Embrace rich user feedback
Welcome aboard as we embark on a thrilling expedition through the six stages of iterative user-centric service development and deployment. Our first stop? The intriguing realm of discovery, where we’ll uncover the truth behind the Fluffy Unicorn Syndrome and dive into the heart of user experience. Fasten your seatbelts as we navigate the depths of UX research together, paving the way for services that fulfill the needs of users and elevate their experiences!
The Fluffy Unicorn Syndrome
I really enjoy writing about fluffy unicorns. However, unfortunately my field of expertise also fell victim to the fluffy unicorn syndrome. So what’s the Fluffy Unicorn Syndrome? Here are some examples:
“Let’s harness the power of 🦄 AI to revolutionize our processes! I mean, who needs humans when you have artificial intelligence, right?”
“🦄 Sustainability is the future, folks! Let’s slap some solar panels on the roof and call it a day. Saving the planet! But man, it’s freezing today. I say we crank up the heat and make this place toasty warm!”
“🦄 Experience is everything, people! We’ll just sprinkle some 🦄 user-friendly interfaces and call ourselves experts in 🦄 customer satisfaction. Easy peasy!”
The Fluffy Unicorn Syndrome highlights how individuals may unintentionally misinterpret buzzwords, potentially leading to misunderstandings and miscommunication rather than genuine expertise, reflecting the complexities of the Dunning-Kruger Effect in perception and understanding.
As a user experience coordinator it’s my job to ensure the seamless integration of user experience principles and feedback into the design and development process, fostering 🦄 user-centricity. I often get questions after something has been realised or is almost finished, to do my user experience magic and turn it into a success. They keep expecting a unicorn to rock up and fix everything last minute with ‘UX’. Sorry, that’s just not how unicorns — or I — roll.
Design Process Models
UX expert Andy Priestner uses a double diamond model with 4 key stages: discover, define, develop and deliver. At work I often use a triple diamond model with two additional stages: dive and deploy.
I am shedding light on my fluffy unicorn called: User Experience (UX). Let’s boost our UX expertise by diving into the design process. Over the next few weeks I’ll share my thoughts and insights on each stage in my triple diamond model. Starting today!
Discover
Discovery is the phase which is all about user experience research. This is the first stage you go through when creating a user-centric service. It focuses on understanding the users by gathering rich and actionable insights. Andy always puts it nicely:
“What people say, isn’t the same as what people do or say they do.”
To find out what users feel, think, what they do and how they use something requires proper user research.
User experience aspects
To gather actionable insights into the experience of your user, you need to understand there are different aspects to an experience. I personally love using the honeycomb model on UX by Peter Morville. This shows you how broad an experience can be. If something looks attractive (desirability) but you’re not sure what happens with your data (credibility) or it’s impossible to navigate (findability) your experience can still be bad. For a good experience, you need to comply to the basic needs on all user experience aspects.
UX Research Quadrant Model
There are many UX research methods available for both physical and digital services. To gain a rich understanding of your users, you will also need to use a variety of methods. I created a quadrant model for UX methods which gives insights to the richness of your user research.
Type of data
On the horizontal axis you have the type of data you’re collecting. Qualitative data gives insights and context, while quantitative data gives trends and patterns. Both are equally important when it comes to making decisions in the design phase. Again, another fluffy unicorn passing by:
“We need to be 🦄 data-driven, I need dashboards and numbers to know if we reached our goals.”
Unfortunately most people who say data-driven, only think of quantitative data: charts, dashboards, numbers. They are not talking about qualitative data, because they take a lot more effort to analyse and interpret. I’d rather hear people use the term data-oriented, as you also need insights and context to give the data meaning.
Type of feedback
The vertical axis of the quadrant model is type of feedback. Where the lower quadrants are implicit feedback: observations of behaviour and interactions. The upper quadrants are explicit feedback: direct and intentional communication from users. Whereas the direct communication often requires you to talk to users, the observations require you not to interfere with the user.
Plotting UX research methods on the quadrant
You have UX research methods which are more suitable for qualitative data and implicit feedback such as observations. If you prefer to have explicit feedback but with qualitative data you could use a research method called love and break-up letters. On the numerical data and measurable metrics side of research also known as quantitative data, you can do a survey or customer service log analysis for explicit feedback or a heatmap analysis or behaviour mapping for the implicit feedback. Some methods can both be qualitative and quantitative like web analytics or both implicit and explicit such as a touchstone tour.
Rich feedback and user insights
For rich feedback and user insights you need to select methods which gives you trends and patterns (quantitative data), insights and context (qualitative data), insights in user feelings and way of thinking (explicit feedback) and insights in behaviour and interaction (implicit feedback), preferably on different aspects of the user experience (usability, usefulness, desirability, value, findability, credibility and accessibility).
With these user insights you have a complete picture of their experience. It’s is vital to start with discovery if you do not want to introduce a white elephant (something costly or burdensome to keep, often unwanted or impractical). Which is, in my opinion, almost as deadly as that fluffy unicorn.
The UX researcher(s)
So discovery is the phase which is all about user experience research. The UX researcher needs to be able to analyse and interpret quantitative and qualitative data but also needs to be comfortable to sit back and observe and at the same time have the skills to get feedback from users by interacting with them. This requires a specific skillset from the researcher. It’s not impossible to find all these skills within one person, but it’s easier to find them in a group of people. If you want your UX researcher to take on the UX Design and UX Development bit as well, in that case you might as well put out a job application for that unicorn 🦄.
Take-aways discovery phase
In a world filled with buzzwords and white elephants, it’s crucial for UX practitioners to delve deeper into the core of user experience. Here are some key take-aways from our exploration:
- Integrate both qualitative and quantitative data, along with explicit and implicit feedback on the different aspects of UX, for rich and valuable insights into the user experience.
- Utilize frameworks like the UX Research Quadrant Model, to uncover actionable insights that drive meaningful design decisions and enhance user-centricity.
- Recognize the value of having multiple UX researchers, each with their unique skillsets, to ensure a comprehensive approach to user research.
- Move beyond the allure of fluffy unicorns, it’s essential to focus on tangible strategies and practical solutions to deliver exceptional user experiences.
Join us in the quest to redefine UX and empower practitioners with the tools and knowledge needed to create impactful designs that resonate with users! Next stop: define. And for those who did not understand the reference to Despicable Me — well, you’re in for a fluffy surprise!
