User Experience (UX) Research:

An essential step for creating a digital product

‍

Jump to:

• What is UX Research?
• Research Stages:
• 1. Foundational Research
• 2. Design Research
• 3. Post-launch Research
• Data Collection:
• 1. Quantitative Research
• 2. Qualitative Research
• UX Research Methods:
• 1. Interviews
• 2. Surveys
• 3. Usability Study
• 4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• 5. Secondary Research

‍

When you come up with an idea for a new digital product, such as a web platform or a mobile application, it's important to assess the market. You'll need to determine if your idea is unique or if there are similar products already available. If there are, you'll need to figure out how you can distinguish your product from the competition and provide users with something they can't get from your rivals.

‍

Once you've determined that there is room for your idea, it's time to move on to the next phase: assembling the team. If you're not a technical person, you may need to hire people with the skills necessary to bring your vision to life, which requires some investment. If you're working with limited resources, you'll likely focus on hiring only a designer and a developer. However, there is an important factor that you may be overlooking, even if you're idea is excellent:

It can be difficult to anticipate what your audience wants and needs, and our own experiences can often bias our assumptions.

But finding out what your audience wants and needs doesn't have to be guesswork!

In this article, we'll explore what User Experience (UX) research is and how it can help ensure your investment doesn't go to waste on a product that doesn't meet your users' expectations.

‍

What is UX Research?

UX research aims to understand the needs, wants, pains, and motivations of users by observing how they interact with your or your competitors' platform, and listening to their feedback. This helps you develop better solutions that are user-friendlier and more enjoyable to use.

Conducting UX research at the start of your project will enable you to anticipate user problems, implement solutions from the beginning, and keep improving it to meet their desires. This will help to build trust with your users and increase their loyalty.

‍

Research Stages

You can do your UX research in three different stages:

‍

1. Foundational Research

As the name indicates, Foundational Research is the foundation of your digital product. It's the first research you do before you even start thinking about how it will look! This is a very important step to guide you and learn from the beginning what you will be building, to whom and what your users will benefit from it.

‍

2. Design Research

Design Research is the phase where you already know what you want to build, and now you must figure out how to build it. You might start with some sketches, a full wireframe or a complete prototype before initiating the design research. This process will let you know through your user's feedback how their experience was, if your product was easy or difficult to use, and if they encountered any challenges you might need correcting.

‍

3. Post-launch Research

Post-launch Research will let you know if your finished product was successful, giving you a clear path to move forward and develop new features. At this stage, you might find that what you envisioned for your project will take a giant turn into something else. However, you still need to listen to your users and give them what they actually want, as opposed to what you initially thought they needed.

‍

Data Collection

When doing UX research, you can collect two types of data:

‍

1. Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is a type of research that involves collecting data through counting or measuring. This research method is generally conducted by surveying large groups of people and using numerical answers to analyse the data. It is beneficial in answering questions related to numbers like 'how many' or 'how much'. This approach helps to determine how most users are experiencing a product or service.

‍

2. Qualitative Research

Qualitative research focuses on observing and understanding why and how things happen. It is usually conducted through interviews. This type of research helps answer questions such as 'why' or 'how' a particular event occurred. Qualitative research is focused on a smaller group of users, allowing for a more detailed understanding of their needs. This method can help identify why users are having a negative experience and how to improve it.

‍

UX Research Methods

Now, let's discuss methods for implementing the actual UX research. There are a few to consider, although not all are at anyone's disposal, for they can require means and a higher investment.

‍

1. Interviews

Interviews are a great way to collect detailed information about people's opinions, thoughts, experiences, and feelings. They are usually conducted face-to-face and involve open-ended questions from the researcher to the interviewee. Interviews are especially useful when you need in-depth answers to your questions.

‍

2. Surveys

Surveys are a type of research method in which a group of people are asked the same set of questions to gather insights into their opinions about a product or service. These questions may include both quantitative and qualitative aspects, and are most effective after you have gained an initial understanding of the user's pain points and want to validate your assumptions.

‍

3. Usability Study

A usability study is a technique used to assess a product's performance by testing it with real users. The objective of this study is to pinpoint any problems that users may encounter with the product's prototypes, so that these issues can be addressed before the final product is released. During a usability study, you get the chance to observe how users interact with your new product or feature. Later, you can interview them to gain a deeper understanding of their experience. The information obtained from the usability study is then used to improve the overall user experience of the design.

‍

4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are important metrics that help evaluate and improve the success of the user experience. For example, when launching a new platform or app, KPIs may include measuring the time users spend on a specific task, the number of clicks required to complete a purchase, or the percentage of users who navigate away from your website after viewing only one page.

Other types of KPIs are more focused on the user's feelings. You can learn about your customer's satisfaction and loyalty by asking them questions such as how likely they are to recommend your product, or how satisfied they were with your service.

‍

5. Secondary Research

Secondary research refers to the process of gathering and analysing information from sources that already exist. This information can be found in published books, articles, or statistics. Typically, secondary research is conducted at the beginning of a UX research project. The insights gained from it can then be used to support the design choices made and better understand the users. If you're starting a new project, conducting secondary research can be incredibly helpful in gathering relevant stats, facts, and figures about your users.

‍

Every new digital product follows a specific set of steps, from the first spark of an idea to the final product launch. These steps make up the product life cycle, and depending on your budget, you may choose to cut some corners and focus only on the UI designer and developer. However, consider including a UX Designer in your next project. This will reduce the risk of investing in a solution that may not resonate with your users and will undoubtedly lead you to long-term success.

‍