Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a UX Researcher
Delving into the world of UX Research is more than analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, it’s being exposed to the rummages of behavior and feedbacks from users and figuring out a way to nitpick those information which could benefit your research. In my version of things I wish I knew before becoming a UX Researcher inspired by Shae Illustrates, I discuss what the books don’t teach before becoming a UX Researcher in DANA.
Unbeknownst to me, my background as a computer science major played just a moderate role in becoming a UX Researcher. Yes, moderate. Granted, it’s a huge plus that I’m well-acquainted with tech lingos and few of the tools, but once you’re thrown into the field, it’s like uncharted waters. There are things you can learn from online courses and YouTube, but few adjustments need to be made once you become part of an organization. One quick thing you should take away from reading this article is equip yourself with the foundation of UX Research, anything you can absorb from the Internet, and practice it in real life, then utilize that knowledge accordingly once becoming part of a team.
1. Seminars and seniors
My journey towards becoming a great UX Researcher is nowhere near the finish line, so I’m still learning as I go. My first mistake was that I was too caught up in theoretical approaches that I disregarded the importance of applying them in real life. Luckily, I garnered credible pro-tips from UX Researchers that have been in the field longer than I have and they suggested that I join seminars as often as I could. Because hearing firsthand from someone with a lot more experience than you, makes it all the more real in comparison to learning from YouTube. Don’t get me wrong, learning from YouTube is a great first step, but kick it up a notch and immerse yourself in the environment.
The moment I decided that I wanted to be a UX Researcher, I read a hefty amount of Medium articles from UX Collective, I watched a lot of A Day in the Life of a UX Researcher videos religiously (P.S. It’s different in every company), and explored study cases. Which is a good first start, but I remember my mentor telling me not to get too fixated on carrying out the textbook definition of the perfect research, so that fueled me to join more seminars. You’ll see how much you have to adjust to your user once you conduct your first usability testing research, especially during a global pandemic like this. But that’s another story for another time.
Moreover, I genuinely felt more inspired when hearing firsthand what senior UX Researchers had to say in their seminars. You get to hear how they tackle real problems and the solutions that come with it, the overall experience is enriching. I suggest keeping an eye out for events given by startups on Instagram.
2. Go off-script
My second day as a UX Researcher in DANA, I was directly involved in a usability testing where you have to equip yourself with a research guideline. Before knowing what I know now, I always go by the books and played it safe. I never derailed from my research guideline during user interviews. From my current standpoint, I get to say that being that way, produced mundane insights. Why? Because I was too rigid with my research guideline.
Your research guideline reminds you to stick with the objective and helps you define the outline of your research. What’s their first impression and difficulties when using the feature and whatnot. With that being said, the best insights are usually discovered when you go off-script, because your intuition helps you uncover underlying motivation of your user’s behavior. Going off-script here doesn’t mean you start talking about your user’s favorite go-to coffee shop, it leans towards probing the unnoticeable hints given by the users. For instance;
A: “Saya kurang suka kalau tombol next nya di atas,”
B: “Boleh dijelasin kenapa, bu?”
A: “Ya, susah aja sih mba. Soalnya kejauhan sama jempol saya,”
B: “Ekspektasinya ibu ditaruh di bawah aja gitu ya?”
A: “Iya mbak, kayaknya lebih gampang deh,”
Now, the old me would have accepted that reason and move onto the next question. But now that I know better...
B: “Kalau boleh tahu, ibu biasanya menggunakan fitur (re: Mobile Recharge) ini sudah dijadwalkan per bulannya atau tidak menentu?
A: “Nah, kalau buat saya sendiri dijadwalkan, tapi kadang-kadang juga orang tua saya suka minta isiin pulsa dan itu suka tiba-tiba mbak. Kadang kalau mereka lagi sama teman-teman yang sebaya, suka tiba-tiba minta isiin pulsa. Lah, saya di rumah kan juga sambil momong anak-anak, urusin warung, kadang ada keperluan ke pasar. Jadi suka nggak memungkinkan saya operasiin handphone pake dua tangan kadang-kadang mbak,”
This example illustrates a richer insight gained from probing during a usability testing session. Sure, UI/UX Designers have thought about button placement into consideration, but hearing it firsthand from users solidify the validation of a certain presumption. Not only that, as part of the UED (User Experience & Design) team in DANA, gaining insight as such contributes to a lot more than just a “button placement”, it would give us a further understanding of user behavior upon utilizing Mobile Recharge, for instance.
