User Experience Academy Camp 1: Know Your User Better by UX Research, Persona, and Empathy Map
COMPFEST 14, Depok — Camp 1 User Experience Academy (UXA) has been held on 20–21 August 2022. All sessions at this camp were held online via Zoom Meeting. The participants from UXA are the 20 best registrants that COMPFEST has previously selected. In this camp, participants will learn about the processes of UX research that lead to the creation of User Persona and Empathy Map. Material and mentoring sessions were brought by speakers and mentors who are experts in this field. Let’s see the excitement!
Day 1 — UX Research 101
The User Experience Academy camp started with opening remarks from Fasya Prandari as Manager of Academy COMPFEST 14 and Isyah Auliarahmani as Person in Charge of UXA COMPFEST 14. The camp moved on to the first speaker session, “Introduction to UX & Research Planning” by Nabila Nur Afrida, Product Research at Stockbit.
Nabila started by explaining the definition of User Experience (UX) and the essential elements of UX: user and product. A product must be usable, equitable, enjoyable, and useful for users to have a good experience. “UX is about looks, feel, and usability. An attractive appearance, pleasing to the user, and easy to use,” she stated.
Nabila also explained the importance of UX in business and digital products. Regardless of a business’s industry, those who focus on usability and design will stand out from their competitors. A good UX designer must be able to implement UX while aligning it with the business objectives of the product.
Furthermore, Nabila explained UX Stakeholders and UX Roles in a company. UX stakeholders generally consist of management, data analysts, and engineers. In a small company that does not yet have its own UX division, a UX designer will have several responsibilities. Contrarily, in a company that has a UX division, a UX designer will have specializations, such as UX researcher, UX designer, UX writer, and others. Nabila also explained the commonly used UX Frameworks: Double Diamond and Design Thinking.
Nabila then discussed the topic “Research Planning” in UX research. UX research must be conducted to integrate business goals with user needs efficiently. Planning for UX research starts with talking and discussing with stakeholders, data analysts, and front-line customer support. After that, the research continued by determining the background, objectives, and hypotheses. The presentation ended with a Q&A session. UXA participants eagerly questioned the speaker about the subject explained throughout the presentation.
The camp then moved on to a hands-on session. Participants were divided into five groups, and a mentor accompanied each group to prepare a research plan with the template provided by the committee. The hands-on session was held for 120 minutes and followed by a break.
The next speaker session featured Suzayana Rosidah, UX Researcher at Tokopedia. Ros brought the material “Know your User & Product More by Doing UX Research” to this session.
First, Ros elaborated on the definition of UX research and why it is essential. Ros said that in UX Research, we must be able to address the needs of the business besides prioritizing users. In addition, she explained that UX research could be conducted throughout the product development cycle, with different goals at each phase.
Ros then elaborated in detail on the types and methods used in UX research. Types of UX research can be classified based on the type of data (quantitative and qualitative), who does it (primary and secondary), and approach (behavioral and attitudinal). The UX research method consists of interviews, surveys, and usability testing. She added that the types and methods mentioned could be combined rather than used separately.
Ros then explained when the UX research method and type were applicable. Selecting UX research methods and types depends on the problem statement that was decided initially. In addition, the selection can also be made by considering the advantages and disadvantages of each type and method. Ros also explained how to measure the impact of research, which can be done through collaboration between stakeholders in regular checks and sharing sessions. The first day of the camp ended with a Q&A and a hands-on session.
Day 2 — User Needs, Pain Points, User Persona, and Empathy Map
The second day of Camp 1 of UXA kicked off with a speaker session by Sandya Sekar Mukti, a Product Designer at Mamikos. The topic she presented to the audience was “Identify User Needs & Pain Points from Your Research Data”.
Sandya started her presentation by explaining the definition of qualitative and quantitative data. “In the real world, so that quantitative data can provide insights, it is usually combined with qualitative data,” she stated. Next, she explained how to synthesize research data. The basic rule in synthesizing research data is to ensure that the questions and methods used are aligned with the research objectives. She also discussed the common mistakes in synthesizing research data.
Sandya then explained how to identify problems and purpose solutions from the research results. She stated a product designer should focus on the user’s basic needs rather than just focusing on a current pain point. This can be done by determining the user’s whole behavior to create a meaningful user experience. Sandya also discussed how to present the findings to stakeholders properly.
At the end of her presentation, Sandya advised that we don’t necessarily have to stick to the existing terminology when learning UX. “As long as we know that the mindset is user-centered, always data-driven, and critical to finding the problem, the solution (that is generated) should be accurate,” said Sandya. Camp continued with a Q&A and a hands-on session.
The second day of the camp was continued with a speaker session by Ivana Putri, UX Researcher at Rakuten Viki. The topic she presented to the audience was “Persona & Empathy Map”. Puput started her presentation by explaining the definition of persona and why persona is needed. “It’s easier for us to empathize with users if we have seen an illustration, rather than just in the form of a sentence,” she said. In addition, Puput explained the elements that need to be in a persona. She also explained the types of personas that are commonly used and other alternatives to using a persona.
Next, Puput discussed “Empathy Map”, which is a way to synthesize research data to produce personas. Empathy Map can be used to map the insights obtained from user interviews and see how users can be divided into segments. Puput then explained how to do user segmentation, which can be done based on goals, usage lifecycle, role, and behavior. She also explained how to map each element from the Empathy Map to a persona. After creating a persona, we can create a scenario to imagine the flow of the design that will be made. Camp continued with a Q&A session and a hands-on session. UXA Camp 1 ended with a photo session and sweet goodbyes from the MCs.
Interview Time!
After the Camp 1 UXA ended, we had the opportunity to interview one of the mentors, Alifiannisa Lawami Diar, Senior Product Researcher at Ruangguru. Ann discussed the skills that someone who wants to pursue a career in UX must have, such as critical thinking, strong curiosity, the courage to experiment, and stakeholder management. Moreover, another essential skill is collaboration. This skill is required since the technology industry does not operate in isolation; other ecosystems support the operation of an application or system. To hone these skills, we must actively seek knowledge by participating in boot camps and competitions. We also have the opportunity to create connections as well as improve our skills.
Next, Ann also shared her impression of COMPFEST. She was glad that COMPFEST featured events related to the working world in the industry, such as UXA, because this field is currently on the rise. Ann hopes that in the future, COMPFEST will be able to reach out to more students in Indonesia so that they, too, may have the same experience.
We also had the opportunity to interview Mavis Zeng, one of the participants of UXA. By participating in UXA, Mavis expects to be able to fill her free time with productive activities and expand connections with new people. She likes how COMPFEST conducts learning with a theory session followed by hands-on sessions. According to her, this allows participants to understand better their depth of understanding of the topics covered. Furthermore, she also shared her memorable experiences while attending UXA Camp 1. She mentioned moments with her group because each member gets along well and is generous in sharing knowledge. She also considers herself blessed because she has a great mentor who assists her group during the mentoring session.
See you in the next series of events at COMPFEST! Stay tuned for information about COMPFEST through our social media accounts on Twitter @COMPFEST, Instagram @COMPFEST, Facebook COMPFEST, LinkedIn COMPFEST, and website compfest.id. Read the complete articles on our Medium page for more about Academy. (Editorial Marketing/Visi)
