The key to taking a good note
Product design and development moves fast. It can cause decisions to be made without an understanding of who your users are and what they need.
At FanDuel we move as fast as we can, and to make sure we inform our decisions with user research we involve as many disciplines as possible in attending research sessions. Over time we’ve found that getting the wider teams involved in note taking is a great way to ensure focus; it forces you to really listen and observe. But, at first, not everyone knows what they should be taking note of and what they should avoid.
Here is some guidance we’ve put together for colleagues who participate in user research sessions and take notes.
What makes a good note?
Observations: What the user actually does, or did.
Focus on the actions the user takes, for example: “hovered over the deposit button, then scrolled down the page. Clicked on the learn more link and read the information”
Quotes: What the user actually said
It’s really important to record exactly what the user says. This means that the note contains the quote in the users own words — which is really key to understanding the user’s goals, motivations, and frustrations.
Context: Where the user is in the flow
When reviewing the notes, if they contain the location/screen of where the user is when they say or do something it makes it much easier to know if this is what you’re looking for. So make sure there’s context on your notes.
Succinct details: Keep notes brief, but useful
This one takes practice, but the notes should give enough information to get some value from them on their own.
What makes a bad note?
Paraphrasing: Don’t put words in the user’s mouth
Paraphrasing will cause the notes to be less accurate as they could contain your own views or biases. It’s easy to just record exactly what the user says, so do that.
Vagueness: Keep them useful
A vague note is a waste of a note. It’ll either go in the bin, or someone will have to watch the clip back and take the note again themselves.
Solutions: Now is not the time
Focus on the user’s goals and pain points, don’t assume that you know what would fix the problem when making notes.
What makes a good note-taker?
Remove distractions: Put phones and laptops away. Put all of your attention into the research session.
Listen and watch objectively: record things as they are
Write your own questions: they can be passed to the researcher or discussed afterwards.
Using sticky notes (a researcher’s best friend): we all know researchers love a sticky note, at FanDuel we’re no different. However, we do try and follow some simple rules when we use them during any research session:
- Written clearly — ALL CAPS is a good approach
- Use a bold, black marker
- Keep it succinct, but not vague
- One note per sticky
- Label it with the participant number and the identifying part of the flow
If you put these tips into practice the next time you’re involved in user research, you’ll find that it’s all quite straight forward. Get involved in the analysis and you’ll see how impactful it is too — there’s no better way to learn or improve your skills than by doing.
