of topics
• Moderated usability testing to hear the thought process behind the actions

Unmoderated research

As the name suggests, unmoderated research refers to the lack of a moderator. Often used in tandem with remote research , users complete tasks independently, guided by pre-written instructions.

Unmoderated research is helpful to ensure users are acting entirely of their own volition, and it has a lower cost and quicker turnaround than moderated research—however it does require efficient planning and preparation, to ensure users can navigate the tasks unaided.

UX research methods for unmoderated research

• Unmoderated usability testing to see how easily users navigate your product
• Live website testing to witness users interacting with your product in real time
• Surveys to have users answer specific questions and rate design elements

Remote research

An incredibly flexible approach, remote research is often favored due to its time-to-results and cost savings. Remote research can be moderated or unmoderated, and is conducted using UX research tools which record user behavior, feedback, and screen recordings.

Another key benefit is its reach and accessibility—by moving research to a virtual platform, you can access users from anywhere in the world, and ensure research is inclusive of those with different abilities or requirements, who may otherwise be unable to take part in traditional in-person research.

UX research methods for remote research

• Usability testing to evaluate how accessible your product is
• Card sorting to understand how users categorize and group topics
• Concept testing to assess what ideas users are drawn to
• Wireframe or prototype testing to invite users to test a rough version of the design

In-person research

Research conducted in-person is typically more expensive, as it may require travel, accommodation, or equipment. Many traditionally in-person research methods can easily be performed remotely, so in-person research is often reserved for if there’s additional needs for accessibility, or if your product requires physical testing, safety considerations or supervision while being tested.

UX research methods for in-person research

• Guerrilla research to speak to random users and gather feedback
• User interviews to connect with users and read body language
• Field studies to gauge how your product fits into a real world environment

Generative research

Generative research provides a deep understanding of your target audience’s motivations, challenges, and behaviors. Broadly speaking, it pinpoints a problem statement, identifies the problem to be solved, and collects enough data to move forward.

It should happen before you even begin designing, as it helps you identify what to build, the types of problems your user is facing, and how you can solve them with your product or service.

UX research methods for generative research

• Field studies to get familiar with users in their authentic environment
• User interviews to ask open-ended questions about pain points
• Diary research to keep a log of users’ behaviors, activities, and beliefs over time
• Open card sorting to have users define and name their own categories

Evaluative research

Evaluative research focuses on evaluating a product or concept in order to collect data that will improve the solution. Evaluative research usually happens early on and is used in a continuous, iterative way throughout the design process and following launch. You can use this type of UX research to assess an idea, check navigation, or see if your prototype meets your user’s needs.

UX research methods for evaluative research

• Usability testing to see if your platform is easy and intuitive to use
• A/B testing two versions of a design to see which one works best
• Tree testing to assess if your website’s information architecture (IA) makes sense
• Five-second tests to collect first impressions

Behavioral research

This type of research refers to observation—it’s human nature that sometimes what we say, or what we think we’ll do doesn’t match up to what we actually do in a situation. Behavioral research is about observing how users interact with your product or how they behave in certain situations, without any intervention.

UX research methods for behavioral research

• Observation in labs or real environments to witness behavior in real time
• Tree testing to view which paths users take on a website
• Diary research to see how users interact with your product in real life

Attitudinal research

Attitudinal research is the companion to behavioral research—it’s about what people say, and how they feel. In attitudinal research, you ask users to share their own experiences and opinions; this may be about your product, a concept, or specific design element. With a mix of attitudinal and behavioral research, you can get a broader picture of what your user truly needs.

UX research methods for attitudinal research

• Focus groups to understand users’ perspectives on your product
• User interviews to ask people questions about your product directly
• Surveys to gather insights on user preferences and opinions

Quantitative research

Quantitative and qualitative research methods are two types of research that can be used in unison or separately. Quantitative research comes from data and statistics, and results in numerical data.

It allows you to identify patterns, make predictions, and generalize findings about a target audience or topic. “[At iMSA] We analyze a lot of metrics and specific data like traffic analytics, chatbot feedback, user surveys, user testing, etc. to make decisions,” explains Bertrand. “The convergence of all the data, our user’s needs, governs the choices we make.”

Types of quantitative results you can find through UX research include:

• Time spent on tasks
• Net promoter score (NPS)
• System usability score (SUS)
• Number of clicks taken to complete a task
• Preference percentage on A/B tests

UX research methods for quantitative research

• A/B testing to see which option your users likes best
• Tree testing to get data on which paths users follow on your website
• Usability testing to get a score on system usability
• Heatmaps to spot where users spend most of their session time

Qualitative research

Qualitative research is about understanding the why behind the data. It comes from comments, opinions, and observations—this type of research answers why and how users think or act in a certain way. Qualitative data helps you understand the underlying motivations, thoughts, and attitudes of target users. For this reason, attitudinal research is often qualitative (though not always).

UX research methods for qualitative research

• Interviews to discover your users’ motivations and frustrations
• Open question surveys to learn users’ pain points in their own words
• Focus groups to observe users’ interacting with your product
• Think aloud usability tests to hear commentary behind each user decision

💡 Product tip:

Maze allows you to record your participants' screen, audio, and video with Clips, so you can collect qualitative and quantitative insights simultaneously.

When should you conduct UX research?

The truth is, you should always be researching. When NASA wants to send a new shuttle into space, they don't build a rocket and launch it right away. They develop a design, test it in simulations and lab environments, and iterate between each stage. Only once they’ve run all the foreseeable scenarios do they put a person on the ship. Why should your product be any different?

With an overwhelming 83% of product professionals surveyed in our 2023 Continuous Research Report believing research should happen at all stages, it’s surprising that just 36% run tests after launch. While time and budget can make continuous research a challenge, testing at different stages gives you access to unique insights about your users and how they interact with your product.

That being said, if you can only afford to research a few times throughout the development process , here are some key moments to focus on:

Before developing the product

This is when you need to conduct the most extensive and detailed part of your research. During this phase, you’ll want to conduct generative research to get to know exactly:

• Who your user is
• The types of problems they’re facing (and what kind of product they want to solve them)
• What their expectations on a product or service like yours are
• What they like or dislike about your competitors
• Where they currently go to solve the mentioned problems
• What needs to happen for them to change companies (if they’re using a different product)

You can use a variety of UX research methods like focus groups and surveys to gather insights during this stage.

Remember: This step applies even if your product is already live, if you’re thinking of introducing a new feature. Validate your idea and investigate potential alternatives before you spend time and money developing and designing new functionality.

When you want to validate your decisions

This is the point where you’ll run through a few cycles of researching, building, and iterating, before launching your product. The Maze Product team does this through continuous product discovery, via a dual-track habit:

Conduct research regularly while developing and building your product to see if you’re headed in the right direction. Let the research findings feed your deliverables.

Gather qualitative insights on user sentiment through surveys or focus groups. Test your wireframe or sketches to get quantitative answers in the form of clicks, heatmaps, or SUS. Use card sorting to generate ideas, tree testing to assess IA, or prototype testing to assess the usability of a beta version. The options are endless, so there’s no reason to miss maximizing your research at this stage and gather insights to power product decisions.

To evaluate product accessibility

Your product will be used by a multitude of diverse, unique users. Your research participants should be representative of your real audience, which means including all usage scenarios and user personas. Usability testing is one form of UX research that can be used here to ensure your product works for all its users, regardless of ability or need.

There are many ways to ensure your design is inclusive and accessible , including:

• Testing alt-texts, screen-reading capabilities, and color combinations
• Avoiding screen flashes or sudden pop-ups that may be triggering for certain conditions
• Being intentional in what language and imagery is used

Once your product is live

Research doesn’t end once you push your platform to production. Conduct Live Website Testing to evaluate how well your product is meeting your users' expectations and needs. This type of research invites you to answer the question: did we nail it?

Testing your live website also allows you to see how your users interact with your design in a real environment, so you can identify and solve mistakes fast. Pay close attention to loading times, error messages, and other quantitative data that may indicate bugs. You can also conduct regular sentiment checks by embedding feedback surveys into your product itself, to assess user satisfaction and NPS in a few clicks.

TL;DR: Why, how, and when to conduct UX research

The more you understand your customers, the better you can create products that meet expectations, tailor your strategy to their specific needs, and increase your chances for success. Plus, UX research allows you to create unbiased products that put your customers at the center of your business.

To conduct UX research, you’ll need to mix the stage of your product lifecycle with the right research type and methods. Meaning, while you need to conduct UX research continuously, you should look for different types of insights depending on the development stage you’re at and what your current objective is.

For example, if you want to test your live product, you should conduct a mix of quantitative and qualitative evaluative research. That means you might want to perform:

• Usability tests
• Feedback surveys
• Five-second tests
• Prototype testing

Now we’ve covered the what and why of UX research, let’s get into the how. Continue to the next chapter to learn how to create a UX research strategy that blows your competitors away.

Frequently asked questions

What are some examples of UX research?

Some examples of UX research include:

• A/B testing
• Prototype or wireframe testing
• Card sorting
• User interviews
• Tree testing
• 5-second testing
• Usability testing

What are the basics of UX research?

The basics of UX research are simple: you just need a clear goal in mind and a mix of quantitative and qualitative tests. Then, it's a case of:

• Determining the right testing methods
• Testing on an audience that’s an accurate representation of your real users
• Doing continuous product discovery
• Performing unbiased research to build an unbiased design
• Iterating and building user-centric products

UX research gets easier when you use a product discovery platform like Maze. This tool allows you to run multiple types of product research such as usability, prototype, card sorting, and wireframe tests—and get answers within hours.

Is UX research hard?

UX research isn’t hard, especially when you use an intuitive tool for product discovery—like Maze. Maze allows you to build tests using its multiple available templates. It also lets you bring your own users or recruit from its panel and creates an automated, ready-to-share metrics report. Maze gives you answers to tests within hours so you can improve your UX based on real user feedback fast.

Building a UX research strategy

• Usability testing

Run remote usability tests on any digital product to deep dive into your key user flows

• Product analytics

Learn how users are behaving on your website in real time and uncover points of frustration

• Research repository

A tool for collaborative analysis of qualitative data and for building your research repository and database.

• Trymata Blog

How-to articles, expert tips, and the latest news in user testing & user experience

• Knowledge Hub

Detailed explainers of Trymata’s features & plans, and UX research terms & topics

• Plans & Pricing

Get paid to test

• User Experience (UX) testing
• User Interface (UI) testing
• Ecommerce testing
• Remote usability testing
• Plans & Pricing
• Customer Stories

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Conduct user testing, desktop usability video.

You’re on a business trip in Oakland, CA. You've been working late in downtown and now you're looking for a place nearby to grab a late dinner. You decided to check Zomato to try and find somewhere to eat. (Don't begin searching yet).

• Look around on the home page. Does anything seem interesting to you?
• How would you go about finding a place to eat near you in Downtown Oakland? You want something kind of quick, open late, not too expensive, and with a good rating.
• What do the reviews say about the restaurant you've chosen?
• What was the most important factor for you in choosing this spot?
• You're currently close to the 19th St Bart station, and it's 9PM. How would you get to this restaurant? Do you think you'll be able to make it before closing time?
• Your friend recommended you to check out a place called Belly while you're in Oakland. Try to find where it is, when it's open, and what kind of food options they have.
• Now go to any restaurant's page and try to leave a review (don't actually submit it).

What was the worst thing about your experience?

It was hard to find the bart station. The collections not being able to be sorted was a bit of a bummer

What other aspects of the experience could be improved?

Feedback from the owners would be nice

What did you like about the website?

The flow was good, lots of bright photos

What other comments do you have for the owner of the website?

I like that you can sort by what you are looking for and i like the idea of collections

You're going on a vacation to Italy next month, and you want to learn some basic Italian for getting around while there. You decided to try Duolingo.

• Please begin by downloading the app to your device.
• Choose Italian and get started with the first lesson (stop once you reach the first question).
• Now go all the way through the rest of the first lesson, describing your thoughts as you go.
• Get your profile set up, then view your account page. What information and options are there? Do you feel that these are useful? Why or why not?
• After a week in Italy, you're going to spend a few days in Austria. How would you take German lessons on Duolingo?
• What other languages does the app offer? Do any of them interest you?

I felt like there could have been a little more of an instructional component to the lesson.

