Is Art the Future of UX Research?
A playful and robust data collection option that improves relationships with customers and teammates seems like a no-brainer.
As User Experience Researchers (UXRs), we rely on the scientific method to examine the human condition. There are tried and true methods for collecting and analyzing data in our (still relatively young) field.
The thing is, “That’s the way we’ve always done it” is the enemy of innovation.
Our UXR research community exists because past researchers pushed boundaries and innovated data collection methods that aligned with the needs of the technology field at that time.
Tried and true has a time and place, but as a research community, we must also continue pushing the boundaries. And that is what excites me about arts-based research (ABR).
What is ABR?
ABR techniques are varied and adaptable. For example, asking participants to draw where the dart lands on this target, instead of asking a series of questions, allows the task to be completed faster and creates less strain on the participant.
ABR also includes engaging the participant in the creation of “art.” In my most recent data collection, the participants drew a journey map; they drew simple lines that noted the magnitude and change of their emotions related to topics they identified as key moments in their relationship with VMware.
As with many methods, these examples of ABR in action are not meant to be comprehensive; the methodology is ever-evolving.
The research field has expanded into arts-based research methods over the last decade. ABR incorporates the arts into the communication element of research; this can be in how we communicate expectations, collect data, or visualize it for others. In particular, it allows social scientists to intentionally instigate the creation of art to examine the results scientifically.
Simply put, all sorts of scientists can borrow from art to do their jobs better. And more precisely, I would argue that as UX researchers, we should do this more often because researchers, participants, and the business benefit from incorporating ABR techniques into our data collection and analysis.
Why bother?
Integrating ABR techniques helps UX research become more inclusive, engaging, and collaborative. It helps us, as researchers, actively connect with our teammates and participants, as well as more deeply immerse ourselves in the data itself. As a result, we can better explore, understand, and present the user experience to others.
We used this technique for a handful of in-person research projects at our most recent conference, VMware Explore in San Francisco. And by all measurable accounts, using ABR techniques is a win-win option.
Participant Communication and Appreciation
Arts-based data collection techniques help your participants communicate their ideas to you more effectively, efficiently, and openly.
By using a drawing data collection technique between the participant and research, an inherently participatory design-focused method, participants can express their experiences or desires in ways that words cannot. Additionally, moving into a more tactile feedback space allows participants to communicate emphatic responses more effectively.
For example, within my research workstream at VMware Explore in San Francisco, participants were asked to map the peaks and valleys of key moments in their relationship with VMware (as described above). The research team then measured the changes via the slope of the lines to assess the severity of the response to that key moment and identify whether it was a positive or negative change.
In other words, by using ABR, participants can more clearly articulate a measurable change in their emotions by connecting space and time in the data collection artifact with a simple line carrying deep meaning.
Unlike in focus groups where a participant may share comments like, “They both sucked,” or if you are lucky, “Yea, that was even worse than X,” using art helps clarify participants' perspectives. When a participant is drawing, the impact intensity from one key moment is now directly comparable to another event with a precision missing from transcriptions or rank order questions.
In other words, we can get better (measurable) precision from some types of ABR that we cannot get from language alone.
Beyond the data, changing our approach also helped us create more positive connections with our participants. In addition to outstanding interactions, participants provided excellent feedback scores on our post-session survey. Because we started with an experience design perspective and then build a strong rapport with the participants in-person, the overall experience reflects positively on our brand.
Speaking generally, participants felt techniques were refreshing and helped them feel at ease while also guiding them to give rich stories for us to consider.
Researcher and Designer Collaboration is Impactful
Incorporating arts-based techniques into user experience research allows researchers and designers to find novel solutions to complex problems by incorporating the skills of design colleagues. Here at VMware, we are working to build an environment where we collaborate to achieve great things.
VMware Design has UXRs, but all team members can conduct research studies to ensure that users’ perspectives are considered throughout the design and development lifecycle. When a team has a member with a foundation in visual arts, it enhances the quality of evaluation of ABR methods. So a designer’s unique expertise becomes an asset to a collaborative research project.
Anecdotally, I have also seen that my designer research partners are more involved in and excited about synthesizing arts-based data once a protocol rubric for visually analyzing the data is in place.
Collaboration that allows for multiple perspectives to be integrated into the research plan and data synthesis aids in creating better outcomes. The research findings are more impactful because there were numerous perspectives in the room.
Business Thrives
By combining the network and relationship of multiple designer/ researcher teams with a more robust data collection and analysis, we can potentially have a greater (positive) impact on the user experience. I say potentially because you still need good relationships with your stakeholders, but that is an article for another day.
Put simply, when users’ needs are put squarely at the heart of our decision-making, they win, and we, as a business, thrive.
In San Francisco, Design team members collaborated to provide interactive sessions that enabled our participants to share their perspectives and help us shape a better future.
As we head into VMware Explore in Barcelona, Design is expanding the San Francisco research to reach our global customers. We will continue synthesizing data with an arts-based perspective and then use it to proactively guide planning for the coming fiscal year strategy regarding product roadmaps, processes, and future research areas.
A Cultural Shift in Progress
Internally at VMware Design, UX research is undergoing an intentional paradigm shift. We are working to create a more effective and efficient research program that benefits our customers and employees.
Incorporating arts-based research into VMware Explore this year in San Francisco (and soon Barcelona, too) led to:
- Increased participant and stakeholder enthusiasm about engaging with VMware,
- Valuable insights to inform our planning, and
- Better connections across our teams.
For these reasons, ABR is quickly becoming a key component of VMware Design’s UX research strategy. ABR is one strategy we are using to intentionally push boundaries in our planning, collection, analysis, and share-out phases moving forward. Here, art is absolutely part of the future of our UX research. Stay tuned for more about how VMware Design innovates UX Research with ABR.
PS- if you want to learn more about VMware Explore, check out my colleague Mary Lee’s post on the Office of the CTO Blog, where she shares details on the event and some of the other workstreams processes, as well.