3. Patience is key
Being a UX Researcher means you get to be involved directly with the users, there are many types of users. On good days, you get an interactive user with great insights and on other unfortunate days, you get a user that just agrees on everything you say, with little to no insights. You would think that having a user that agrees with you is favorable, but it takes away the main point of interviewing them in the first place. If you asked them on what they think about the feature they just tried and they said everything’s good with the explanation being, “it’s just good,” there isn’t much you can take away from that. What’s worse is if they’re inconsistent with their answers, when they had a difficulty doing a Maze task but when asked what their issue was, they’re reluctant to explain and likely to dismiss it. Don’t even get me started on users that have confirmed their attendance but suddenly stood you up on the day of the interview.
See, it’s things like this that the books don’t teach, it’s something you have to go through and learn firsthand what to do when faced with users as such. That’s why being patient here is key, it’s important to not let our emotions get the best of us and still remain neutral and solution-oriented.
Back then, if you asked me what I would do when facing a user that’s inconsistent or reluctant to explain, I would answer with enthusiasm and I would power through, without knowing what to do! But now, if I did meet a user as such, I would try my best to not get frustrated and redirect the question from a different angle. For instance;
B: “Apakah bapak ada masukan untuk fitur ini?”
C: “Nggak ada mbak,”
B: “Kesan pertama ketika menggunakan fitur ini apa?”
C: “Mudah untuk digunakan,”
B: “Boleh dijelaskan lebih lanjut, pak?”
C: “Ya, gimana ya mbak. Ya saya pas ngerjain gampang aja gitu”
From this interaction proves that there isn’t any other credible insight apart from the fact that it’s “easy to use”. We could easily accept his remark and move onto the next question, but when challenged by other members of team whether or not users had other insights apart from “easy to use”, you will realize how much you missed out on probing the users for beneficial insights.
B: “Kira-kira kalau fitur ini sudah rilis apakah bapak akan sering gunakan?”
C: “Tergantung sih mbak,”
B: “Tergantung apa pak, kalau boleh tahu?”
C: “Ya, tergantung kalau saya emang butuh. Karena sebenarnya saya ini jarang menggunakan DANA untuk transaksi seperti ini. Saya lebih sering menggunakan aplikasi X,”
This interaction is a very best-case scenario where the user actually changes their answer from a “yes” to hint that they rarely use DANA for certain transactions. Cross-reference that information with his profile and his behavior, that would give us more insight to be explored later. At least more than just “easy to use”.
But if we are still stuck with users that are inconsistent with their answer, try to make the user feel comfortable. Maybe we seem standoffish or straightforward? We need to remember that you both are strangers and have never met before, and it’s normal if they feel awkward. Before starting we could crack a few ice-breaking questions to make them feel comfortable. Little pro-tip, try picturing yourself in a job interview, remember what that’s like? How nervous you felt? That’s probably how they felt, except they don’t have much to lose, so it’s easy for them to disregard your questions. Ask yourself, what would you do if you were them and you want to feel comfortable?
From what I know now, these are the things we get better at over time.
4. Practice makes perfect
Also known as jam terbang. Frankly, to get where I am today, I had to go through several embarrassing encounters with users and repeating questions they’ve answered because I was too nervous. In the context of usability testing (since it’s the bread-and-butter of being a UX Researcher), probing users to gain great insights requires practice, because there isn’t a better teacher than doing it firsthand and learning from experience.
Being the awkward person that I am and still wanting to pursue a career where you mostly interact with users, remain as the eighth wonder of the world. But over time, I get to know myself as a UX Researcher and continuing to practice it by learning as I go.
So, these are the 4 points I wish I knew before becoming a UX Researcher. I was privileged enough to be surrounded by generous people that have been in the field longer than I have, and are willing to show me pointers. If you’re still starting out, don’t be intimidated! Chances are other people out there feels the same way as you do, just remember these 4 points; Theoretical knowledge isn’t enough, immerse yourself in the field (join seminars), apply what you know and go with the flow, and remember to always be patient. Good luck!