It would be cool if there were some feature that could allow two learners studying the same language to take lessons together. I imagine that their screens would be synced and they could go through lessons together and chat along the way.

Overall, the app was very intuitive to use and visually appealing. I also liked the option to connect with others.

Overall, the app seemed very helpful and easy to use. I feel like it makes learning a new language fun and almost like a game. It would be nice, however, if it contained more of an instructional portion.

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What is User Experience (UX) Research? Definition, Methods, Process and Examples

What is User Experience (UX) Research?

User experience (UX) research is defined as the systematic process of studying and analyzing user behaviors, attitudes, needs, and preferences when interacting with digital products, websites, applications, or any other user interfaces. 

The primary objective of UX research is to gain deep insights into users’ experiences and perspectives to inform the design, development, and improvement of user-centered and intuitive experiences. It informs and guides the design of the digital products and drives improvements of user experiences. 

UX research is conducted to gain a deep understanding of the target audience and to ensure that the final product is user-centered and aligned with user goals.

Here are the key elements of UX research:

• User-Centered Approach: UX research puts users at the center of the design process. It aims to understand their perspective, challenges, and aspirations to create products that meet their needs.
• Diverse Methods: UX researchers employ various research methods, both qualitative and quantitative, to collect data and insights. Common methods include user interviews, surveys, usability testing, user observation, card sorting, and analytics analysis.
• User Persona Mapping: One of the outcomes of UX research is the creation of user personas . These are fictional representations of different user segments, each with distinct characteristics and goals. Personas help design teams empathize with and design for specific user groups.
• Contextual Inquiry: Researchers often conduct contextual inquiries to observe users in their natural environments, which provides valuable insights into their workflows and challenges.
• Usability Testing: Usability testing involves having real users perform tasks with a prototype or the actual product. Researchers observe users’ interactions, noting areas of difficulty and success.
• User Feedback: User feedback , typically using qualitative research methods , that can be used to collect a broad perspective in the form of qualitative data from your user base. Quantitative surveys can also help gather additional user feedback on preferences, satisfaction, and demographic information.
• Information Architecture: UX research includes activities related to information architecture, such as card sorting and tree testing, to ensure that content is organized in a way that users can easily find what they need.
• Competitive Analysis: Researchers analyze competitors’ products and user experience designs to identify best practices, gaps, and opportunities for improvement.
• Iterative Process: UX research is an ongoing and iterative process. Findings from one round of research inform design changes, which are then tested and refined in subsequent rounds.
• Data Analysis and Reporting: Research findings are analyzed, synthesized, and documented in reports. These reports include actionable insights and recommendations for design and development teams.

Key Benefits of UX Research

User experience (UX) research offers numerous benefits for businesses and organizations looking to create effective digital products and services. Here are some of the key advantages of conducting UX research:

• User-Centered Design: UX research ensures that the design process is grounded in user needs and behaviors rather than assumptions. It leads to products that are tailored to the preferences and goals of the target audience.
• Improved Usability: By identifying usability issues and pain points, UX research helps in making products more user-friendly and intuitive. This leads to higher user satisfaction and lower frustration levels.
• Enhanced User Satisfaction: When users’ needs are met, and they find the product easy and enjoyable to use, it results in increased user satisfaction and positive word-of-mouth recommendations.
• Reduced Development Costs: Identifying and addressing usability issues early in the design process is more cost-effective than making changes after development is complete. UX research helps prevent costly redesigns.
• Informed Decision-Making: UX research provides data-driven insights that guide design decisions. It reduces the risk of making design changes based solely on intuition or assumptions.
• Competitive Advantage: Companies that invest in UX research often produce products that outperform competitors in terms of user experience. A superior user experience can be a significant competitive advantage.
• Higher Conversion Rates: Optimizing the user experience through research can lead to increased conversion rates, whether it’s signing up for a service, making a purchase, or completing a desired action.
• Reduced User Support and Training: A well-designed user experience reduces the need for extensive user support and training, saving time and resources for both users and the organization.
• Alignment with User Expectations: UX research helps ensure that the product aligns with user expectations, reducing the likelihood of users abandoning the product due to frustration or confusion.
• Continuous Improvement: UX research is an iterative process. It allows organizations to continually gather feedback and make incremental improvements to their products, ensuring that they remain competitive and relevant in the long term.
• Positive Brand Perception: Products that provide a seamless and enjoyable user experience contribute to a positive brand perception. Users are more likely to have trust and loyalty toward brands that prioritize their needs.
• Risk Mitigation: UX research can help identify potential issues and user concerns early in the development process, reducing the risk of product failure or negative user reviews.

UX research is a valuable investment that can lead to better-designed products, increased user satisfaction, and improved business outcomes. It promotes a user-centric approach to design and development, ultimately benefiting both users and organizations.

Potential Challenges of UX Research

While user experience (UX) research offers significant benefits, it can also involve potential challenges that UX researchers should be aware of: 

• Resource Constraints: Limited budgets, time, and access to users can constrain the extent and depth of UX research activities. Researchers may need to balance the need for comprehensive research with available resources.
• Recruiting Participants: Finding and recruiting suitable participants for user testing or interviews can be challenging. It may be difficult to identify and reach individuals who represent the target audience accurately.
• Biased Samples: The participants selected for research may not always be fully representative of the diverse user base. This can lead to biased findings and less generalizable results.
• User Availability: Users may have busy schedules or limited availability for research sessions, making it challenging to schedule interviews or usability tests at convenient times.
• Access to Sensitive Data: In some cases, UX research may involve collecting sensitive user data. Ensuring privacy and data security while conducting research can be a complex ethical and legal challenge.
• Limited Objectivity: Researchers can unintentionally introduce bias into their studies through their own expectations, assumptions, or interpretations of user behavior. Maintaining objectivity is a constant challenge.
• Recruitment Bias: When recruiting participants, researchers may unintentionally favor individuals who are more tech-savvy or have a higher comfort level with digital products, potentially excluding less experienced users.
• Small Sample Size: Small sample sizes can limit the statistical significance of research findings. Researchers must carefully interpret results and consider potential outliers.
• Contextual Factors: User behavior can vary based on factors such as location, device, or context of use. Capturing the full range of user experiences across different contexts can be challenging.
• Interpreting Qualitative Data: Analyzing qualitative data , such as interview transcripts or open-ended survey responses, requires skill and experience, especially since interpreting user feedback accurately can be subjective.
• Time Pressure: Tight development timelines may not align with the ideal timing for conducting thorough UX research. Rushed research can lead to incomplete or less insightful results.
• Stakeholder Resistance: Some organizations may resist UX research findings that challenge existing beliefs or require design changes. Managing internal resistance to research outcomes can be difficult.
• Communication and Documentation: Effectively communicating research findings and their implications to non-research stakeholders, such as designers and developers, can be challenging. Ensuring that insights are acted upon is essential.
• Remote Research: Conducting remote usability testing , especially in the context of global user bases, can introduce challenges related to language barriers, time zones, and cultural differences.
• Maintaining User Engagement: Keeping participants engaged during lengthy research sessions or studies can be difficult. User fatigue or disinterest can impact the quality of data collected.

UX researchers must navigate these challenges to conduct effective research and provide valuable insights to inform design decisions. Addressing these issues often involves a combination of careful planning, creative problem-solving, and ongoing collaboration with cross-functional teams.

User Experience (UX) Research Methods

User experience (UX) research involves various methods and techniques to understand users, their behaviors, preferences, and interactions with a product or service. These methods provide valuable insights to design and optimize the user experience. 

Here are the key UX research methods:

• User Interviews: This method involves c onducting one-on-one user interviews with users to understand their goals, motivations, and pain points. These can be structured or unstructured interviews, depending on the research objectives.
• Surveys and Questionnaires: It uses  surveys to collect quantitative data from a larger sample of users. Surveys can help gather insights into user demographics, preferences, and overall satisfaction.
• Usability Testing: Usability testing is used to identify app/ website usability issues. This method is used by observing test users’ ease of interaction with a website, application, mobile app, digital product or prototype, and identify areas of improvement based on this observation and analysis.
• Contextual Inquiry: This method c onducts on-site visits to observe users in their natural environment. It provides insights into real-world usage of products and observing workflows.
• Card Sorting: It involves a sking users to categorize and organize information or features into groups. This helps in designing an intuitive information architecture.
• Heuristic Evaluation: Here, e xpert evaluators assess a product’s interface based on a set of usability principles (heuristics) to identify usability problems.
• A/B Testing: A/B testing p resent users with two different versions (A and B) of a webpage or interface. Measure and compare the performance of each version to determine the more effective design.
• Eye Tracking: It u ses specialized equipment to track and record where users look on a screen. This helps in understanding visual attention and design element effectiveness.
• Remote Usability Testing: Remote usability testing involves c onduct usability tests with participants who ard located remotely in geographic locations other than where the researchers live. It uses screen-sharing and video conferencing tools to observe and interact with users.
• Prototype Testing: This method involves g athering user feedback on interactive prototypes to validate design concepts and functionality before final development.
• Field Studies: This involves c onducting research in the actual environment where users would typically use the product. This helps in understanding real-world behaviors and challenges.
• Cognitive Walkthrough: This method is used to a nalyze a product from a user’s perspective to identify potential issues in task completion and overall usability.
• Tree Testing: Tree testing e valuates the navigation and information structure of a website by having users complete tasks based on a provided tree diagrams.
• Diary Studies: This involves h aving users record their interactions, thoughts, and experiences over a period, providing longitudinal insights into usage patterns and challenges.
• Persona Development: This method involves c reating detailed and semi-fictional characters that represent different user segments. User personas help in understanding and designing for specific user needs.
• Benchmarking: Compare a product’s performance and user experience against industry standards or competitors to identify strengths and weaknesses.
• Multivariate Testing: Test multiple variables simultaneously to determine their individual impact on user behavior and overall product performance.
• First Click Testing: Evaluate the effectiveness of the first click users make when navigating a website. It helps in assessing the clarity of navigation labels and options.

Choosing the appropriate UX research methods depends on the project goals, target audience, available resources, and the specific insights needed to inform the design and development process. Often, a combination of these methods is employed to comprehensively understand the user experience.

UX Research Process: Key Steps

The User experience (UX) research process typically involves several steps to gather insights about users and their interactions with a product or service. Here’s a general overview of the UX research process in sequential steps:

1. Define Research Objectives: Defining the user experience research objectives, which means listing out the specific insights are you seeking to gain from the research. This can be user attitude towards a specific web page, user comfort in using an application’s UI to get to the actual use that users are expecting to get out of using that app, user experience watching a video or digital ad etc.

2. Identify Target Audience: Determine the user groups or personas that you want to study. Understanding your target audience is crucial for selecting appropriate research methods.

3. Select Research Methods: Choose the research methods and techniques that are best suited to achieve your objectives. This may include methods like interviews, usability testing, surveys, or a combination of approaches.

4. Create Research Plan: Develop a detailed research plan that outlines the scope, timeline, and logistics of the research. Include information about participant recruitment, data collection, and analysis.

5. Recruit Participants: If you are conducting user interviews, usability tests, or surveys, recruit participants who represent your target audience. Ensure a diverse and representative sample.

6. Conduct Research: Carry out the research activities according to your plan. This may involve conducting interviews, observing users, administering surveys, or running usability tests.

7. Collect Data: Gather data during the research process. This includes audio or video recordings, survey responses, observational notes, and any other relevant data sources.

8. Analyze Data: Analyze the collected data to identify patterns, themes, and insights. Use data analysis techniques appropriate for the research method employed.

9. Generate Insights: Based on your data analysis, generate actionable insights that address the research objectives. These insights should provide answers to your initial research questions.

10. Create Personas and Journey Maps: If applicable, develop user personas based on your research findings. Create journey maps to visualize the user’s experience throughout their interactions with the product.

11. Report Findings: Prepare a comprehensive report or presentation that communicates the research findings, insights, and recommendations. Use visuals, quotes, and data to support your findings.

12. Share with Stakeholders: Present the research findings to relevant stakeholders, including designers, developers, product managers, and decision-makers. Engage in discussions about how to incorporate the insights into the design and development process.

13. Iterate and Implement Changes: Collaborate with the design and development teams to incorporate the research insights into the product. Make iterative design changes and improvements based on user feedback.

