Reasons not to do UX Research
UX Designers are naturally curious beings. We are always tempted to apply research in our projects and activities. Is it always necessary, though? This is a common question when we are constantly on a tight schedule and haunted by deadlines.
Over the years, UX research evolved considerably, and the theme gained mainstream. People from different backgrounds discussed it and published more content about this topic. As a result, various guidelines and best practices emerged and were validated. A lot of them were widely used and revalidated.
So, before you start your “Research”…
Frequently in a project, we find ourselves in situations that make us think:
“The end is near, folks.”
We have this “unsolvable” problem. What should we do next?
It is worth checking if the problem you are facing now still needs to be solved. We are in a highly populated world, and millions of projects are currently in progress. There is a high probability that another person on our giant planet had the same problem at some point and has published their experience somewhere. That’s why it is essential to do secondary research and check the current status of our problem.
Indubitably, most research relies on trial and error. Lots of mistakes happen before we get what we need. Errors help us to evolve. When our research leads us to a dead end, we redo it by trying a different path. It is even better if we learn from other people’s mistakes. We save tons of time and money and bad slept nights doing this.
Benchmarking… and benchmarking.. and more benchmarking
One way or another, we are always doing research to some extent; perhaps it is not the research we wanted to do. We are benchmarking all the time, or at least we should because it helps us learn from others.
Good design is good design and must be used as a reference, and so must a terrible design. Good and bad designs were validated over the years, and if they still kept their titles, it is probably because they somehow work.
And finally…
If, after all of this, you feel like your problem still needs to be solved or you are dealing with an unexplored area, go ahead and start your dream research!
But before you start, remember to ask yourself a few questions:
Will this research bring value to our project, product, and/or business?
Is there enough time in our roadmap to plan, execute and apply this research?
If you answered “yes!” for both questions, you most likely qualify to start researching. I wish you good luck, and don’t forget to share it with us!
