getting to know you: user research fundamentals anyone can use

Getting to know you User research fundamentals anyone can use

Karen L. Bachmann Research & Analysis Practice Lead, Perficient XD @karenbachmann #stc14

User Research Fundamentals – STC Summit 2014

What we will cover

•  What user research is. •  The fundamentals of planning and conducting user

research. •  Types of user research. •  Inputs that can help guide effective user research. •  How to identify and recruit the right participants. •  Alternatives when getting direct access to users is

challenging. •  How present the compelling findings that support

design and inform needed changes.

User research in the development life cycle

•  User Research •  Task Analysis •  Environment Analysis

•  UI Design Prototypes •  Usability Requirements

•  UI Functional Prototypes •  Screen Elements, Interactions, and Behaviors

•  User Interface

Analysis Design Development Testing Maintenance

Usability Testing

USER RESEARCH What user research is Why is it essential What you learn about users

What user research is

•  The foundation of user experience

•  Essentially, it’s asking users about themselves in a constructive and focused way.

•  “The process of learning about ordinary users by observing them in action” (Hackos and Redish)

•  Requires more than just scientific principles and data gathering techniques; it requires empathy

•  An ongoing process because the information is subject to change over time

What we learn from user research

•  User needs and expectations

•  Contexts of use

•  Behaviors, triggers, and influences

•  Motivations and attitudes

•  Demographics, background, experience, knowledge, and other characteristics

•  A clear picture of real and distinct users

User research…

•  …does not identify an “average” user, but can help develop composites (personas, profiles, types)

•  …requires empathy, not just scientific principles and data gathering techniques

•  …is subject to change over time as users change and their expectations grow

Why do user research

•  To understand and share current user experiences

•  To distinguish between user needs and user wants

•  To anticipate user reactions to and the chances for success with a particular development effort

•  To increase the likelihood of a project’s success before starting development through shared understanding

•  To identify all possible users of the product as concretely as possible

What user research should answer

User Research

What How Why

Where When (How, Why)

Example Case: PD Intranet Site

•  Intranet portal for professional development and training

•  International consumer package goods company

•  Users include a wide range of functions: back office staff (HR, IT, etc.), production and warehouse staff, sales teams, drivers

•  Supporting a new program for increasing training access to allow 3 WBT and 1 ILT each year

PLANNING USER RESEARCH Review inputs Plan for a study Identify goals for a successful study Identify and recruit the best participants possible

Steps to conduct user research

•  Plan research •  Determine what you want and need to learn from

users •  Determine who your desired users are •  Determine what user activities you need to support •  Determine the research method •  Develop questions that you need to know about

the users and their processes •  Conduct research •  Present results

Writing a research plan

•  WHY: What you want to learn – study goals

•  WHO: Groups of users you need to talk to

•  WHAT: Specific information to discuss

•  HOW: Methods to use at each phase of development

•  WHEN: Session schedule

•  WHERE: Location of session

Email me for a copy of my plan template

WHY: Setting goals for a study

•  Stakeholder understanding

•  Business goals and constraints

•  Market expectations

•  Technical goals and constraints

Steps to conduct user research

•  Stakeholder •  Provide opportunities

for employee growth •  Promote consistent

pride in brand and culture

•  Market expectations •  Competitors offer

training – may lure employees

•  Business goals and constraints •  Need to implement in

6 months •  Budget $$$

•  Technical goals and constraints •  Update technology •  Move to RWD

WHY: Types of information to learn

•  Types of users •  Industry experience •  Job experience •  Roles •  Computer experience •  Education and training

•  Expectations and influences

•  Attitudes and motivations

•  Times for interactions •  Working conditions

(environment, platform) •  Usage constraints •  Satisfaction with current

conditions •  Perspective on changes

to current conditions •  User goals and

requirements

Activity: Set a goal for the study Example: Understand the platform different types of users use to

access the intranet today.