14. Verification testing: Conduct additional rounds of research and testing to verify and validate design changes and ensure that the new user experience aligns with user expectations and goals.

15. Monitor and Evaluate: Continuously monitor and evaluate the product’s performance in the real world. Gather feedback post-launch and use it to inform further improvements.

16. Document the Process: Keep a record of the research process, including research plans, data collection, analysis, and reports. Documentation aids in maintaining consistency and learning from past research.

17. Repeat as Needed: UX research is an iterative process. As the product evolves or new questions arise, repeat the research process to gather fresh insights and refine the user experience.

Interested in learning more about the fields of product, research, and design? Search our articles here for helpful information spanning a wide range of topics!

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UX research

• Linda Rosencrance

What is UX research?

User experience (UX) research is the study of learning what end users of a system or product need and want, then employing those insights to enhance the design process for products, services or software.

UX research can take different forms depending on the area of focus. For example, for product teams, UX research could mean validating concepts and prototypes. For marketing teams, it might mean testing brand designs and messaging before launching products.

When conducting UX research, researchers study the motivations, behaviors and needs of users by analyzing how they perform certain tasks. UX research can also approach testing by working directly with users, remotely observing users using digital tools or conducting surveys to collect user feedback.

UX research methods and approaches

Like many types of research, studies on UX behaviors embody a number of different approaches to testing, data aggregation and garnering information. This involves both quantitative and qualitative methods.

Using quantitative research methods, UX researchers test proposed hypotheses about users' behaviors and attitudes based on a system of numerical and statistical evidence. Quantitative methods uncover, for instance, what percentage of people can successfully find a button on a page or how many users clicked on a particular link.

Meanwhile, qualitative UX research focuses on understanding why users behave the way they do or their reasons for wanting things to work a certain way. Qualitative research can be done via observations, field studies, moderated usability tests and user interviews. This research aims to comprehend the human side of data by trying to understand the underlying reasons and motivations that cause consumers to act the way they do.

While not an exhaustive list, here are some of the most prominent forms of UX research in use today:

• Card sorting. A technique that assesses and designs the navigation and structure of an application or website by giving individuals a list of related items (for example, a sample inventory listing for an online supermarket) and asking them to group the items in a way that makes the most logical sense to them.
• Contextual interviews. Monitored sessions where UX researchers observe users in their natural environments and ask questions to gain firsthand accounts of their experiences.
• Focus groups. A moderated feedback approach where a panel of users are asked to discuss their experiences among themselves, either in moderated or open formats, to help researchers learn more about the group's attitudes, ideas and wants.
• Expert reviews. Accredited and verified evaluations of a website against a list of established industry standards or other governing guidelines.
• Surveys. A selected series of questions posed to a number of users that help researchers learn about the individuals who use the end product.
• Usability testing. An evaluation technique that attempts to uncover the problems and frustrations users have with a site through one-on-one sessions where users perform tasks using a particular software application or other product.
• A/B testing. An assessment technique where users take part in blind studies that randomly assign those users to different versions of a website, application or other software product.

What are the benefits of UX research?

UX research helps organizations in many ways, but the following are some of the oft-cited benefits of performing UX research on a regular basis:

• Understand how users experience websites, mobile applications, products and prototypes.
• Evaluate and improve ideas and prototypes based on the findings of the UX research, enabling organizations to make the right design decisions early in the development process.
• Discover new customer needs and business opportunities.
• Find and fix flaws in products and services.
• Provide better user experiences than competitors.
• Understand every user interaction across the entire customer journey .
• Develop a more useful picture of the target audience for better advertising and marketing.

UX researcher role and responsibilities

The role of a UX researcher is to uncover user behaviors, needs and motivations to make products, services and websites more intuitive and enjoyable for users. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, they conduct comprehensive research and share the insights from research with the UX designers. The goal of the UX researcher is to make the overall design process smoother and more productive.

Some typical responsibilities of the UX researcher include:

• Create a well-crafted research plan with clear objectives.
• Build a picture of the target users based on their needs, wants, motivations and challenges.
• Write usability research screener questionnaires and discussion guides.
• Recruit targeted users for specific research studies.
• Moderate one-on-one usability sessions.
• Develop and implement quantitative surveys.
• Conduct client and stakeholder interviews.
• Provide actionable and meaningful recommendations for the product team.
• Present findings of the design research to a larger team clearly and in an organized manner.
• Work closely with the product team to identify research goals.
• Establish and implement an overall research strategy.

Best practices to conduct UX research

The following are some of the most important considerations to keep in mind when implementing a UX research initiative:

• Understand the needs and behaviors of users. This is key to building a product people want to use. Employ qualitative research, including studies and one-on-one interviews, to understand users' behaviors and desires.
• Pay attention to the differences in user behavior. After moving to the quantitative stage of measuring user behavior, don't just focus on the behaviors of the majority because not every user behaves the same way. Ask what you can learn from the behavior of the minority. Be open to every possibility, even if the findings don't align with the initial assumptions.
• Do UX research at every stage of a project. Although it may be best to conduct most research at the beginning to ensure the project is on track, it's also important to save some resources and budget to also conduct research later in the project.
• Conduct usability testing during the refinement and iteration phase. This will help provide an indication of what features should be added and what needs to be fixed by revealing how users interact with early versions of the product.
• Communicate the findings of usability tests, studies, quantitative and qualitative research, and user interviews with the developers working on the product. UX researchers should translate their users' needs into the technical language that the developers and the product team will understand.

How to become a UX researcher

While there are many paths to become a UX researcher, most job postings suggest that those interested in the career should possess the following certifications and skills:

• A bachelor's degree in computer science, psychology, marketing or another related field.
• Experience conducting user research using qualitative and user-centered design methodologies.
• In-depth understanding of user interface design.
• Working knowledge of behavioral analysis , quantitative methodology and statistics.
• General problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
• Good teamwork, communication and collaboration skills.
• Strong organization and time management skills.

Continue Reading About UX research

• The psychology of UX design: How design affects CX
• 4 UX analysis methods that ensure optimal user experiences
• What can urban sprawl teach us about UX design issues?
• UX guidelines for people-friendly software
• Why you need a UX researcher on your product team

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What is UX Research: A Gateway to Enhanced User Experiences

UX (User Experience) research stands as a critical pillar in the journey towards creating intuitive and meaningful user experiences. By systematically studying target users and their requirements, UX research empowers designers and developers with invaluable insights, paving the way for user-centered design solutions. This comprehensive guide delves into the various facets of UX research, from its foundational principles to the latest trends shaping the future of user experience design.

Introduction to UX Research

UX research encompasses a broad spectrum of investigative methods used to add context and insight into the design process. At its core, it aims to understand the behaviors, needs, and motivations of users through observation techniques, task analysis, and other feedback methodologies. The significance of UX research cannot be overstated; it is the compass that guides the design process, ensuring that the end product resonates with users and meets their expectations in a profound way.

Definition and Scope of UX Research

UX research encompasses systematic investigation methods to understand users’ behaviors, needs, and motivations in relation to products and services. It bridges the gap between real-world user experiences and design decisions, integrating scientific inquiry into the design process. By employing a variety of research methodologies, UX researchers gather data that informs and validates design strategies, ensuring that products are not only functional but also meaningful and accessible to users. This field is vast, covering everything from usability testing and interviews to analytics and field studies, providing a comprehensive understanding of the user experience.

The Importance of UX Research in Design

UX research is pivotal in design for its role in grounding design decisions in real user data, thereby enhancing the relevance and usability of products. It prevents assumptions about user behavior, replacing guesswork with evidence-based insights. This importance is reflected in the creation of designs that truly meet user needs, leading to improved satisfaction, loyalty, and engagement. Furthermore, UX research helps identify and solve usability issues before they become costly to address post-launch, making it an essential investment for any user-centered project.

Types of UX Research Methods

Understanding the different types of UX research methods is crucial for selecting the most appropriate strategy to gain insights into user behavior and preferences. Qualitative methods focus on understanding the ‘why’ behind user actions, while quantitative research provides measurable data to support design decisions. This segment explores the diverse range of UX research techniques, each offering unique advantages in deciphering the user experience puzzle.

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research

Qualitative research focuses on understanding the ‘why’ behind user behaviors, providing depth and context through methods like interviews, focus groups, and ethnography. It yields rich insights into users’ attitudes, feelings, and experiences. Quantitative research, on the other hand, gathers numerical data through surveys, analytics, and structured experiments to quantify behaviors, preferences, and patterns. Both approaches offer unique insights and, when used together, provide a holistic understanding of user experiences, guiding more effective design solutions.

Common UX Research Techniques

Common UX research techniques include usability testing, where users interact with a product to identify design improvements; surveys and questionnaires, which collect feedback from a large audience; interviews, offering deep dives into individual experiences; and observational studies, observing users in their natural environment. Other techniques like card sorting and tree testing help understand information architecture preferences. Each method serves distinct purposes, from exploring new ideas with qualitative insights to validating hypotheses with quantitative data.

Planning Your UX Research

Planning your UX research is a strategic phase that lays the groundwork for successful user studies. It involves defining clear objectives, identifying key questions, and determining the most effective research methods to employ. Proper planning ensures that the research conducted is focused, actionable, and aligned with the overall goals of the design project. This section outlines the steps necessary to devise a comprehensive UX research plan.

Setting Objectives and Goals

Setting clear objectives and goals is crucial in UX research to ensure the investigation is focused and actionable. Objectives define what the research aims to discover or understand about the user experience, aligning with broader project goals. Goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART), providing a clear direction for the research activities. This clarity helps in choosing the appropriate research methods and ensures that the findings can directly inform design decisions, ultimately leading to enhanced user satisfaction and project success.

Choosing the Right UX Research Method

Choosing the right UX research method involves aligning the research objectives with the strengths and limitations of each method. Factors to consider include the stage of the design process, the nature of the questions being asked, and the available resources. Early-stage projects might benefit from exploratory qualitative methods to generate ideas, while later stages may require quantitative methods to validate designs. Balancing the depth of insight with the breadth of data, time constraints, and budget considerations is key to selecting the most effective research approach.

Conducting UX Research

Conducting UX research is a dynamic and iterative process, involving direct interaction with users and the systematic collection of data. Best practices in conducting research emphasize the importance of empathy, open communication, and flexibility. Additionally, leveraging the right tools and resources can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the research process. This part of the guide discusses how to execute UX research to gather meaningful user insights.

Analyzing UX Research Data

Analyzing UX research data is a critical step in transforming raw data into actionable insights. It requires a combination of analytical skills and creative thinking to interpret findings and understand their implications for design. Techniques for data analysis vary widely, from statistical analysis for quantitative data to thematic analysis for qualitative insights. This section explores how to approach UX research data analysis to uncover deep user insights.

Techniques for Data Analysis

Data analysis in UX research involves systematically examining the data collected to identify patterns, trends, and insights. Qualitative data from interviews or focus groups might be analyzed through thematic analysis, identifying common themes and narratives. Quantitative data from surveys or analytics requires statistical analysis to quantify user behaviors and preferences. Triangulation, or using multiple data sources and methods, enhances the reliability and validity of the research findings. The goal is to transform raw data into actionable insights that inform design decisions.

Drawing Insights from User Data

Drawing insights from user data involves interpreting the findings from UX research to inform design strategies. This requires a deep understanding of both the data and the user, looking beyond the obvious to uncover underlying needs and motivations. Insights should be actionable, directly linking to design improvements or innovations. Visualizing data through charts, graphs, and user journey maps can help stakeholders understand and empathize with users’ experiences. The ultimate goal is to translate these insights into design solutions that enhance the user experience.

Applying UX Research Findings

Applying UX research findings is where the research process comes full circle, translating insights into design strategies that enhance the user experience. This involves integrating user feedback into the design process, making informed decisions, and iterating on design solutions. Through real-world case studies, this segment illustrates the powerful impact of applying UX research findings on the success of design projects.

From Insights to Design Strategies

Translating insights into design strategies involves using the findings from UX research to guide the design process. Insights should inform priorities, highlight areas for innovation, and address user needs and pain points. This translation requires collaboration between researchers, designers, and stakeholders to ensure that the insights are integrated into the design effectively. Strategies might include redesigning user flows, enhancing features, or introducing new functionalities. The key is to maintain a user-centered focus, ensuring that research insights lead to meaningful improvements in the user experience.

