Diving into Three Key User Research Methods
The low-down on focus groups, user interviews and concept testing during our app design process for Capy
Interactions with our target users have always been the most eye-opening (and fun!) part of the research process for me. Each activity with participants is full of possibilities and always teaches us something new, bringing us a step closer to designing better experiences. So on that note, I wanted to write about three UX methodologies involving participants, which were recently used at 55 Minutes:
- Focus groups
- User interviews
- Concept testing
This article will be an introductory guide to the “what, why, and how’s of the three methods, using learnings from one of our projects to serve as an example — a practical case study to illustrate how you can also apply the methods to your own projects!
Universal Tips
Hold up! Before we dive in, let’s be equipped with an overview of some preliminary universal tips that have helped me when conducting any research with participants:
- Remember to include time buffers in your research plan, as participants can be unpredictable. This includes time for recruitment, scheduling the sessions, and also the actual session time.
- Select the right participants: be clear on who you need to talk with and why, and develop selection criteria to ease your screening process.
- Think of ethical considerations: be transparent and inform participants of what data you are collecting and how it will be used in your process. If you plan to collect audio or video recordings of the sessions, prepare a consent form that explains the process in details for them to sign.
- Do a practice round with a friend or colleague before the actual session. This helps iron out bumps, and check your timing (see tip #1).
- Prepare a guide with open-ended questions, always try to dig deeper by asking “why” or “how,” and (try your best to) avoid asking leading questions.
- When in doubt, always clarify with the participants. Don’t just assume you understand what they mean.
Alright, let’s get started with our first activity: focus groups.
Focus groups
What is it & why this method?
A focus group is a qualitative research method that involves a small group of participants, carefully selected to represent your target audience. Research suggests that five to eight participants are ideal for a focus group, to engage in open discussions moderated by a facilitator.
As a facilitator, you play a crucial role in the session: progressing the discussions, while staying neutral and actively listening, making sure that participants are heard, and maintaining a relaxing atmosphere conducive to sharing. When performed well, you can use this method to quickly gather insights and information about anything: from specific products and services to participants’ beliefs and perceptions.
Tips to run a focus group
- At the start, have an ice breaker activity to help participants feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas. Follow this with explaining the agenda and collaboratively establishing ground rules, to set expectations and get everyone on the same page.
- Activities with visual aids and interactions help to keep participants engaged. It also helps remind them of the session’s purpose when you see the potential for sidetracking (or disputes).
- If possible, enlist the help of assistants, e.g. to track time, take notes of interesting quotes and key points, or engage with the quieter participants; you can also split the session into sections and take turns facilitating.
Example 🍋
The project I’ll be using as a case study was called “Lemons 🍋,” and it aimed to address academic pressure and the importance of mental health among students in Singapore.
To understand the issue from parents’ perspectives, a focus group was ideal as it allowed the team to gain insights on the belief system, needs and motivations from multiple participants at once. I was not involved in this particular focus group, but members of the 55 Minutes team took turns to facilitate and assist in various activities, such as card sorting to discover parenting styles and storyboarding to map out communication styles.
The discussion was enriched by the participants sharing their individual experiences, such as varying challenges in their relationship with the kids. The exchanges helped 55 Minutes empathize with why academic issues matter to parents, especially in the Singapore context. One key learning for us was that the desire to have better ways to motivate their kids was something the parents had in common.
The insights gathered helped narrow down the problem space, and the next step was zooming in on parents of PSLE students (11–12-year-olds sitting the Primary School Leaving Examinations), which brings us to our next activity: user interviews.
User interviews
What is it & why this method?
A user interview is a semi-structured conversation, usually with one participant at a time. ‘Semi-structured’ because the interviewer(s) uses a base set of questions — a guide to gather data about a particular topic, but stays open to the direction of the user’s responses.
User interviews are one of the most popular UX research methods, as they are an efficient way to get direct information about what users think and how they feel about a product, service, or process. You can also gain insights at any stage of the HCD process, for various purposes such as exploration, validation, and iteration.
Tips to conduct user interviews
- Have no more than two interviewers in the room, to avoid overwhelming the participant. If there needs to be more than two interviewers, do ask and gauge the participant’s comfort level.
