Generative Vs. Evaluative Research In UX
From major companies to small businesses, user research can be integrated into any process of a product, service, or system. There are two primary forms of user research: generative and evaluative. While both methods serve individual purposes, they perform a crucial role together to create effective user experiences. In this article, we’ll explore the definitions of both methods and when to utilize them.
Generative Research
User interviews, exploratory research, qualitative research, or problem-space research. Generative research has plenty of names to define it, but the main idea behind the method is to understand the why behind user behaviors and actions. Specifically, the motivations, deterrents, needs, and goals behind a process or product.
Teams can use generative research to help break from the product and focus on better understanding your clients as people. We can use methods such as contextual interviews, ethnographic field studies, surveys, and other forms of participatory research [1]. Essentially, generative research utilizes approaches that allow teams to watch and analyze a user’s experiences, behaviors, and preferences at that moment or over a period of time.
Evaluative Research
Some of the most repetitive research you may conduct as a UX/UI designer is evaluative research, and for good reason. Evaluative UX is a data-driven approach that relies on testing and refining existing design solutions. It involves analyzing user behavior and feedback to identify potential pain points and opportunities. You’ve probably experienced evaluative research even at the most minute level whenever an app asks if you like their product, or ‘on a scale from 1–5, how likely would you recommend our service.’
The goal of evaluative research is to create deep and effective user research to reveal data that can help optimize and refine the product to the user’s needs and wants. Some examples of evaluative research can be A/B testing, usability testing, card sorting, or heuristic evaluations [2]. These methods can gather quantitative and behavioral data that evaluate the usability, accessibility, and responsiveness, as well as many other metrics of the product. Overall, using this method helps validate and reveal key errors in your concepts, information hierarchy, and the scope of your project.
Working Together
In summary, both forms of research play critical roles throughout every step of your product’s journey. Generative research helps us conceptualize and innovate solutions, whereas evaluative research informs us of how practical and user-friendly our product is.
We can maximize research to keep in touch with users and hold them at the heart of our product and remind ourselves what is our intended audience. In fact, there is no single approach when using either form of research within a company or project. Rather, both are used to achieve different goals and generate different results. The crux of the matter is that optimizing your research methods is imperative to key success in understanding your clients and amplifying your product’s potential.
References
- [1] “Generative vs. Evaluation Research: User Testing Research Approach.” UserTesting, 2023, https://www.usertesting.com/resources/topics/generative-vs-evaluation-research#:~:text=Generative%20research%20is%20defined%20as,goal%20is%20always%20the%20same.
- [2] “What Is Usability Testing? Guide to Types, Benefits & More.” Maze, 31 Jan. 2023, https://maze.co/guides/usability-testing/#benefits.