Case Studies: Successful Application of UX Research

Case studies of successful UX research applications showcase the tangible benefits of integrating research findings into the design process. These examples highlight how companies have used insights from user research to drive design innovations, solve usability issues, and improve customer satisfaction. From global tech giants to small startups, these case studies demonstrate the diverse ways in which UX research can impact product success. Analyzing these examples provides valuable lessons and inspiration for applying UX research in various contexts.

Future Trends in UX Research

The future of UX research is marked by the rapid evolution of tools, technologies, and methodologies. Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality are opening new avenues for understanding and designing user experiences. Additionally, the role of UX research in the design process continues to expand, emphasizing the importance of a data-driven approach to design. This final section explores the exciting trends and future directions in UX research, highlighting its growing significance in creating user-centric designs.

Emerging Tools and Technologies

The future of UX research is being shaped by emerging tools and technologies that offer new ways to gather and analyze user data. Advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning algorithms provide deeper insights into user behavior. Virtual and augmented reality tools offer immersive ways to conduct usability testing. Remote research tools and platforms facilitate studies with a wider, more diverse user base. Staying current with these advancements allows UX researchers to harness new opportunities and refine their methods for even more effective user research.

The Evolving Role of UX Research in Design

The role of UX research in design is evolving to become more integral and strategic. As businesses recognize the value of user-centered design, UX research is increasingly seen as essential for informing product strategy and driving innovation. This evolution reflects a broader shift towards empathy and understanding in the design process, with researchers playing a key role in advocating for user needs. The future of UX research promises a closer collaboration between research and design, with a shared goal of creating products that truly resonate with users.

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Frequently asked questions.

The user experience (UX) research process is a systematic approach to understanding the behaviors, needs, and motivations of users. It involves four key stages: planning, conducting, analyzing, and applying research. This process starts with identifying research goals, followed by selecting and implementing appropriate research methods to gather data. The next step is to analyze this data to draw meaningful insights, which are then applied to inform and guide design decisions, ensuring the creation of user-centered products and services.

An example of user experience research is conducting usability testing on a mobile app to identify potential navigation issues. Participants are asked to complete specific tasks while researchers observe their interactions with the app. This method provides direct feedback on how users interact with the app, highlighting areas where users may struggle, and offering insights into how the app’s design can be improved to enhance the overall user experience.

User research and UX research are closely related, with UX research being a subset of user research. User research encompasses a broader scope, including understanding users’ behaviors, needs, and motivations across various contexts and products. UX research specifically focuses on researching these aspects within the context of users’ interactions with products and services to improve usability, design, and satisfaction. Essentially, all UX research is user research, but not all user research is UX research.

The basics of user experience research include understanding user needs, behaviors, and motivations through various research methods. Key elements involve setting clear research goals, choosing the right mix of qualitative and quantitative methods (such as interviews, surveys, usability testing), conducting systematic analysis of the collected data, and applying the insights gained to inform and guide design decisions. Ethical considerations, such as consent and privacy, are also fundamental to conducting UX research.

The four stages of UX research are:

• Discovery, where researchers seek to understand the problem space and users’ needs;
• Exploration, involving in-depth research to gather detailed insights;
• Testing, where prototypes and designs are evaluated with users to identify issues and opportunities for improvement;
• Validation, ensuring that the final product meets the users’ needs and usability requirements before launch.

No, UX research does not typically require coding skills. While understanding the basics of how products are built can enhance communication with design and development teams, the primary focus of UX research is on understanding user behaviors, needs, and motivations. However, some familiarity with coding can be beneficial for conducting more technical research, such as A/B testing or analyzing user interactions with software.

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User experience (UX) research: Definition & Methodology

User experience (UX) research plays a crucial role in understanding user behavior, preferences, and needs. It helps businesses create products and services that meet user expectations, leading to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty. In this blog post, we will delve into the definition and methodology of UX research, its importance, ROI, methods, when to conduct it, and the basic steps involved.

User experience (UX) research is a critical component of product development and marketing strategies. It involves studying users' behaviors, needs, and motivations through various research methodologies to create products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences. Understanding the definition and methodology of UX research can significantly impact a business's success in today's competitive market.

What do we mean by user experience?

User experience (UX) refers to the overall experience a person has when interacting with a product or service. It encompasses a variety of factors, including usability, accessibility, and emotional impact. A positive user experience can lead to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy, while a negative experience can result in frustration and abandonment.

What is user experience (UX) research?

User experience (UX) research is the process of understanding user behaviors, needs, and motivations through various qualitative and quantitative research methods. It helps businesses gain insights into how users interact with their products or services, identify pain points, and make informed decisions to improve the overall user experience.

Why is UX research important?

UX research is essential for businesses to create products and services that meet user expectations. It helps identify user needs and preferences, uncover usability issues, and validate design decisions. By understanding user behaviors and motivations, businesses can improve customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention.

What’s the ROI of performing UX research?

The return on investment (ROI) of UX research can be significant. By investing in UX research, businesses can reduce development costs, increase revenue through improved customer satisfaction and loyalty, and gain a competitive advantage in the market. Additionally, UX research can help businesses avoid costly mistakes by identifying potential issues early in the development process.

User experience research methods

There are various UX research methods, including interviews, surveys, usability testing, and analytics. Each method has its strengths and weaknesses, and the choice of method depends on the research goals and the nature of the product or service being studied.

When to conduct user experience research

UX research should be conducted throughout the product development process, from the initial concept stage to post-launch evaluation. Conducting research early and often helps identify user needs and preferences early on, leading to better design decisions and a more successful product launch.

Five basic steps to conducting UX research

• Define research goals: Identify what you want to achieve with your research, such as understanding user needs or evaluating a new feature.  
• Choose the right methodology: Select the research methods that will help you achieve your goals, such as interviews, surveys, or usability testing.  
• Recruit participants: Find participants who match your target audience to ensure that your findings are relevant and actionable.  
• Conduct the research: Collect data using your chosen methods, and analyze the results to gain insights into user behaviors and preferences.  
• Implement findings: Use the insights gained from your research to make informed decisions about your product or service, such as refining features or improving usability.

User experience (UX) research is a vital aspect of product development and marketing strategies. By understanding the definition and methodology of UX research, its importance, ROI, methods, when to conduct it, and the basic steps involved, businesses can create products and services that meet user expectations and lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

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User experience (UX) research

UX research is the practice of studying user interactions to help with the design of people-first products and experiences.

What is UX research and why is it important?

As UX research becomes more commonplace in organizations big and small, its definitions and applications have naturally evolved. Traditionally, user experience research is the practice of studying user interactions to help with the design of people-first products and experiences.

Nonetheless, the meaning of UX can vary depending on who you’re talking to. For product teams, UX research might mean validating prototypes and concepts, and for marketing teams, it may mean testing brand designs and messaging before a launch. In other words, UX research is no longer a practice held in one corner of the business. The most successful organizations empower all teams to collect user and customer insights in order to make better business decisions.

Types of UX research and when to use them

Before we jump into individual research methods, or the tactics used for conducting UX research, there are big-picture questions that need to be addressed first. And that’s: what types of UX research are there?

• Qualitative vs. quantitative research: When it comes to understanding your users, you may find yourself wondering if your UX research approach should be qualitative or quantitative . And it’s important to figure that out because the two types uncover very different insights.
• Attitudinal vs. behavioral research: Though sometimes misconstrued as being the same thing, attitudinal and behavioral research are not synonymous. However, as with quantitative and qualitative research, the two can be useful when assessed concurrently. 
• Generative vs evaluation research: The goals of generative and evaluation research (sometimes referred to as evaluative research) are very different. Generative research helps you define the problem you’d like to design a solution for. Evaluation research, on the other hand, helps you evaluate an existing design (in prototype, final, or some other form).

UX research methods

UX needs to be a strategic initiative that drives a culture of user-centric design and thinking—informing everything from the product itself to marketing campaigns and messaging to brand design and social media. With that said, there are a lot of different user research techniques that help teams collect the insights needed specific for every role.

Let’s take a look at some of the more common methods now.

Remote usability testing

It might be obvious that remote usability testing is a great method for conducting UX research—if only by its name alone. This method of remote research uses an insight platform to record the screen (and voice, depending on the software you choose) of test participants as they interact with your product or experience in their natural environment—at home, in their office, or a specific location.

Through usability testing, designers, product managers, and researchers alike can uncover and understand how real people respond to products and experiences. From what they like and dislike, to where they get stuck and confused, to areas of improvement, the valuable insights gathered from these tests are eye-opening.

Diary studies

Diary studies are a form of longitudinal research (research that takes place over a long period with the same participants). Typically, users self-report their activities at regular intervals to create a log of their activities, thoughts, and frustrations. It’s a useful approach for capturing organic feedback on activities that are repetitive, long, or unpredictable.

Card sorting

Card sorting is a qualitative research method used to group, label, and describe information more effectively—based on feedback from customers or users.  Card sorting requires you to create a set of cards—sometimes literally—to represent a concept or item. These cards will then be grouped or categorized by your users in ways that make the most sense to them. Most commonly, it’s used when designing (or redesigning) the navigation of a website or the organization of content within it, because it helps to evaluate information architecture.

It may seem obvious, but through a series of expertly phrased and positioned questions, surveys allow you to empathize with your users in order to gain quantitative insights that aren’t as visible to developers, managers, and marketers. Listening to your customer can help you find new problems to solve or devise new ideas, and collecting customer feedback through surveys is an active, receptive, and honest way to do it.

Live interviews are a great way to collect qualitative insights. By having dynamic discussions, interviewees are able to observe verbal as well as non-verbal cues and ask open-ended questions to uncover those details that surveys and usability testing cannot. Interviewing is an especially useful UX research method for understanding complex feelings and experiences because it allows you to ask follow-up questions.

Learn more about UX research methods and when to use them here .

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The definition of user experience (ux).

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The first requirement for an exemplary user experience is to meet the exact needs of the customer, without fuss or bother. Next comes simplicity and elegance that produce products that are a joy to own, a joy to use. True user experience goes far beyond giving customers what they say they want, or providing checklist features. In order to achieve high-quality user experience in a company's offerings there must be a seamless merging of the services of multiple disciplines, including engineering, marketing, graphical and industrial design, and interface design.

It's important to distinguish the total user experience from the user interface (UI), even though the UI is obviously an extremely important part of the design. As an example, consider a website with movie reviews. Even if the UI for finding a film is perfect, the UX will be poor for a user who wants information about a small independent release if the underlying database only contains movies from the major studios.

We should also distinguish UX and usability : According to the definition of usability , it is a quality attribute of the UI, covering whether the system is easy to learn, efficient to use, pleasant, and so forth. Again, this is very important, and again total user experience is an even broader concept.

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User Experience

• What is user experience (UX)?

Where did UX come from?

Why is ux important, how to improve ux, core principles of ux, examples of great ux design, improve your ux with qualtrics, try qualtrics for free, user experience (ux): the ultimate guide.

20 min read UX (user experience) has moved from buzzword to core business priority in a few short years. Here’s everything you need to know about what UX is and how it fits into your business strategy.

What is user experience?

User experience definition: User experience is the relationship between users and the things they interact with, starting from a human-first point of view.

As a school of study and practice, UX is concerned with making things intuitive, easy, relevant and enjoyable to use. It also seeks to understand the psychological, cognitive and contextual factors that influence that outcome. UX designers work to help the things we use make sense to us and maximize their usefulness and usability in our lives.

The Interaction Design Foundation describes user experience design in terms of the What Why and How of product use.

• Why? What does the user want from the product? What are their motivations for engaging with it? What tasks do they want to accomplish, and what outcomes are they working towards?
• What? What should the functionality of the product be? What features will it include?
• How? How will the product’s features and functions be designed so that it’s aesthetically pleasing and accessible to its user?

Deepen your UX knowledge with the Digital Experience Playbook

The term ‘user experience design’ was coined in the 1990s by cognitive scientist Don Norman , then an employee at Apple. When Norman began to explore the idea of user-centered design, the idea of placing end users at the heart of design thinking – something we now see as intuitive and logical – was a new and challenging concept.