- Listen closely! This sounds easy, but listening is the most crucial part of interviews, as the insights gained depend on what you catch, and often on the follow-up questions asked.
- Embrace pauses and give the participant time to think.
Example 🍋
User interviews by 55 Minutes typically involve a main interviewer and an assistant interviewer. This allows the main interviewer to listen attentively to the participant, while the assistant interviewer takes notes and helps to check that all the key topics are covered.
Following the focus group, we interviewed PSLE parents to uncover specific challenges before, during, and after the PSLE. All three parents expressed that 3–6 months before PSLE was the most challenging time for them. By asking follow-up questions about their context as working parents, and giving them time to think, we found that their main challenges were tracking their kid’s academic progress and ensuring their well-being, while juggling full-time work. We also found that all three parents ultimately shared the same goal: to ensure that their child is supported and nurtured in the right environment.
After ideation, we landed on two potential solutions, bringing us to the next method: concept testing.
Concept Testing
What is it & why this method?
A concept test is a method of evaluating how your concepts or ideas resonate with their target users. This can be done via surveys for more quantitative feedback, or through moderated one-on-one testing sessions for more in-depth qualitative evaluation.
You can use this method to quickly test product-market fit, as it allows you to pivot, improve, or completely rethink your idea, depending on the user feedback. The artifact (or “thing”) you use for testing does not need to be refined — it could be a paper prototype or rough wireframes —but the key is to use the artifact to communicate and understand the users' expectations and needs. When used early, concept testing can mitigate the risks of pursuing a concept or project direction that does not meet user expectations or needs.
Tips to run a concept test
- When introducing the artifact to test, ensure that you provide the same information to the different participants for consistency. E.g. include a short blurb in your test guide.
- Remind the participants that you want their honest feedback, and make it very clear that criticism won’t hurt your feelings, but rather will help you improve the concept.
- Ask participants for suggestions and advice. They may understand the problem space better than us, and studies have shown that people are likely to “offer more critical and actionable input” when asked for advice.
Example 🍋
To reach parents with more diverse parenting styles for the test, we put out a recruitment call on various social media platforms and popular forums, such as Kiasu Parents. We also decided to extend the test to their kids, to hear from the perspectives of the PSLE students.
Before the individual tests, we asked our five parent-children pairs about their PSLE experiences, as a warm-up and also to validate our earlier interview findings. Then, we used a test guide with slides and videos to introduce our concepts: two lo-fi prototypes called “Day by Day” and “Study Buddy”.
Day by Day received various constructive criticisms which informed us that parents only want relevant content, highly tailored to their individual needs. On the other hand, assigning tasks and sending encouraging messages using Study Buddy helped parents to guide and motivate their kids to do their schoolwork or revision. The kids also found practical help, such as with revision tasks, to be the most helpful for PSLE prep.
Feedback from the test was crucial to find out whether either one of the concepts was in the right direction, why or why not, and what to improve.
The test also revealed opportunities for improvement, for example through a mismatch in parent-child expectations: parents want to be able to gauge their kids’ stress levels, but the kids don’t always want to share how they’re feeling.
Ultimately, findings from our concept test guided us to continue iterating on StudyBuddy.
Final Thoughts
As with most research methods, preparation is key. However, it’s also important to remember that things don’t always go as planned or practiced, and that’s okay! With more experience, we get better at anticipating unknown variables and responding to them on the spot. So, what’s the next research project that you’re planning?
P.S. If you’re curious about Lemons 🍋…
We proceeded to plan for co-design sessions for more specific input with PSLE parents after the concept test. Since then we’ve come a long way, and are now in the development stage of our solution, renamed “Capy”. Curious about Capy or co-design? Keep an eye out for our next article on the co-design process and find out who or what Capy is!
Aurelia is a UX Researcher at 55 Minutes. She studied Medicine and Psychology in London, but her creative side led her to search for a different path! Now, she is in Singapore in a role that utilizes both her critical and lateral thinking skills. Outside of work, you can find her baking, cooking, or hanging out at a cafe, dreaming of future travels.
Thanks to Toffy Char, Wendy Wong, Luke Chen, Min Hye Yoon, and Adeline Kuswanto.
