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“Usability is about people and how they understand and use things, not about technology.” - Steve Krug, the UX professional famous for his book Don't Make Me Think about human-computer interaction and web usability.
A user is a core element when working on product development, while their experience is an integral part of product design. If you want to develop a product that the user needs and is profitable for the company, then UX research is inevitable.
Learn here what UX research methods are and when to use them!
What is user experience research and why does it matter?
User experience (UX) research is a sub-area of user research, also referred to as design analysis. This analytics tool helps understand the user's needs, emotions, and behavioral patterns.
UX research is handy in optimizing the user experience and UX design by collecting, classifying, and analyzing the information required. The typical problem is, for example, online purchases that are canceled shortly before the payment process. The reasons for this can be varied and are an object of UX research.
Just imagine that, according to statistics, ROI on UX investments is 9,900%! In detail, UX can support the following main issues in everyday business:
- acquisition of new customers
- attraction of former customers
- higher customer satisfaction
- higher turnover / more sales
You can achieve these benefits for your company with an enhanced user experience based on well-founded UX research. This gives you a facts-driven basis for further decisions and strategy adjustment.
When to use UX research?
UX research is essential during a new product's launch phase and during production if you see any problems. This is not about “do the users like your product or not”, but about “does your product cover their needs”.
Two types of UX research
UX research methods encompass two fundamental groups: quantitative and qualitative.
- Quantitative research measures data. You get answers to the questions: “How many users clicked the icon?”, “How many users left the site at the checkout stage?”, and “How many users found a call to action?”. These analyses are essential for estimating statistical data.
- Qualitative research methods help study the users’ behavioral patterns: why they do what they do. These methods often take the form of an interview or discussion. People answer the questions: “Why don’t users click?”, “Why can’t they find a call to action?”, etc.
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Key UX research methods
There are various UX research methods. The most used are interviews, focus groups, usability testing, eye-tracking card sorting, A/B testing, and surveys. Let’s look at them in detail!
- User Interviews
Category: Qualitative research
The interview is a sincere communication between the researcher and the user. This method allows you to understand users’ way of thinking and behavior while interacting with the product. Interviews allow you to confirm or disprove hypotheses, consider the target audience's experience, and determine its common needs.
When to use: When improving a ready solution. The interview contributes to assessing the perception of the product and brand, as well as identifying the main technical malfunctions.
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- Surveys
Category: Qualitative research
Surveys consist of questions to a pool of website users that will help you learn about the people visiting your website or app. Surveys assist in identifying and grouping user experience patterns. Such surveys can help identify shortcomings, and working on flaws in a product will upgrade usability.
When to use: When gathering quantitative data to prove your qualitative analysis findings
- Focus Groups
Category: Qualitative research
Groups of 3-12 participants discuss a range of new product topics, providing feedback through discussion and exercises. Discussions can be held in oral and written form. Such research contributes to major strategic decisions and derives a general concept.
When to use: At the initial stage of the project to understand the users’ expectations from the final result.
Learn more about focus group method
- Usability Testing
Category: Qualitative research
Usability testing is about observing the user in the process of performing specific tasks. In a usability-testing session, a facilitator (also called a “moderator”) asks a participant to do some tasks, usually using one or more specific user interfaces.
When to use: When testing a viable design to trace product improvement progress.
- Eye-tracking
Category: Quantitative research
The method assumes that an eye-tracking device accurately observes where people guide the eye when fulfilling tasks or naturally interacting with websites, apps, physical goods, or their surroundings. This helps to understand how users visually perceive the interface: in what order they look at objects.
When to use: While working on the product with a valid design version. With eye-tracking tests, you can optimize the interface composition and navigation.
- Card Sorting
Category: Quantitative research
Designers use card sorting to build the information architecture of a product. For instance, it helps to organize the navigation of the marketplace, divide it into segments and prioritize.
When to use: At the initial stage of designing an innovative product or when errors are identified in an already formed information structure.
- A/B Testing
Category: Quantitative research
This is a handy UX research method used when designers try to decide between two competing elements (style, buttons, etc.).
In A/B testing, random samples of users can test various changes to the site's design. Thanks to this testing, it is possible to evaluate how any change will affect the perception and behavior of the user. In addition, the method helps in improving the settings of the main interface elements, such as CTA buttons or navigation elements.
When to use: When optimizing the viable product version: either at the final development stages or after the release.
Conclusion
We at Axon know new product development is always a creative and exciting process. The user experience is one of the decisive factors for the success of a product.
You are likely to know what UX research method to use, aren’t you? However, any of these methods isn’t a magic pill for your design. All of them are working in a complex.
Using all the methods on a particular project doesn’t always make sense, but the project will win if you use at least several methods and combine all insights. Good luck in creating a product that users will love!