Despite historical precedents like the philosophy of ergonomics and the tendency of ancient humans to design tools around themselves, UX didn’t truly enter public consciousness as a design requirement until relatively recently.

So how did UX gain traction and become widespread?

One factor is the mushrooming growth of the internet and with it the ability of technology companies to shape our world through their ideas and innovations. Like Don Norman, Apple’s Steve Jobs was an advocate of user-centered design and made a point of building it into highly influential technologies such as the iPhone.

User experience design and technological development are deeply intertwined, both in terms of methodology and culture. UX designers naturally work digital-first, and UX methods have been shaped around software development workflows like waterfall and agile.

Humans are biologically evolved – we’re made a certain way and there’s no quick way to change this. Technology on the other hand is fast-evolving, mutable and easy to revise and change in a short space of time.

As we become increasingly dependent on and connected with digital forms of communication and learning that are man-made and complex, we have more and more need for those interfaces and systems to be shaped around our biological nature.

It makes sense to mold technology around the humans rather than vice versa. UX helps us to make those changes so that we can best use the technologies we create and design meaningful and relevant experiences.

What’s the difference between UI and UX?

Though they sound similar, user experience and user interface (UI) aren’t the same thing.

User experience covers users’ entire interactions with a brand, as well as its products and services. UI encompasses how a user might specifically interact with software, computer systems or apps through buttons, screens, and other visual elements.

The two concepts are linked – implementing changes to user interface design might have an impact on user experience, for example. User research can help to inform what changes should be made to UI to help improve a user’s experience.

What is digital UX?

While UX isn’t exclusively concerned with technology, digital UX is a huge part of the field and also the arena in which UX design has, for the most part, been developed and pioneered. UX can be considered a truly digital-first industry, since it has developed in tandem with the internet and the digital landscape where we now live and work.

Digital UX is UX design and research that’s concerned with optimizing online experiences and the human interfaces of digital technologies – the places where humans and machines meet. Because of the investment in and focus on UX work in digital fields, it’s a job that’s often broken down into a number of roles and responsibilities within a team.

• UX researchers are experts in defining user needs and carrying out user research
• UX designers define requirements, create personas, and develop wireframes and prototypes
• UX writers focus on using language to improve user experiences
• UI designers create the look and feel of websites and apps using visual design
• Interaction designers help businesses create user-focused experiences on a product or service level
• Service designers carry out high-level analysis and planning of end-to-end user journeys, taking into account people, technologies, processes, and business strategies

As UX design has become better known, end-user expectations have evolved. Rather than expecting to just cope with using something difficult or unintuitive, more people have become aware that complex or confusing designs are a decision rather than a fact of life, and we now expect and demand ease and logic from our experiences.

In recent years, businesses delivering great user experiences have been able to stand out from their competitors and pull ahead financially.

Today, UX has moved from an advantage to imperative. According to research conducted by Leadpages.com , the global UI and UX Design Software market size is valued at $960.19 million .

As consumers began exercising informed choices and rejecting poor UX, competing businesses began differentiating themselves on their ability to provide good experiences. Those failing to meet the standards of user experience design have found themselves suffering in terms of sales and reputation.

Meanwhile, good UX has been recognized as a powerful way to create good customer experiences , building positive emotion and loyalty through consistently smooth and intuitive interactions. Good UX means happier customers, fewer drop-outs and pain points during interactions, and ultimately a healthier and stronger business with positive revenue impact Forrester has found, a user-centered design can have up to a 200% higher visit-to-order conversion rate than a site with a bad UX design.

If you’re interested in improving the user experience of your website, app, product or service, you’ll need a deep understanding of the principles of UX design,and understand the needs and motivations of your users.

Embark on user research and user testing

Before you begin to put any ideas and UX design principles into practice, it’s a good idea to commit to a programme of user research and testing to create a strong foundation for your work.

User research helps you gain a deep understanding of your customers, what they want and need and how they relate to your products and services. UX research can help you identify where your UX is currently at and which areas you should prioritize for improvements.

User research at its core is about uncovering the reasons behind your customers’ behaviors, determining what actions would better serve their needs and the user experience as a whole. By understanding your customers in-depth with intent, emotion, and sentiment metrics and more, so you make effective decisions based on real data.

Interaction design is best based on the results of user testing, which can involve surveys , observations, user interviews, focus groups and more. User testing helps guide your product development and marketing planning by observing your end user’s interaction with your products and services. Rather than relying on creating personas without testing, you gather solid market research for the actions you take.

Through informed observation, testing and collecting feedback, you can see and evaluate your UX performance in real time. You can map out the user flow and conduct usability testing to see if your design serves users correctly during all the moments that matter.

Things to consider include:

• What’s driving your users? Ask your user base about their current user experience, and what they want from future interactions. Examine what they tell you directly and what they’re saying indirectly with conversational analytics.
• Where are the pain points? At what point in the human-system interaction is there a breakdown, and why? Aim to fix these issues and anticipate future friction.
• Test, test and test again. User-centered design needs to evolve with your target audience, as their needs and preferences are not static. Test your users over time and improve incrementally with multiple versions and new design elements as needed.

Consider user experience vs usability

If you’ve read anything about user experience, you’ll have seen the term ‘usability’ surface.. User experience and usability are closely related, but they’re not quite the same thing.

Usability is an important characteristic of things that have good UX. It’s the property of being easy to use and intuitive. If something makes sense, operates smoothly in the way you expect it to, and doesn’t confuse you or complicate your task, it has good usability.

User experience is a broader term. User experience encompasses user goals and expectations, their prior knowledge, and the context in which they’re using the system in question. A UX designer looks at whether a product or service is credible, findable, accessible, valuable, desirable and useful, and makes changes if not. Sometimes, this is a big change, and sometimes it’s relatively small. Just take Google’s UX redesign,for instance – a few changes, but a big difference in usability.

Remember to ask:

• How do your users interact with you? It’s no good optimizing the human-computer interaction if your users prefer their mobile devices. Your UX research should highlight the context in which your users encounter your brand, helping you to generate an accurately responsive design.
• Does it work for everyone? A good user experience designer knows that the best experiences cater to all needs, whether that’s optimizing for color blindness or creating a different accessible design.

Optimize the user interface

Once you’ve gathered all of the data on what your users are looking for, you can start on the UX design process. Ideally, your understanding of user data and usability should directly influence your UX design.

UI design smooths the process of a user’s interaction, providing just what they need and want at every step of their journey with your brand. Often, UI design is completed with input from UX designers and SEO professionals, ensuring that users can discover your brand, interact productively and complete desired actions in a smooth way.

Aspects to consider include:

• Does your UI design feel intrusive or confusing? The best UI designs are almost imperceptible, with users able to find what they need and flow onto the next step of their journey without interruption. That even extends to the wording on the design.

• Do your UI elements feel cohesive? Individual interaction design is helpful, but your overall user experience should feel as if it’s interconnected. Interaction designers should be able to create a sense of familiarity and a common brand design language that’s easy for users to connect with.

Think of UX as part of CX

We’re often asked where user experience fits into customer experience, and whether there’s a meaningful difference between UX and CX . In fact, the two things are different in scope and form but share some core characteristics.

• User experience is often short-term and practical, generally concerned with ‘rubber meets the road’ interactions like website navigation and ensuring the accessibility of digital resources
• Customer experience tends to be longer-term and much broader in scope, with an emphasis on business culture and values and big-picture goals like brand loyalty and differentiation. Nielsen Norman Group has described CX as “UX over long periods of time”.

What the two fields have in common is a desire to be user-first and user-focused, and to develop a deep understanding of users and their goals through research and feedback.

Whatever the focus of a UX project, there are certain foundational principles that UX practitioners bring into play in order to assess needs, design solutions and refine and develop towards a final outcome.

Garrett’s elements of user experience

Some of the most enduring concepts in user experience are outlined in Jesse James Garrett’s “Elements of User Experience” . Despite being published in 2000 and mostly concerned with websites, Garrett’s basic principles remain a solid reference point for those wanting to get to grips with the core concepts in UX. They include:

• Visual design: The look and feel of a product or service, including color, shape, sound and image quality.
• Information design: How informational content is presented in order to support user understanding (for example, the fact that this list is presented in bullet points). Garrett also mentions Information Architecture – the way content on a website or similar environment is hierarchically structured to make it easy to find what you’re looking for.
• Interaction design: The logic and sequence of interactive applications or environments, and how well they support a user’s ability to meet goals and complete tasks.
• User needs: The external requirements and expectations an end-user brings with them. These must be understood through user research, market research , psychology and other kinds of background knowledge.
• Navigation design: The design of a navigation system, such as website or app menus, buttons, link text etc. to support a user’s movement through an interactive environment.

Norman’s 6 design principles

Another great resource for foundational user experience design knowledge is Don Norman’s 6 design principles . Through these, Norman wanted to help designers minimize the gulfs of execution and evaluation .

Gulf of Execution: Differences between a task as a user imagined doing it, and the reality of actually working with a system. (“Why do I have to update the software before I can play a game?”)

Gulf of Evaluation: A gap between the user’s understanding of a system and what it is doing, and the reality of how the system works and its current state. (“Is this thing on? Is it recording?”)

His six design principles were:

• Visibility: When the function of something is visually obvious, users will find it easier to know what to do. Functions that are visually hidden (for example small print, low-contrast colours or a cluttered layout).
• Feedback: When a user takes an action, there should be feedback from the interface or environment to confirm that the action has taken place. A classic example is the convention for link text on websites to change colour once they have been clicked. Confirmation messages or ‘on’ lights that glow when a device is powered up are also examples of feedback.
• Constraints: Limits or restrictions on what a user can do. By reducing the possibilities available to only what’s relevant to them, you reduce the cognitive load and the risk of overwhelm or confusion for your user.
• Mapping: Design that shows the relationship between controls and their effects. With a good design, the controls will signal to the user what their effects will be. For example, the arrow buttons on a lift door show whether they will call a lift going up or one going down. The word “stop” on a bus bell button shows what will happen to the bus when you press it.
• Consistency: A design with consistency uses a set of rules to make things predictable and logical for a user. Elements with similar operations look and feel similar, and follow similar processes wherever they appear. For example, on a web browser, the “back” button always takes you to the previous page you were on. Conventions like these can be internal, i.e consistent design within a single interface, or more universal. Some consistency conventions are extended across a whole class of systems, such as web browsers.
• Affordance: Where the appearance or form of a system gives the user an idea of how to use it. With a physical object, this might be something like the placement of a handle or the look and feel of a touchpad. In web or interface design, it might be the shape, prominence or wording on a call to action button.

Here are a few examples of great user experiences and UX design that put the customer base at the heart of the design thinking process.

Here, Airbnb has taken a user pain point – finding somewhere to stay that allows pets – and presented the solution right on the homepage. The user flows directly to the listings they’d prefer with clear signposting.

Rather than leaving users questioning about their campaigns, MailChimp provides simple confirmation messages that are visually engaging at the same time. Easing the potential query of “Did that send?” helps to improve the user experience.

Rather than making users hunt through a large directory of films and TV shows, Disney+ brings all of its five brands to the fore of its home page, making it easier for users to find exactly what they’re looking for from their most popular franchises.

ASOS offers both images and a catwalk video to its users to help give them a better understanding of each product. Additionally, they inform the user of the stock for each item right on the product page and tag in a discount code to help convince users to make a purchase.

Qualtrics’s Digital CX solution provides you a significant competitive advantage over other brands in your market.

Improving your user experience by informing the design process with better research not only creates better customer outcomes like increased loyalty, but also leads to an overall stronger business.

Learn more in our detailed eBook and start improving your user experience today.

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What Is User Research?

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User research, often called user experience research, is a type of research that aims to understand what users want and need and how consumers interact with a product or service. Researchers use interviews, surveys, web analytics, and A/B testing to gather data from users and consumers. This feedback then informs product design and improvements.  

But what is user experience research? In this guide, we’ll go over: 

User Research Definition

User research methods, advantages and drawbacks of user research , showing user experience skills on resumes.

User research analyzes customer and client needs, wants, and behaviors to inform business decisions and product design. 

A business performs user research “to understand if its vision for the product matches that of the end user,” says Vanessa Terry, anthropologist and principal investigator at VST Research & Strategies.

Analysts employ qualitative research methods like surveys and interviews and quantitative methods, like A/B testing, to gather user feedback on products and services. 

