User Research => User Experience — Day 22
1.0 Recap
Yesterday, I looked at how to sell UX design to friends and colleagues. I also listed some benefits of UX design. You can check it out here.
2.0 User Research
Today, I studied user research and why it’s important to conduct it.
User research has to do with placing people at the center of the design process. You focus more on the user’s behaviour and feelings towards the problem you are trying to solve as a designer. User research is usually done at the beginning of a project because it will allow you to know the direction of the project.
User research can be done in two ways:
- Quantitative Method => This method has to do with the use of surveys to capture the user’s needs. This might not get a deep understanding of user’s experiences that need to be captured.
- Qualitative Method => This has to do with conducting interviews and usability testing. You tend to get an in-depth understanding of people’s experiences in their everyday life.
You can use both methods depending on the goals you want to achieve as a UX designer.
3.0 Reasons for doing User Research
There are 3 major reasons for conducting user research:
3.1 To create designs that are enjoyable by users
If your product is easy to learn and use and it also captures the user experiences, then it means success for the product.
Success = High level of usability + high quality of user experience
3.2 To create designs that are relevant to users
In order to create relevant designs for users, you need to understand the people you are designing for and how they feel about the products you are designing.
Understand user = Create relevant designs
3.3 To understand the Return On Investment(ROI) of UX design
Most companies or clients fail to see the value in investing on user research and user design. Often times, UX designers have to fight for resources to enable them to carry out these user researches. When you understand the ROI of user research, you won’t waste time and money developing products that don’t meet user’s needs.
3.0 Resources
The best way to learn is by asking questions and letting people know how you understand the topic. Feel free to leave a comment, we will definitely learn from it
