Craig Allen

The fourth course in my certification is called “Conduct UX Research and Test Early Concepts.”

Grade: 83.75%

Here are a few highlights and notes from what I learned.

Key Takeaways

Research is a very methodical process. It once again highlights the need for a diverse group of participants in order to get the best possible results. Privacy and security practices are also important to think about ahead of time to respect all participants.

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Research Study

A step-by-step examination of a group of users and their needs, which adds realistic context to the design process.

1. Plan
2. Research
3. Synthesize (analyze)
4. Share

Presentation

• Methods
• Data
• Conclusions
• Recommendations

Language and Communication is UX Research

• Be equitable
• Be inclusive
• Be honest
• Be neutral
• Be a team player

Elements of a UX Research Plan

1. Project background
2. Research goals
3. Questions
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
5. Methodology
6. Participants
7. Script

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Project Background

Importance

• Gets the team on the same page at the beginning of the study
• Shows you understand why you’re doing this research
• Promotes confidence in the overall quality of your analysis/insights

How to Write A Project Background

1. Identify the signals that indicated it was necessary
2. Describe any previous research or solutions
3. List insights the research will generate

Research Goals

1. Foundational – help understand why of if you should build the product
2. Design – understand how to build it
3. Post-launch – if it works as expected

How to Write Research Questions

1. Actionable
2. Specific
3. Avoid leading questions

Key Performance Indicators

Critical measures of progress towards a goal.

• Time on task
• Use of navigation vs. search
• User error rates
• Drop off rates
• Conversion rates
• System Usability Scale (SUS)

Participants

• People selected for the study
• Characteristics (have a good reason)
• Screener survey
• Incentive (includes a way to thank them)
• Diver perspectives and abilities

Script

• Same for each person
• Open-ended
• Encourage collaboration
• Ask same questions from a different angle
• Don’t mention other users
• Don’t ask leading questions

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Keeping User Data Private

• It’s the right thing to do
• Privacy laws and ethics
• Risk of hacking
• Protecting your company’s brand

Privacy & Security Practices

• Be transparent about data collection
• Only collect essential data
• Get active consent
• Provide detail of how you’ll use their information and protect their privacy
• All users to withdraw
• Inform users who will have access to their data
• Explain plan to store and delete user’s data

Privacy Concerns

• Recording – document study and results to be consistent with UX standards
• Storage – make sure data is held to be safe from hacking and damage
• Retention – how long we hold onto research data
• De-identification – remove identifying information from user’s data
• NDA – contract that gives on party legal protection against another stealing their ideas

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Moderated Usability Studies

Unmoderated Usability Studies

Best Practices

• Get comfortable
• Put people first
• Don’t skip the paperwork
• Communicate clearly
• Ask the right questions

Strong Insights

• Frounded in real data
• Answers the research questions
• Easy to understand
• Increase empathy for the user experience

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“Fall in love with the problem, not the solution itself.”