We face problems in our day-to-day work that we don't have all the necessary information to solve. In addressing those problems, we can guess, estimate, experiment, or even try to "fail fast" our way to success (good luck to you brave souls who choose this). But, especially where users are concerned, we can also choose understand what we're trying to accomplish, identify where the risks & gaps are, and develop our high priority questions for the work at hand. This is what we need to shape effective research. In this talk, we'll cover:
the idea of research as it applies to user experience / interaction work,
the unusual nature of the User / UX Researcher specialist role,
the type of questions we ask & evidence we gather in user research,
how to use that to make the work work.
It's a mostly-practical and slightly theoretical look at research and the mindset that can turn interesting human data into successful products and services.
12. "Always design a thing by
considering it in its next larger
context - a chair in a room, a
room in a house, a house in an
environment, an environment in
a city plan."
—Eliel Saarinen
13. A product development process:
https://www.slideshare.net/nenj_/intrapreneurship-for-employee-empowerment
14. Self &
solution-
centered
The important questions:
“What do people
need?”
“Can they use
what we built?”
“What are they
trying to
accomplish?”
“How do they
currently achieve
that?” “Do they understand
how this concept
works?” “Does what we built
solve their
problems?”
“How important is
that problem for
them?”
People &
problem-
centered
15. Self &
solution-
centered
The generative/evaluative divide:
“generative” “evaluative”
“What do people
need?”
“Can they use
what we built?”
“What are they
trying to
accomplish?”
“How do they
currently achieve
that?” “Do they understand
how this concept
works?” “Does what we built
solve their
problems?”
“How important is
that problem for
them?”
People &
problem-
centered
37. 4 orders of design:What an activity is:
For you theoretical types, see also:
Acting with Technology
Activity Theory and Interaction Design
by Victor Kaptelinin and Bonnie A. Nardi
38. 4 orders of design:What an activity is:
For you theoretical types, see also:
Acting with Technology
Activity Theory and Interaction Design
by Victor Kaptelinin and Bonnie A. Nardi
a person
39. 4 orders of design:What an activity is:
For you theoretical types, see also:
Acting with Technology
Activity Theory and Interaction Design
by Victor Kaptelinin and Bonnie A. Nardi
a person
in a context
40. 4 orders of design:What an activity is:
For you theoretical types, see also:
Acting with Technology
Activity Theory and Interaction Design
by Victor Kaptelinin and Bonnie A. Nardi
a person
in a context
trying to
accomplish a thing
41. 4 orders of design:What an activity is:
a person
in a context
trying to
accomplish a thing
a story
42. (interlude:
watch this 4
minute Kurt
Vonnegut video
https://
www.youtube.com
/watch?
v=oP3c1h8v2ZQ )
IXDAb #73
21.October.2019
47. a person in a context trying to accomplish a thing
a person in a context trying to accomplish a thing
a person in a context trying to accomplish a thing
a person in a context trying to accomplish a thing
a person in a context trying to accomplish a thing
48. Everything there is, all
that our research is
based on, is just mining,
understanding, and
modeling the driver &
context around a
collection of stories.
(Because the ultimate
object & outcome of our
design is human action.)
a person in a context trying to accomplish a thing
a person in a context trying to accomplish a thing
a person in a context trying to accomplish a thing
a person in a context trying to accomplish a thing
a person in a context trying to accomplish a thing
52. QUANT: What? How much?
QUAL: How? Why?
These are inseparable
facets of understanding
experience: the quant &
qual are two views of
the same stories.
53. QUANT: What? How much?
QUAL: How? Why?
a person in a context trying to accomplish a thing
a person in a context trying to accomplish a thing
a person in a context trying to accomplish a thing
a person in a context trying to accomplish a thing
a person in a context trying to accomplish a thing
61. “Tell me about a specific person
who has this problem. Now, how
is it going to be better once we
do [this thing?]”
—Every good researcher
62. The ultimate questions;
“What, specifically, should happen
differently in the world? For whom?”
“How will doing [this work]
change how that happens?”
67. Self &
solution-
centered
“generative” “evaluative”
“What do people
need?”
“Can they use
what we built?”
“What are they
trying to
accomplish?”
“How do they
currently achieve
that?” “Do they understand
how this concept
works?” “Does what we built
solve their
problems?”
“How important is
that problem for
them?”
People &
problem-
centered
70. Shepherd work:
• Usability testing
• Prototype testing
• Field observations
• Experience sampling
• User interviewing
the interactions
we evaluate are
the source of
truth
71. Researcher As Shepherd:
• Take your “flock” to the source
• Triangulate timeliness
• Socialize for relevance
73. Self &
solution-
centered
“generative” “evaluative”
“What do people
need?”
“Can they use
what we built?”
“What are they
trying to
accomplish?”
“How do they
currently achieve
that?” “Do they understand
how this concept
works?” “Does what we built
solve their
problems?”
“How important is
that problem for
them?”
People &
problem-
centered
75. Tell the team:
• What common themes did you find?
• What customer needs are unmet, problems unsolved?
• What new questions do you have about our customers?
(quant, qual)
76.
77.
78. Cartographer work:
• Journey mapping
• Experience mapping
• Ecosystem modeling
• Service blueprinting
• User interviewing
make the context
tangible and you
can literally
point to the
future you want
to create
81. Self &
solution-
centered
“generative” “evaluative”
“What do people
need?”
“Can they use
what we built?”
“What are they
trying to
accomplish?”
“How do they
currently achieve
that?” “Do they understand
how this concept
works?” “Does what we built
solve their
problems?”
“How important is
that problem for
them?”
People &
problem-
centered
84. Interpeter work:
• User personas
• Behavioral segments
• Jobs to be Done
• Design synthesis
• User interviewing
make the context
tangible and you
can literally
point to the
future you want
to create
85. Researcher As Interpreter:
• Understand team drivers & user needs
• Identify stable goals from stories
• Model to build foundational understanding
87. Self &
solution-
centered
“generative” “evaluative”
“What do people
need?”
“Can they use
what we built?”
“What are they
trying to
accomplish?”
“How do they
currently achieve
that?” “Do they understand
how this concept
works?” “Does what we built
solve their
problems?”
“How important is
that problem for
them?”
People &
problem-
centered
91. Evangelist work:
• Field visits
• Support shadows
• Open interview seats
• Episodes @ all-hands
• ??? → (your idea here)
how do we keep
the pulse of our
users’ work and
needs active
within our
teams?
92. Researcher As Evangelist:
• Incept stories & context into org’s day-to-day
• Sell the people & stories, not your process
• Lend credibility
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
93. A summary of our research mindset & process:
1. Understand what your [design or product etc.]
team is trying to accomplish
2. Recognize where the team is in that process,
where the uncertainty and risk lie
3. Consider the stories at play, present and future
4. Form good questions, involve the right people,
get the right stories, make sense of them &
communicate them in the right mode:
drive effective action for product & design
IXDAb #73
21.October.2019