“Building a truly useful, meaningful product needs researchers and teams to empathise and understand their users’/customers’ needs,” says Zohrane Dyer, senior user experience consultant at UX Connections.”The only way to do that is through user research on how the product should be designed and not built blind.”

Who Uses User Research?

User research is common in software and application development, and it’s often called user experience research instead (like user experience (UX) design and UX designers ). But, marketing analysts utilize user feedback when testing the efficacy of campaigns, and product managers and designers often rely on insights from users to inform decisions.   

“Any industry that provides a service or product others use or engage with can benefit from user research,” adds Terry.

>>MORE: Hear how professional UX designers navigate the industry with our UX Design Careers Roundtable .

Researchers use various methods and approaches when testing how consumers respond to products and services. 

Ultimately, when choosing a method or multiple methods, a researcher must take into account “budget, timelines (roadmap and milestones) and, most important, what research insights will have the most significant impact,” says Dyer. 

Explorative and Generative Methods

Explorative methods, or generative research, seek to define the root of the problem. This method is called generative because it often generates new questions to study. Researchers typically apply explorative and generative methods to existing products and services to find improvements or enhancements. 

Evaluative Methods

Evaluative research methods test if the product is working as intended or if the product provides the right solution. Remember: Most products and services are created to solve very specific issues. If a product can’t fix the problem it was made to resolve, it needs to be reimagined. Through evaluative methods, researchers can see if prototypes are on the right track and measure how well new features work. 

Contextual Methods

Researchers use contextual research approaches on users to see “how they use products and services in real-world situations,” says Terry.

Contextual research data is in context , meaning researchers can better understand how, where, and why people interact with their products. 

Behavioral Methods

Behavioral research methods aim to understand users’ behaviors when using a product or how users behave without the product. These observations can be useful in evaluative and explorative research methods to understand if customers are satisfied when using a product or to see how the product improves consumers’ lives. Additionally, many contextual observations include data about users’ behaviors. 

Market Research

Market research is a slightly different type of research than user research. However, user researchers often employ market research methods to understand how economic trends and consumer purchasing behavior affect their products. 

Using user research in conjunction with market research can provide powerful insights that may be missed by relying on one method or the other. 

“These projects allow us to go into the attitudes and behaviors of the client’s target market and not just the demographic and economic trends,” says Terry.

Data Collection Methods

How researchers collect data, regardless of the type or method of research, depends on the nature of the product or service and external constraints like time frames and budgets. 

“As a UX researcher, I aim to use the most appropriate data collection method for each research project and ensure that our data is accurate, relevant, and helpful in making informed design decisions,” says Dyer. 

Researchers also want to collect meaningful data that can uncover new information. One commonly employed data collection method is observations. Analysts use observations in practically every type of research but especially when performing behavioral and contextual analysis. 

“Observations are telling as people tend to stop thinking about trying to frame their responses to their perceived idea of a ‘right’ answer and show you how they engage with the product in a way that is right for them,” says Terry.

Other ways researchers collect user feedback include:

• Focus groups
• Group interviews
• Usability studies
• Eye tracking tests (to see where users’ eyes spend the most time on an application or website)
• Web analytics
• A/B testing

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One key advantage of user research is something common to all types of research. 

“Research provides evidence that can be used to make informed decisions,” says Dyer. “It helps to identify the best course of action based on data rather than assumptions.”

Businesses can improve their products and decision-making by performing any type of research. 

But, user research is especially beneficial because it allows for “real-world feedback outside the silo of a company’s research and development department,” says Terry. “This third-party outlook provides fresh perspectives and helps eliminate research bias.”

However, user research can be costly in terms of time and money. Running interviews and focus groups takes a lot of time, and transforming qualitative information into something that can be easily measured and studied is incredibly difficult. 

Additionally, research can be biased. A user’s responses are only as good as the questions asked. It’s easy for researchers to accidentally sway the results by not allowing for a full range of user responses or feedback. Researchers likely want their products to succeed, and that desire can taint the research. 

>>MORE: Explore how user research informs product design decisions with BGC’s Design job simulation . 

You can highlight your experience with user research in the skills section of your resume by listing it on its own or listing specific types of user research you’ve performed. For example, you can mention if you are skilled at running focus groups or performing A/B testing. 

The description of previous jobs and internships is another excellent place to mention any user research skills you have. For example, you can discuss if you had a summer internship that involved a lot of observational and behavioral research. Remember to give specifics, though, like explaining how your research impacted a product or benefitted the company. 

You can also use your cover letter to explain in more detail how you’ve used your research skills. For instance, you could talk about a school project centered on usability testing or a time you gathered user feedback from surveys for a new app. 

Strengthen your skills and get interview-ready with Forage’s free job simulations . 

Kind of! UX is user experience — how users interact with and feel about a website or software. User research is a core component of UX design, which is why it is often called user experience research. However, user research is also useful in other areas and industries besides UX design.

The three primary purposes of user research are to 1.) create relevant products that address real problems, 2.) create products users enjoy using, and 3.) understand how the product benefits both users and the company.

Agile is a method of breaking down challenges into iterative steps, making them easier to tackle. So, performing user research in Agile methodology means breaking down the study and data analysis into smaller pieces, often with a clearly laid out roadmap that aligns with the roadmap for other areas of the company, like product design or development teams.

User research informs design decisions. For example, a UX designer building a food delivery app will rely on information gathered through user research to determine what features to include, the app’s layout, and the visual design.

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User Experience

Definition: User Experience refers to the feeling users experience when using a product, application, system, or service. It is a broad term that can cover anything from how well the user can navigate the product, how easy it is to use, how relevant the content displayed is etc.

What is User Experience?

User Experience (UX) is the holistic journey users traverse as they use a product. Not only does it include their direct interactions with the product, but also how it fits in with their overall task completion process.

Regardless of whether different aspects of the experience are under the direct control of the product or are merely associated with the product, the total experience is considered part of the UX from the user’s perspective. Every touchpoint between the customer and the company is included in the total User Experience.

What is the difference between UI and UX?

UI and UX are often used interchangeably, but when the acronyms are actually spelled out User Interface and User Experience are quite different.

The User Interface is literally what the user sees and interacts within the product: the buttons, the layout, the navigation, the form fields, etc. Much like the cockpit of a plane or the buttons on remote control, it is what a user sees, touches and clicks. “UI” can also sometimes be shorthand for the “look and feel” of a product.

User Experience encompasses a far wider swath of elements than the User Interface, although UI is definitely contained within this larger definition. The User Experience includes everything an end-user does related to the product, including how it fits into their overall workflow and the steps before and after the product is actually in use. Additionally, the User Experience covers how those interactions will change over time as the customer’s usage evolves and the product and company change.

What are UX design principles?

UX efforts concentrate on making the entire customer journey pleasant and productive. This begins with highlighting the value of the solution so it is clear what capabilities and benefits the product can offer potential and current customers—and that the value proposition is clearly desirable to the target market.

To achieve this, UX aims to make this value discoverable and accessible. That includes clear wording and imagery and a short and simple path to understand a product’s potential, as well as accounting for users that may have physical limitations.

Next up is spurring engagement and usage of the product, which entails a smooth and clear beginning experience and clear navigational hierarchy. Users must be able to start using the product and realizing the value as quickly as possible, even when it’s a large enterprise offering.

From here UX continues refining customer interactions, removing points of friction and minimizing the required steps to complete various tasks. As the product itself matures, UX can extend beyond the bounds of the product by assisting with related tasks that directly impact the value proposition and satisfaction for the actual product experience. This refinement can also include building consistency in the product and providing as much contextual guidance as possible.

All of these goals are accomplished by using a variety of tactics aimed at better understanding real-world user needs. One of the most critical is consistently challenging internal assumptions about what customers are trying to do and how they’re actually using the product versus what the product and UX teams think customers want and do. Confirming assumptions and theories—or discovering their flaws—will dictate further improvements.

What does a UX designer do?

A UX designer leverages a toolset spanning user research and testing, graphic design, layout, language, and wording. They may do some coding (usually in the HTML/CSS realm), create wireframes and mockups, design logos and buttons or even write the text that appears in the product.

To understand the customer experience, UX designers may perform or participate in customer interviews to get a better picture of what matters to customers and how they perform critical tasks (either with the product or using alternative methods). Once the product is ready, UX will often take the lead on usability testing, designing the scripts, analyzing the results or even conducting the tests themselves.

Once the product is shipping, UX designers will leverage analytics to dive deeper into the customer journey and trying to identify what workflows are successful and what narratives are hitting roadblocks where.

UX designers will also define the “visual grammar” for a product, either creating or selecting icons and typography that communicate the brand and provide visual cues to users, which they will grow familiar with overtime. They will also ensure the language used on the site is relevant and clear to the audience while also being consistent and familiar throughout the entire customer journey.

What is the value of UX design for product managers?

UX design and product management are two sides of the same coin; UX covers the user end and product management takes care of the business side of the house. But unlike a coin, there is plenty of overlap between the two disciplines.

Product managers essentially focus on the “what” part of the equation: What is the target market, what problems are the product trying to solve, what capabilities must be in place to solve those problems, what is the business model and value proposition, etc. Meanwhile, UX concentrates on the “how” component of product development, namely, how is the user going to complete their tasks.

By leaving the “how” to UX design, product management is able to spend their limited time on the many other aspects of the product to people with a more acute focus and expertise on the customer journey, usability and user interface. And by teaming up with UX design instead of trying to do it all themselves, product managers get the benefit of additional perspectives and viewpoints on creating an overall winning experience.

The best relationships between product management and UX design start by performing user research and developing use cases collaboratively. This creates a unified foundation as each party goes off to work on their own areas of focus and ensures that the user experience is fully informed by the business objectives and customer needs.

Product managers can also benefit from increasing their UX education and incorporating UX design into their overall approach. This ensures the strategy they set and vision they paint takes the user experience into full account, which is essential to the product’s ultimate success or failure.

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User Experience (UX) Design

What is user experience (ux) design.

User experience (UX) design is the process design teams use to create products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences to users. UX design involves the design of the entire process of acquiring and integrating the product, including aspects of branding, design, usability and function.

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Designing an experience includes not only making the software easy to use but also designing the other experiences related to the product, for example, the marketing campaign, the packaging and after-sales support. Most importantly, UX design is concerned with delivering solutions that address pain points and needs. After all, no one will use a product that serves no purpose.

UX vs UI: What’s the Difference?

You might see the “UX/UI designer” job title and think UX and UI are interchangeable. But while there is overlap, they are separate disciplines.

“User Experience Design” is often used interchangeably with terms such as “User Interface Design” and “Usability.” However, while usability and user interface (UI) design are important aspects of UX design, they are subsets.

A UX designer is concerned with the entire process of acquiring and integrating a product, including aspects of branding, design, usability and function. The story begins before the device is even in the user’s hands.

“No product is an island. A product is more than the product. It is a cohesive, integrated set of experiences. Think through all of the stages of a product or service – from initial intentions through final reflections, from the first usage to help, service, and maintenance. Make them all work together seamlessly.” — Don Norman, inventor of the term “User Experience.”

Products that provide a great user experience (e.g., the iPhone) are thus designed with the product’s consumption or use in mind and the entire process of acquiring, owning and even troubleshooting it. Similarly, UX designers don’t just focus on creating usable products but on other aspects of the user experience, such as pleasure, efficiency and fun. Consequently, there is no single definition of a good user experience. Instead, a good user experience meets a particular user’s needs in the specific context where they use the product.

A UX designer attempts to answer the question: "How can we make the experience of interacting with a computer, a smartphone, a product, or a service as intuitive, smooth and pleasant as possible?"

UX Design—A Formal Definition

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines user experience as:

“A person's perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, system or service.” — ISO 9241-210, Ergonomics of human-system interaction—Part 210: Human-centered design for interactive systems

We can break this definition into two parts:

A person’s perceptions and responses.

The use of a product, system or service.

In user experience, designers do not have much control over a person’s perceptions and responses—the first part of the definition. For example, they cannot control how someone feels, moves their fingers or controls their eyes as they use a product. However, designers can control how the product, system or service behaves and looks—the second part of the definition.

