According to the Interaction Design Foundation, “UX (user experience) research is the systematic investigation of users and their requirements, in order to add context and insight into the process of designing the user experience.”
What does a UX Design Researcher do, typically?
Validate assumptions
UX Design Research is both quantitative and qualitative. Researchers set objectives, create hypotheses, and reach conclusions. Hopefully, their assumptions will be validated and supported by both the quantitative and qualitative data found in their research.
Guide product & service design
There are various types of research methodologies like focus groups, interviews, surveys, field studies, card sorting, journey mapping, testing, and more. Using these methodologies and a set of best practices, researchers are attempting to discover unbiased patterns and insights that will help guide product or service design.
Reduce product development time & costs
User research helps prevent scenarios in which a product is designed, built, and launched only to have it flop. UX Design Researchers keep the product on track by focusing on specific goals. When goals are clearly defined, there is less development work and reworking that needs to take place – saving both time and money.
UX Design Research misconceptions
Takes too long
User research helps its builders develop products that people will actually use and/or need. Research may also prevent builders from creating a product that isn’t necessary.
Costs too much
UX Design Researchers can actually contribute to ROI by saving time and money in the long run. The time and initial cost associated with performing thorough research prevents products from being reworked over and over again – or even scrapped. Research helps builders get the product right the first time.
Can be done by anyone
UX Researchers have a thorough understanding of research methodologies and best practices in the conducting of research. They are skilled at obtaining results that are as free from biases as possible.
Measuring UX design research effectiveness
Many of the metrics are qualitative. However, user research metrics are also tied to UX design decisions. Therefore, in order to measure the impact of user research in an organization, data and success stories that prove a significant ROI can be used. For example, “In product A, user research insight B informed design decision C. Design decision C was successful in D,E, and F ways.”
