The Do’s and Don’ts of In-Home UX Research
Lessons from the field
So the product you’re researching is in home, and now you get to go inside a strangers house. Recently at Marketade, we worked with a cutting edge in home fitness product with several of their users. We traveled across the US and visited homes across a wide variety of demographics. Here are some things we learned along the way.
DO give users notice, but not too much.
Recruiting is tricky when you don’t live in the geographic area in which you are trying to recruit. You don’t want to burn through your clients budget by extending hotel stays or rescheduling flights. During our recruiting process, we figured out a window that worked for us to be in the area. Then, we scheduled users for that time.
We began our recruiting process by using a CRM list provided by the client. Then we launched right in to screening. We figured that trying to recruit could be challenging, so we wanted ample time to prepare.
Throughout our process, we found that scheduling out by 2–3 weeks was a pretty safe bet. Any longer and we noticed users tended to deprioritize our visits. Shorter time frames can work, but they put a lot of pressure on you as the researcher if you have a target sample size. We found that 2–3 weeks gave us and our users ample notice and time to plan, without too much time that they would forget or it would be disruptive to other plans.
DON’T recruit around major events or holidays
This may seem obvious, but check your calendar before you recruit. Holidays mean busy travel seasons. This not only makes it difficult to schedule users, but it is also expensive and time consuming to travel at this time. The airports are crowded and travel is much more stressful. Additionally, people tend to be quite preoccupied during the holiday season. For this project, we wanted to observe how users interact with their fitness product in home. Most users lamented that they were out of their typical fitness routines owing to the stress of the holidays. The data was still extraordinarily valuable, but it was a reminder that holidays introduce a new variable into the sample, and it’s important to remember that when analyzing your data.
DO have backups … of everything!
Our target goal was 12 users total. Predictably, we had last minute cancellations. One thing we made sure to do was have alternates. During recruiting, we took the first 12 users who fit the profile, but we kept additional people on hand in case of cancellations.
Additionally, if you have high quality video cameras, make sure you also have a high quality back up. My primary camera failed me in one visit and I had to use my laptop in a pinch. It worked well enough, but the video quality was poor. Make sure you always have at least two options for recording.
DON’T go alone
At Marketade, we have a policy that researchers do not go alone into users homes. This is for obvious safety reasons, but from a practical standpoint, it can help having someone take notes and help troubleshoot any technical problems. In our case, stakeholders joined us for each session! I recommend this strategy wholeheartedly. It helps them see firsthand some of the pain points users experience, and they delivered presentations at the collaborative workshop we run after we collect data.
DO prepare yourself and your users
Always send reminders leading up to the day you’ll be visiting them in home. We used a combination of calling and sending text reminders so there were no surprises. Additionally, we told users exactly what to expect and how many people would be going. We tried not to overstay our sessions, although some ran over with the users permission!
Our project included watching users do an actual workout on their machine. Obviously, this is no small ask — it’s hard enough to work out without someone watching you! Most users didn’t think this was a big deal, but it’s our responsibility as researchers to put them at ease. Make sure to talk with users about who they are before you ask them to perform. It’s important to remember that users will have a broad range of emotions and reactions to our present in the home. As a result, we made sure to ask questions about motivation, their typical fitness routine and their life in general before we launched in to the fitness session.
Moreover, we assured them that we would not correct their form, that we weren’t there to judge their routine but to watch how they interact with the machine. They were free to start and stop as they feel necessary. We made it a point to put them in the drivers seat during the session. As always, some users will be friendly and talkative, and some will be more withholding. Prepare yourself for all types of users, and be ready to engage as they lead you.
DON’T wait until the last minute to find directions to your destination
If you’re researching in a city where you don’t live, try searching for directions to your users house at various times throughout the days leading up to your visit or use the map feature that allows you to pick a departure time. Figure out where the hot spots are and if you’ll be going in the direction of traffic or against it whenever you plan to leave. Be aware of traffic delays, construction or any major event happening in that area. Doing this will give you an idea of when you need to leave to arrive at the home visit on time.
If you are using Uber or Lyft, leave at least 10–15 minutes earlier than you think you should. Inevitably, the driver sometimes cancels the request, they get lost or they hit traffic. When I was in Miami, my drivers could never find my hotel. One driver missed an exit and took an additional 20 minutes to get to our destination.
DO pack a bag
Your bag should have:
- Camera, if you’re using it
- Back up camera (x2 if you can)
- Batteries, if necessary
- Chargers
- Pen
- Paper
- Laptop
- Cell phone
- Snacks!
If you’re anything like me, it’s really hard to do research on an empty stomach! We packed 3 sessions in a day and I didn’t have time to eat until late that evening. Fortunately, I packed a protein bar and fruit with me. Without it, I think the session would have been much less productive.
DON’T forget to follow up
Make sure to give the incentive you offer to your users right away, and always send a thank you note. Allowing a stranger into your home is not a small ask. Thank users profusely, send a personalized note and make sure to pay them as soon as you can. These details build trust and respect with your user, and ultimately your business!
DO have fun!
Right now, in home research seems like a distant memory and a dismal prospect. But one day, this pandemic will lift and it’s likely you’ll get the opportunity to do in home research. When the day comes, I hope this list helps and I hope you enjoy the unique opportunity to see your users in their homes, whatever form that takes!