“One cannot design a user experience, only design for a user experience. In particular, one cannot design a sensual experience, but only create the design features that can evoke it.” — Jeff Johnson, Assistant Professor in the Computer Science Department of the University of San Francisco

The simplest way to think about user experience design is as a verb and a noun. A UX designer designs (verb)—ideates, plans, changes—the things that affect the user experience (noun)—perceptions and responses to a system or service.

The simplest way to think about user experience design is as a verb and a noun.

© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0

For example, when using a physical device, such as a computer mouse, we can control some aspects of the product that influence whether the user enjoys looking at, feeling and holding it:

The way it fits in their hand. Is it snug? Is it too big and cumbersome?

The weight. Does it affect their ability to move it as they wish?

Its ease of use. Can they use it automatically, or do they have to think hard about it to achieve a goal? 

When a person uses a digital product, such as a computer application, a few aspects that we can influence include:

How intuitively they can navigate through the system.

The cues that help guide them to their goal.

The visibility of the essential aspects of a task at the appropriate time.

UX Designers Consider the Who, Why, What, and How of Product Use

As a UX designer, you should consider the Who, Why , What and How of product use. The Why involves the users’ motivations for adopting a product, whether they relate to a task they wish to perform with it or to values and views that users associate with the ownership and use of the product. The What addresses the things people can do with a product—its functionality. Finally, the How relates to the design of functionality in an accessible and aesthetically pleasant way.

UX designers start with the Why before determining the What and then, finally, How to create products with which users can form meaningful experiences. In software designs, you must ensure the product’s “substance” comes through an existing device and offers a seamless, fluid experience.

UX Design is User-Centered

Since UX design encompasses the entire user journey, it’s a multidisciplinary field–UX designers come from various backgrounds, such as visual design, programming, psychology and interaction design. To design for human users also means working with a heightened scope regarding accessibility and accommodating many potential users’ physical limitations, such as reading small text.

A UX designer’s typical tasks vary but often include user research, creating personas, designing wireframes and interactive prototypes, and testing designs. These tasks can vary significantly from one organization to the next. Still, they always demand designers to be the users’ advocates and keep their needs at the center of all design and development efforts. That’s also why most UX designers work in some form of user-centered work process and keep channeling their best-informed efforts until they optimally address all of the relevant issues and user needs.

User-centered design is an iterative process where you take an understanding of the users and their context as a starting point for all design and development.

Learn More about UX Design

You can read and watch more about UX design from the inventor of the term, Don Norman, on the Nielsen Norman Group website .

Learn about UX design by reading the insightful, funny and inspiring material about UX on Medium.com .

If you want to start learning how to work in UX Design now, the Interaction Design Foundation’s online courses are a great place to begin.

Learn more about the differences between UX and UI Design in the article UX vs UI: What’s the Difference?

Questions related to User Experience (UX) Design

User experience designers are in high demand across the industry, and you can expect to earn a good living as a practitioner. Based on Glassdoor’s salary estimates, The average UI/UX design starting salary in the US in 2023 is $75,057 /yr. Depending on your role, you can expect anywhere from $90,000 to $128,000 /yr in the United States of America.

To know more about how much you can earn in your region, see this:

UI & UX Designer Salaries: How Much Can I Earn

Yes! Whether you plan to work as a freelancer or prefer to work in a company, UX design is a remote-work-friendly profession. More companies are hiring remote employees and contractors than ever before. As a remote professional, you will work primarily with digital tools and must have good communication and presentation skills.

There are some situations, particularly in user research and usability testing, where being in person is helpful. However, there are solutions to help overcome those challenges as well. Learn more about remote user testing here:

Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing (URUT) - Every Step You Take, We Won’t Be Watching You

User Research Methods for Mobile UX

UX design projects come in many sizes and shapes. With so many steps involved in the design process, you can focus on specific areas, such as research, information architecture or usability audits. If you’re just starting with user experience design and would like to build your portfolio while still working or studying, you can take up smaller projects and gain experience on the side.

Learn how to thrive as a freelancer in this course: How to Become a Freelance Designer

The short answer: No. UX designers don't need to know how to code. However, having coding skills can give you a big advantage. Knowing how to code will allow you to be more efficient and communicate better with developers. You can become a better designer when you understand how websites and apps are built. Unless you’re in a bootstrapped startup, you don’t need to be a specialist programmer and will not be expected to produce code. For a detailed discussion on this question, see this:

Should UX Designers Learn to Code?

While AI can help automate tasks and help UX designers, it will not completely replace them. AI lacks the creativity and empathy that human designers bring to the table.

Human designers are better at understanding the nuances of human behavior and emotions. They can also think outside the box and develop creative solutions that AI cannot. So, while AI can help designers be more efficient and effective through data analysis, smart suggestions and automation, it cannot replace them.

For more on how designers can work with AI, watch this Master Class on AI-Powered UX Design: How to Elevate Your UX Career

A happy user will always return to a business. So, a good user experience directly contributes to a business’s revenues. In addition, UX design can help businesses by reducing development costs, creating a competitive advantage and reducing support costs. By investing in quality UX design, businesses can improve user satisfaction and drive growth.

Take this Master Class to learn How To Design UX That Users Love To Convert Through

Learn how to manage design teams and processes in an organization with this course: UX Management: Strategy and Tactics

UX design is important because it focuses on fulfilling user needs. This ultimately benefits businesses as it improves brand reputation and loyalty. A good user experience provides a competitive edge and reduces the risk of product failure. Taking it one level higher, designers, in general, are very good problem solvers and can apply their knowledge to broader areas — not just to specific products or services but also to the entire company and even society.

Find out how designers can help build a better future in this course: Design for a Better World with Don Norman

Most UX designers don’t have a degree in UX or a related field. Many are self-taught and have learned through practice. While some employers may prefer candidates with at least a bachelor's degree, they may not insist on one related to design, particularly if you have a strong portfolio. Many soft skills required to succeed in the field are transferable from other professions.

Ultimately, what matters most is your ability to demonstrate important UX design skills, mastery of the design process, proficiency in industry tools, and an understanding of core UX design principles.

There are several online and offline resources to learn UX design, many for free. However, that also means a lot of misinformation is present on the internet. One credible and free resource is the Interaction Design Foundation.

We offer the world's largest open-source library of expert and peer-reviewed UX design resources. See the latest free articles here .

If you’re ready to start learning, we recommend the course User Experience: The Beginner’s Guide

If you’re already familiar with UX design, then take this course to learn how you can showcase your portfolio to wow your future employer/client: How to Create a UX Portfolio

The most basic tools in a UX designer’s arsenal are the humble paper and pen (or whiteboard and sticky notes). UX designers use different tools for different tasks in the design process. For example:

Survey tools such as Typeform and Google Forms help with user research.

Whiteboarding applications such as Miro and Whimsical are useful for affinity diagramming, brainstorming and defining user flows.

Interface design and prototyping tools like Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch and Marvel help designers communicate their ideas to stakeholders and developers and conduct usability testing.

For more on these tools, see these lists:

The Top UX and UI Design Tools: A Comprehensive Guide

10 Free-to-Use Wireframing Tools

There isn’t any standard UX design process. However, most teams tend to follow a variation of the 5-step design thinking process :

Empathize (through user research)

Define (through data analysis and synthesis)

Ideate (through brainstorming)

Prototype (using analog and digital tools)

Test (with real users)

UX design is a highly collaborative and iterative process. Designers plug back their findings from research and testing to improve the end user's experience.

Learn more about the design thinking process in this course: Design Thinking: The Ultimate Guide

A UX designer’s role in a project depends on the team size and project type. In small projects and teams, you can expect to conduct several tasks, including user research, creating user flows, wireframes, and prototypes, conducting usability tests, producing visual elements such as icons, and even defining the brand identity. In larger organizations and complex products, you may have more specialist roles such as researcher, interface designer and UX writer.

See these free resources to understand UX roles better:

The Ultimate Guide to Understanding UX Roles and Which One You Should Go For

What is a UX Designer and How do you Become One?

Ready to take the plunge? Take this course: User Experience: The Beginner’s Guide

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What is the difference between UX design and UI design?

• UI design includes the entire process of product integration and use for a more complex user experience.
• UX design focuses on the overall feel of the experience, while UI design is about how the product is laid out.
• UX design focuses only on the graphical interface and information architecture of a webpage.

What does UX design primarily focus on?

• The creation of products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences to users.
• The design of a visually appealing product interface.
• Solely on the functionality of a product.

Which of the following can UX designers control to enhance user experience?

• The product’s behavior and appearance that evoke user perceptions.
• A user’s basic motor skills and natural reactions.
• The values and emotions of the user.

In the context of UX design, why is understanding the 'Why' behind product use important?

• It allows designers to prioritize the development of new technologies.
• It helps designers focus only on the aesthetic aspects of a product.
• It informs the product's design since it aligns with users' motivations and needs.

What does a user-centered design approach include in UX design?

• It includes only the design team’s preferences.
• It includes technological development over user needs.
• It includes the user needs at the center of the design process.

Better luck next time!

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Literature on User Experience (UX) Design

Here’s the entire UX literature on User Experience (UX) Design by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:

Learn more about User Experience (UX) Design

Take a deep dive into User Experience (UX) Design with our course User Experience: The Beginner’s Guide .

If you’ve heard the term user experience design and been overwhelmed by all the jargon, then you’re not alone. In fact, most practicing UX designers struggle to explain what they do!

“[User experience] is used by people to say, ‘I’m a user experience designer, I design websites,’ or ‘I design apps.’ […] and they think the experience is that simple device, the website, or the app, or who knows what. No! It’s everything — it’s the way you experience the world, it’s the way you experience your life, it’s the way you experience the service. Or, yeah, an app or a computer system. But it’s a system that’s everything.” — Don Norman, pioneer and inventor of the term “user experience,” in an interview with NNGroup

As indicated by Don Norman, User Experience is an umbrella term that covers several areas . When you work with user experience, it’s crucial to understand what those areas are so that you know how best to apply the tools available to you.

In this course, you will gain an introduction to the breadth of UX design and understand why it matters. You’ll also learn the roles and responsibilities of a UX designer, how to confidently talk about UX and practical methods that you can apply to your work immediately.

You will learn to identify the overlaps and differences between different fields and adapt your existing skills to UX design. Once you understand the lay of the land, you’ll be able to chart your journey into a career in UX design. You’ll hear from practicing UX designers from within the IxDF community — people who come from diverse backgrounds, have taught themselves design, learned on the job, and are enjoying successful careers.

If you are new to the Interaction Design Foundation, this course is a great place to start because it brings together materials from many of our other courses. This provides you with both an excellent introduction to user experience and a preview of the courses we have to offer to help you develop your future career. After each lesson, we will introduce you to the courses you can take if a specific topic has caught your attention. That way, you’ll find it easy to continue your learning journey.

In the first lesson, you’ll learn what user experience design is and what a UX designer does. You’ll also learn about the importance of portfolios and what hiring managers look for in them.

In the second lesson, you’ll learn how to think like a UX designer. This lesson also introduces you to the very first exercise for you to dip your toes into the cool waters of user experience.  

In the third and the fourth lessons, you’ll learn about the most common UX design tools and methods . You’ll also practice each of the methods through tailor-made exercises that walk you through the different stages of the design process.

In the final lesson, you’ll step outside the classroom and into the real world. You’ll understand the role of a UX designer within an organization and what it takes to overcome common challenges at the workplace. You’ll also learn how to leverage your existing skills to successfully transition to and thrive in a new career in UX.   

You’ll be taught by some of the world’s leading experts . The experts we’ve handpicked for you are:

Alan Dix , Director of the Computational Foundry at Swansea University, author of Statistics for HCI : Making Sense of Quantitative Data

Ann Blandford , Professor of Human-Computer Interaction at University College London

Frank Spillers , Service Designer, Founder and CEO of Experience Dynamics

Laura Klein , Product Management Expert, Principal at Users Know, Author of Build Better Products and UX for Lean Startups

Michal Malewicz , Designer and Creative Director / CEO of Hype4 Mobile

Mike Rohde , Experience and Interface Designer, Author of The Sketchnote Handbook: The Illustrated Guide to Visual Note Taking

Szymon Adamiak , Software Engineer and Co-founder of Hype4 Mobile

William Hudson , User Experience Strategist and Founder of Syntagm

Throughout the course, we’ll supply you with lots of templates and step-by-step guides so you can start applying what you learn in your everyday practice.