WHO: Go-to sources about users

•  Users themselves

•  Direct interactions

•  Indirect interactions

•  The immediate managers of users

•  The upper management (the people who are paying for a project, but possibly farther removed)

•  Surrogate users

•  Industry and group publications and organizations

•  Social networks

WHO: Selecting participants

•  Understand the most significant group of users

•  Highest priority

•  Most frequent users

•  Engage as many as feasible

•  1 user > no users

•  Combine methods to reach more users

•  Surrogate users > no users of the perfect profile

WHAT: Example types of plans

•  Interview plan

•  Guide vs. Script

•  Questions and probes

•  Survey plan and questions

•  Activity guide

•  Usability test plan

•  Task scenarios

•  Test data and other inputs

•  Questions

HOW: Moderating the session

•  Be nice and empathetic

•  Recognize they are experts and allow them to introduce new topics

•  Ask questions and pursue ideas as they emerge

•  Don’t guide, correct, or defend

•  Encourage any final thoughts and suggestions

•  Thank participants!

HOW: After the session

•  Allow time between sessions to jot down key observations while fresh

•  Discussion observations with note taker and any observers

•  Don’t draw conclusions or make recommendations (or do so with caveats)

•  Send a thank you note if appropriate

•  Send out any honorarium

WHEN & WHERE

•  Accommodate your test participants’ availability

•  In a lab environment

•  Within the user’s environment

•  Remotely via screen sharing and conference call

•  Anywhere you can meet users

•  Times match your user’ availability

•  Be flexible

Thoughts on session logistics

•  Observers •  Level of access to users and visibility during test •  Relationship to participants (supervisors? peers?) •  Ground rules for interaction •  Buy-in and involvement

•  Recording •  Handwritten notes •  Screen movies to capture movements •  Audio and video of participant •  Permissions to use audio, video, or name

TYPES OF RESEARCH Overview of types of user research Picking the mix that works for you and your users

Example techniques & degrees of separation •  Industry research •  SME interviews •  Usage tracking •  Feedback from users •  Surveys and questionnaires •  Social networks •  Focus groups •  Diary studies •  Interviews •  Usability testing •  Observations •  Site visits

ith re

Distant

Direct

Activity: Select approach to reach the following types of users •  HR personnel •  Regional sales managers •  Warehouse stockers •  Delivery drivers

ANALYSIS Identify significant findings Present them in a compelling way

Align findings to study goals

•  Categorize findings so that all stakeholders understand how what you learn answers the questions they had

•  Document thoroughly where study goals were not met and why

•  Identify any surprise insights that were not anticipated, but turned out to be very significant

Reporting

•  Share your findings •  Focus on significant conclusions and provide

recommendations •  1-2 pages (no “Big Honkin' Report”) •  Bullets and lists are good •  Skip the report and do affinity diagramming/K-J

analysis •  Tailor formality to your audience

•  Recognize the limits of your data •  Summarize study for readers outside the project

Understanding users

•  Complete profiles of all users and any composites for design

•  User personas

•  User and usability requirements

•  User artifacts (such as forms, documentation, and similar)

•  Screener for usability test recruiting

Understanding important activities

•  Process, not tools

•  Task models and work flows

•  Journey and experience maps

•  Scenarios

•  Stories about how users perform activities in their own world currently

•  Users’ models for interacting with content, tools, and other people in performing their actions

Understanding context of use

•  The conditions that users will face when using the end product

•  The users’ physical environment

•  The users’ platform

•  “Noise” in the communication

Where the analysis takes you…

User Goals Users Activities Context

Not necessarily the same as… §  Stakeholder understanding §  Business goals and constraints §  Market expectations §  Technical goals and constraints

Activity: Highlight a key observation Review excerpts from Anton’s interview and note comments that

support the study goals.

Example Case: PD Intranet Site

“I've been with the company for 8 years now. I've seen initiatives like this before. It would be great if it worked this time, but... [laughs]. For the warehouse team, it's tough to get some of them to use the intranet at all.”

“I have a smart phone, but I use it for calls and emails only. Some texts from my family. I have big hands, so browsing the web on such a small screen is too much of a hassle.”

“I use YouTube on my home laptop because I've found some great videos on assembling remote controlled plane kits, my hobby. I also have started to use Pinterest because my wife told me about some boards on RC planes.”

“Will I be able to help my team plan their training?”

