An Introvert’s Foray into User Research
Research: noun /rɪˈsəːtʃ,ˈriːsəːtʃ/ systematic enquiry to establish fact and reach conclusions
Design: verb /dɪˈzʌɪn/ do (something) with a specific purpose in mind
Introvert: noun /ˈɪntrəvəːt/ a shy, reticent person
As an introvert, I have an inherent resistance to talk to people. However, the profession that I choose to be in — design — requires me to talk to a lot of people, a lot of times. As a product designer in Carousell, the quality of my work depends on how broad my considerations are; considerations that are formed based on having conversations with different people — users, stakeholders, engineers, and sometimes, other designers.
Up until last year, I hadn’t conducted any research that involved talking to people. But things changed after I attended a masterclass by Jan Chipchase that inspired me to take the first step in conducting and leading a user research exercise. In 2018, I ended up talking to 43 users in total.
Here are some notes on the journey.
It’s hard but gets easier with time
When I first recruited a bunch of people to interview around a year ago, I was scared. Before the interviews, I prepped in every way possible — conducted mock interviews with friends, made a mind-map based on anticipated responses, watched other interviews, read a book — but always felt like I wasn’t ready. In my first interview, I ran out of things to ask in first 20 minutes (more on this later). Throughout the interview, my heart kept racing and I constantly kept thinking I shouldn’t do this anymore.
But when it ended, I had known about the participants’ experiences that were afresh to me (and my team). I was relatively less scared in the next interview. And after five such interviews, the interview stopped appearing scary.
Being curious about them as individuals
I started making an effort to be genuinely interested in research participants as individuals, and not because they displayed certain behaviour on the app. Doing this allowed me to dig deeper into certain behaviours that were unknown unknowns before the conversation. Being curious also eased the process of establishing trust, a crucial part in an interview process.
Establishing trust takes time
Even though most of my interviews were 45–60 mins long, I made sure that I spent first 10–15 minutes simply warming up, setting the right expectations and addressing any concerns they might have. Trust comes with familiarity, and the warm up conversation is one of the many ways to do that. Apart from the warm up conversation, having a business card also helps establish authenticity.
Letting the conversation flow
It’s good to have a rough idea about the direction of the conversation but make it too tight and we are just validating (or invalidating) our own biases. This is also one of the most common beginners’ mistakes. To avoid this, I started with a rough outline of the conversation but allowed it to flow naturally.
Involving other stakeholders in interviews
I conducted my first five interviews alone. What a rookie mistake!
I was asking questions, taking notes, looking for notes — all at the same time. Things improved drastically when I reached out for help from other team members. Having a note-taker is a luxury. Apart from taking a load off my shoulders, they also keep my biases in check while synthesising the notes for later.
Dealing with condescending individuals
When we are talking to research participants, we are talking to them as representatives of the company. Some participants will be more vocal about how they feel. And sometimes — just sometimes — they will be condescending because they just want to vent out their frustrations about the company. In those cases (only a couple of them so far), I kept in mind that it was not personal at all. I instead showed interest in knowing why they thought or said what they did. It did hurt my ego for awhile and it was not a great experience, but it was certainly not a waste of time.
I’m just thankful to have encountered them later, after having grown into the role of an interviewer. I don’t know how I would have handled it if I had encountered them when I was just starting out.
Downloading notes ASAP
My ability to retain information drops significantly over time and I always try to synthesise them with the note taker immediately after an interview. In the car, on the couch, wherever possible because recency matters.
Synthesising the notes is all the more important when I am conducting multiple interviews. It doesn’t take much time before insights from one interview starts slipping into another, and we’d be left with a confusing slate of responses.
It’s a rewarding exercise
Most of my time is spent talking to sellers on Carousell to understand how they are doing and the challenges they face. In some cases, those sellers were hustlers who were trying to establish a business outside their day job. In others, they were working moms who were trying to earn some extra bucks while they were free.
Apart from bringing the diverse perspectives from these users to the team, every interview taught me a thing or two about establishing a business and thinking about things like competition, return on investment, and expanding the business with multiple constraints.
Experiencing the direct effect of these interviews on my design decisions over the course of year is nothing short of a revelation. The decisions may still be based on assumptions, but they were informed ones.
There’s no denying that I still find it challenging to conduct interviews but with practise it’s turning to be in an enjoyable challenge. My heart still races, my limbs still tremble (very mildly though), when I am conducting interviews but I know it’s going to be worth it. It’s always been.
“I don’t like work, but I like what is in the work — the chance to find yourself.” — Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