You’ll find a series of exercises that will help you get hands-on experience with the methods you learn. Whether you’re a newcomer to design considering a career switch, an experienced practitioner looking to brush up on the basics, or work closely with designers and are curious to know what your colleagues are up to, you will benefit from the learning materials and practical exercises in this course.

You can also learn with your fellow course-takers and use the discussion forums to get feedback and inspire other people who are learning alongside you. You and your fellow course-takers have a huge knowledge and experience base between you, so we think you should take advantage of it whenever possible.

You earn a verifiable and industry-trusted Course Certificate once you’ve completed the course. You can highlight it on your resume , LinkedIn profile or website .

All open-source articles on User Experience (UX) Design

Apple’s product development process – inside the world’s greatest design organization.

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What is Interaction Design?

How to Change Your Career from Graphic Design to UX Design

Human Computer Interaction - brief intro

Shneiderman’s Eight Golden Rules Will Help You Design Better Interfaces

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The Principles of Service Design Thinking - Building Better Services

A Simple Introduction to Lean UX

• 3 years ago

Dieter Rams: 10 Timeless Commandments for Good Design

• 4 years ago

The 7 Factors that Influence User Experience

Adaptive vs. Responsive Design

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The Grid System: Building a Solid Design Layout

10 Free-to-Use Wireframing Tools [Updated for 2024]

Hick’s Law: Making the choice easier for users

7 Great, Tried and Tested UX Research Techniques

Interaction Design - brief intro

Usability: a part of the user experience.

Data Visualization for Human Perception

User experience and experience design, how to improve your ux designs with task analysis.

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The Power of White Space in Design

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We believe in Open Access and the  democratization of knowledge . Unfortunately, world-class educational materials such as this page are normally hidden behind paywalls or in expensive textbooks.

If you want this to change , cite this page , link to us, or join us to help us democratize design knowledge !

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Home » What Is User Experience Research & Its Value to My Product?

What Is User Experience Research & Its Value to My Product?

This article covers:

• What Is User Experience Research?
• 5 Key Steps for User Experience (UX) Research
• 2021 User Experience (UX) Best Practices

What Is User Experience (UX) Research?

User experience (UX) research is defined as the process used to survey, study, and identify user needs and preferences. The end goal of such a study is facilitate the design of better user-friendly digital products and features. 

The underlying principle that fuels investment into user experience studies is that products that are more user centric and simple to use, despite the sophistication of ever-evolving technology and features, will have a greater market adoption edge than competitors. 

Various tools and techniques are used to come up with different types of conclusions through different methodologies.

However, the goal remains the same – to arrive at facts that can be used to solve user experience design problems and ultimately lead to valuable insights that can lead to better user experience by enriching the design process. 

User experience (UX) research is used to gather both qualitative and quantitative information by using various methods like interviews, usability testing , contextual inquiries, and persona studies. 

The underlying principle in user experience research is to have a detailed understanding of how the end-users of a product or service think and behave and what their needs and emotions are while using the product. 

All efforts made through user experience (UX) research are directed towards aligning the product design process to the perspective of actual end-users rather than designing just for assuming what is best.

User experience research helps in the creation of user-centric design keeping in mind the end-users, their needs and motivations in the context of using the product, and streamlining the process for achieving a great user experience.

User Experience (UX) Research Process: 5 Key Steps

The user experience (UX) research process can be broken down into five steps, in which the first three steps are concerning the formulation and answering of questions that help the product designers know what kind of information they need in their user experience research.

The last two steps relate to knowledge gathering and application of the acquired knowledge in the design process for making a great product.

The five steps in the user experience research process are framing the objectives, arriving at the hypotheses, selection of the method, conducting the process of data accumulation and synthesizing the data gathered and understanding its implications in the design process. Let us explore each of these five steps in detail.

Step 1: Framing The Objectives

In the beginning, you need to be specific and clear about the objectives that you need to fulfill by conducting user experience research.

To achieve this, you need to fix the user segment for whom you are designing the product and determine their demographics and psychographics along with your baseline criteria on which you will select people for your research.

You also need to know what the current situation of the end-users are and their line of action in fulfilling their particular needs that you are aiming to fulfill through your product.

After this, you need to explore when your product may be used by the users and if there are any fixed routines or behaviors of the users that you need to know. 

Beyond this, you need to establish the context in which users may be using your product.

For instance, do they use a particular technology or perform certain tasks for fulfilling their needs.

Moreover, you need to be clear about why people may use your product and the underlying emotional and rational causes that lead them to your product.

From there, zero in on the reasons why people may choose your product.

In the end, you need to figure out how people will use your product and what the user journey may look like while they use your product. 

It’s imperative that you ensure that you are clear about the above-mentioned aspects for framing your objectives to make your user experience research effective.

Make sure to formulate a mix of tightly-scoped research objectives that are focused on specific tasks and goals while including a number of open-ended research objectives that can give insights about the user behavior, attitudes, and emotions.

Step 2: Arriving at the Hypothesis

Once the objectives of your user experience research have been established, you should now start thinking about your potential design process and their solutions as well as testing your assumptions that you may have framed about the problem at hand.

These may be in the form of your feelings and thinking regarding how the product needs to be designed. You must validate these ideas and assumptions by testing the hypotheses correctly in the initial stages of product design .

To validate these hypotheses, you need to externalize them to eliminate any bias that designers or clients may have regarding the product design.

Arriving at the hypothesis is an important step in the design process, as it helps you to select the right methods for fulfilling your research objectives. 

The hypothesis that you have arrived at can be described as attitude-related hypotheses, behavior-related hypotheses, or feature-related hypotheses.

By generating these hypotheses, you are able to lay a solid foundation for the product design process by making the user experience research process methodical and structured.

Step 3: Select The Appropriate Method

Once the research objectives have been finalized and the hypothesis is finalized, you can now select the appropriate research methods that are most suited to fulfill your objectives.

A combination of two or more methods can be chosen for effective user experience research consisting of interviews, surveys , and exploration of market trends.

These methods are effective in letting you gain knowledge about your user base. You should also consider including methods like card sorting, paper prototyping, and other participatory design activities for getting deep insights regarding the user requirements.

By collaborating with your research participants and incorporating their feedback in the early stages of the product design process, you can validate your hypothesis and also generate potential design solutions that can be effective in enhancing user experience. 

You should also include methods like usability testing , cognitive walkthroughs, and heuristic environments among others for refining your product design processes.

Through such methods, you get specific information about how users want to use a particular product and their preferences.

By constantly refining the methods that you choose for your user experience research through various iterations , you are able to visualize the best possible way to enhance the user experience by incorporating their preferences and needs.

Step 4: Accumulating Data

This is the stage in which you start implementing your user experience research by gathering the data through the methods selected.

You need to ensure that you conduct the research process methodically, capturing and analyzing each detail properly. While doing this, it is ok to deviate a bit by changing course or improvising for better implementation of the research process.

You need to realize that the main purpose of your user experience research exercise is to gain new insights about the end-users and the way their experience can be streamlined.

In addition, besides collecting user data, you need to analyze the data simultaneously so that you are sure that the kind of data you are collecting is going to be effective in helping you to refine the product design process.

Wouldn’t it be cool to have user survey tools included in the product management software?

Chisel is a primary app for product managers that they use not just to conduct user experience research but also to build team alignment, along with many other things.

Step 5: Synthesis and Refining The Design Process

In the final stage of the user experience research process, you capture the knowledge that will help you to advance the product design process.

Through a rigorous analysis of the data gathered, you can find different patterns, meanings, and trends that will help you to fulfill the research objectives you had set at the beginning of this process.

By extracting the insights from the gathered data, you can synthesize the learnings by refining the product design, validating your hypotheses all whilst considering their impact on product design.

Such insights should also be used to guide your next course of action and for changing your process as needed.

5 Best Practices for User Experience (UX) Research in 2021

By understanding, in detail, the needs and wants of your end-users through user experience research, you can improve the usability of your product and make it easy and fun to use, thereby delivering great user experience.

This will also ensure the commercial viability of your product as well as help you to gain the confidence of all the stakeholders involved. 

1. Achieve Objectivity By Eliminating Bias In Your Research

While conducting user experience research, we should be open-minded and unbiased, as this ensures that the perspective of end-users is considered and incorporated in the product design process.

While it is impossible to start any user experience research project without having any preset ideas and expectations, we need to recognize them and ensure that such thoughts don’t cloud our approach while conducting the research, as this may lead to various biases controlling the process.

To eliminate such a bias, we need to be systematic and analytical in comprehending the results of the user experience research and not view them through the prism of our preconceived ideas and notions. 

Hence, we should be open-minded while conducting surveys and interviews of the targeted user groups and encouraging them to state their point of view instead of making them confirm their beliefs.

The same practice should be followed while conducting usability tests and you should not try to confirm the problems you think you have already identified in the user interface.

By encouraging the end-users to explore your product or questions without any limitations, you surely can get a different perspective leading to valuable feedback for improving your product.

2. Attach Maximum Importance To Research Done In Early Stages

You need to give maximum importance to the findings that are derived in the earliest stage of your user experience research as they tend to have the maximum impact on the product design.

Therefore, you should allot a majority of your budget and time to the early stages of user experience research, as it is better to gather valuable insights before the product is designed and further investments are committed.

However, it may be difficult to find the users and the challenges they face in such early stages, and this problem can be overcome by conducting ethnographic research which gives valuable insights about the people and their activities related to your research area.

This information helps you in confirming that you are on the right track and lets you design your product accordingly.

This kind of research, when conducted in the early stages of your product development , helps you save considerable time and resources in designing your product as per the expectations of the users.

3. Find The Right Interview Participants For Valuable Research Insights

You need to select the right participants for interviews you are conducting as a part of the user experience research.

This is important for getting the right kind of user feedback that will add value to their experience while using your product.

You should devote ample time and effort to find the interview participants and screen them properly and also offer them attractive incentives.

The screening process becomes more expensive and time-consuming if you limit the pool of your interview participants on the basis of their demography, profession, or geography.

Also, instead of studying your interview participants in person, you should focus on an online medium, like surveys, as it is more flexible and efficient for finding participants with particular attributes. 

For screening interviewees participating in your interviews, you should select individuals that share the pain points your product is attempting to solve.

This can be done by asking them relevant questions and you should also communicate any technical requirements that you may have before interviewing them.

In addition, you should look for participants who are more detail-oriented and expressive while answering your interview questions, as it helps to get valuable feedback.

4. Choose Your User Experience Research Methods Wisely

You should choose the most appropriate methods for your user experience research as it is essential for getting the most valuable insights.

Hence, you should consider attitudinal research that explores the mindset of the users and how they think their behavior may be in a particular context.

On the other hand, you should also consider behavioral research, which documents the actual behavior of the users and thus clearly distinguish between what people say and what they actually do.

These types of qualitative research methods will give you deep insights into user behavior, and you can reinforce these findings.

On top of this, by employing quantitative research methods, you will collect an ample amount of required numbers and statistics to validate your findings.

You should also consider whether your research participants are using your product in a natural or near-natural manner, whether the use of the product is scripted, or if it’s a mixture of both.

Therefore, it is advisable not to rush your user experience research process and consider the methods you are using carefully so that they are most effective in delivering valuable insights.

5. Share Your Research Findings Effectively

While it is important to conduct user experience research for knowing your target audience, it is equally important to effectively communicate your research findings to the key stakeholders , which also includes designers, developers, and product managers in order to derive the maximum value from your findings.

The analysis and conclusions that are derived by conducting user experience research should be properly presented to the stakeholders involved in the product design so that they have a proper understanding of the findings, based on which future course of action is determined.

Also, the type of presentation and the way you communicate your findings may differ as per the type of stakeholders.

High-level executives may just require a summary of the research findings, but designers or developers may require a detailed presentation.

In addition, you should be ready to support your findings with facts and figures derived from your research so that your findings are justified and convincing for others.

You may also be interested in:

• Understand the Purpose of a Product Manager
• Improve Your Digital Product Management
• What is product?
• UX Writing: Definition, Examples and Best Practices
• What is a prototype?
• Customer Feedback Loop: How to Create & Close it ?
• Customer Feedback Management: Best Practices and Platforms

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