Making user research part of the plan

•  Know the objections and have answers for them

•  Prepare a formal request

•  Provide cost analysis of savings from solid user analysis in similar projects

•  Look for ways to integrate user analysis in existing processes

•  Prepare management for plan changes

I hope you got that “nugget” that helps!

Thank you!

“Ten years from now many of the information you learn at the conference will be out of date, the only thing will last is the relationship you build today.” ~ CamMi Pham

So let’s connect: karen.bachmann@gmail.com @karenbachmann www.linkedin.com/pub/karen-bachmann/4/a/884/

About me Karen Bachmann, the Research & Analysis Practice Lead with Perficient, helps clients deliver usable products that support how users need and expect to interaction with information and perform their tasks. Karen is a member of STC, UXPA, and ACM SIGCHI. She is a former manager of the Usability & User Experience community and is an Associate Fellow of STC.

She lives with 6 ferrets and a cat, who view her and the other human in the house as necessary, although hard-to-train, staff.

Got treats?

User and task analysis references

•  M. Coe. Human Factors for Technical Communicators.

•  J.T. Hackos and J.C. Redish. User and Task Analysis for Interface Design.

•  T. Mandel. The Elements of User Interface Design.

•  J. Nielsen. Usability Engineering.

•  B. Shneiderman. Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction.

•  I. Young. Mental Models.

Usability requirements references •  C. Courage, K. Baxter. Understanding Users: A Practical Guide to User

Requirements - Methods, Tools, and Techniques. •  J. Jubner. “Setting Usability Requirements.” http://

www.deltamethod.net/hb_WR5_UsabilityReq.htm •  S. Lauesen, H. Younessi. “Six Styles for Usability Requirements.” http://

www.itu.dk/~slauesen/Papers/SixStyles.pdf •  E. Smith, A. Siochi. “Software Usability Requirements by Evaluation.”

http://www.acm.org/~perlman/hfeshci/Abstracts/88:264-266.html •  W. Quesenbery. “5Es of Usability.” http://www.wqusability.com/ •  Usability Net (A European Union Project). “Requirements.” http://

www.usabilitynet.org/tools/mainrequirements.htm •  Xerox Corporation. “How to Develop Usability Goals.” Usability SIG

website: http://www.stcsig.org/usability/resources/toolkit/toolkit.html

Usability testing references •  C. Barnum. Usability Testing Essentials: Ready, Set...Test! •  J.S. Dumas, J.C. Redish. Practical Guide to Usability Testing. •  J. Nielsen. Usability Engineering. •  J.S. Dumas, J.C. Redish. Practical Guide to Usability Testing. •  J. Rubin, D. Chisnell. Handbook of Usability Testing: How to

Plan, Design, and Conduct Effective Tests, 2nd Edition. •  D. Stone, C. Jarrett, M. Woodroffe, S. Minocha. User Interface

Design and Evaluation. •  K. Summers, M. Summers. Creating Websites that Work.

Usability testing references •  C. Barnum. Usability Testing Essentials: Ready, Set...Test! •  J. Dumas, D. Chisnell. Handbook of Usability Testing: How to

Plan, Design, and Conduct Effective Tests, 2nd Ed. •  S. Krug. Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to

Web Usability. •  S. Krug. Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide

to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems. •  J. Nielsen. Usability Engineering. •  D. Stone, C. Jarrett, M. Woodroffe, S. Minocha. User Interface

Design and Evaluation. •  K. Summers, M. Summers. Creating Websites that Work.

User survey references

•  D.A. Dillman. Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method.

•  A.N. Oppenheim. Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Attitude Measurement.

•  P. Salant and D.A. Dillman. How to Conduct Your Own Survey.

Organizations and resources

•  STC Usability & User Experience: http://www.stcsig.org/usability/

•  User Experience Professionals’ Association: http://upassoc.org/

•  ACM SIGCHI: http://www.sigchi.org/

•  Human Factors and Ergonomics Society: http://www.hfes.org/

getting to know you: user research fundamentals anyone can use

user research user needs

user research plan research

types of user research

user research stakeholder

effective user research

user reactions

user activities

average user

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