Module 04 in the one-week intensive for community college instructors, offered by MPICT.org.

1. User Research
We’ve talked about the why
!
Now, about the how

2. User Research
Okay, some more why

3. User Research
(cited by @kylesoucy)

4. User Research
You might encounter objections
"It’ll cost too much." (A: Interviewing is cheap.)
!
"We don’t have the time." (A: Do you have the time to
be wrong about your hypotheses and assumptions?
And making changes before code = cheaper.)
!
"We did market research." (A: That usually is about how
to sell a product, not what people do.)
!
… any others?

5. User Research
So what is user research?
"Design research both inspires imagination and
informs intuition through a variety of methods with
related intents: to expose patterns underlying the rich
reality of people’s behaviors and experiences…
through iterative hypotheses and experiment."
— Jane Fulton Suri, IDEO

6. User Research
So what is user research?
"Research is simply systematic inquiry" (Hall)
!
"For a design to be useful, it must serve the needs and
desires of actual humans." (Hall)

7. User Research
YES
!
Anthropology
Ethnography
Sociology
Journalism
Discovery
NO
!
Marketing
Sales
Your expertise
Building
Proving/Affirming

8. User Research
Ethnography for Design
"An ethnography records all observed behavior and
describes all symbol-meaning relations using
concepts that avoid casual explanations."
— Wikipedia
!
"What do people do and why do they do it? … and
what are the implications for what I’m making?"
— Erika Hall
!

9. User Research
User research can be:
Qualitative:
!
— Direct observation
— Interviews
— Surveys
— Combination of above
!
— can quickly change your
approach
— caution: self-reporting

10. User Research
User research can be:
Quantitative:
!
— Ergonomic/cognitive
studies
— Demographics
— Eye tracking
— Behavioral studies
!
— can be used in conjunction
for "mixed"

11. User Research
User research types
Generative/Exploratory:
— leads to ideas
— helps define a problem
— even for existing
products, good for new
features, improvements
!
— can include:
interviews, field
observation, literature
reviews

12. User Research
User research types
Descriptive/Explanatory:
— observing and defining
what you’re studying
— to know the context of
the design problem and
making sure you’re
designing for the user
!
— E.g., an online course:
— How does this fit into
the learners’ lives?

13. User Research
User research types
Evaluative:
—"Are we getting close?"
!
— Usually, this take the
form of usability testing
(which we’ll get to)
— But any usage
feedback helps

14. User Research

15. User Research
(from Erika Hall,@mulegirl)

16. User Research
(from Erika Hall,@mulegirl)

17. User Research
A reminder:
!
It’s not about you.
It’s about empathy.

18. User Research: Roles
You can do this solo!
Author: Plans it. Writes the
problem statement or "what
we’re studying", writes the
interview guide/script
!
Notetaker/Recorder: Captures
the data (user actions, audio,
video, user non-verbal cues)
It’s really hard for
one person to do
both of these
things at once!
But if you have the resources…

19. User Research: Roles
Interviewer/Facilitator/
Moderator: Interacts directly
with the user. Reads the script.
!
Recruiter: Can also be the
Scheduler/Coordinator, who
gets people to a where and
when.
Observers: Can be other team
members, stakeholders. What
is crucial is that they do not
influence the interviews or
test sessions.

20. User Research
Essential Research Skills
—Active listening
—Open-ended questions
— Look interested
— Minimal encouragement
— Phrase things clearly
— Set realistic expectations
— Paraphrase back what
you’ve heard
— PRACTICE
TAKE NOTES
"Notes or it didn’t
happen."

21. User Research

22. User Research

23. Structuring the
interview
(madmatt88 on deviantart)

24. The Interview Guide
Have the guide on-hand. It contains:
1. Brief description and question of the study. Helps
remind you to stay on topic.
2. Basic demographic data. Helps put participant’s
answers in context.
3. "Icebreakers". Warm-up questions, small talk.
4. Focus questions and topics

25. The Interview
Structure
An interview in three acts
But without confrontation

26. Types of Questions
Open-ended
Empathetic
What questions you ask will determine
the results
It’s fair to research high-priority
questions ahead of time

27. Types of Questions
Good questions are:
!
Specific
Actionable
Practical

28. Types of Questions
A Bad Question:
!
"What do people think about food?"

29. Types of Questions
A Better Question:
!
"How do urban families choose
where to shop for fresh produce?"

30. Mad Research Skillz
DO
!
— make it a conversation
— be sympathetic, non-judgy
— be the learner, not expert
— ask naive questions
— ask them to show you
— ask for specific stories
— see non-verbal cues
— breathe
— listen actively
— note exact phrases
DON’T
!
— make it an interrogation
— talk about yourself
— ask leading questions
— ask"yes/no" or "this or that"
questions
— make it a focus group:
"Here’s X. Do you like
X?" (People want to please.)

31. User Research
RESEARCH
(it’s a job,too)

32. Warning signs
BIAS
http://bit.ly/18Gcsab

33. Types of Questions
Confirmation bias:
!
"The tendency of people to favor information that
confirms their beliefs or hypotheses."—Wikipedia

34. Types of Questions
Sampling bias:
!
"…a sample is collected in such a way that some
members of the intended population are less
likely to be included than others."—Wikipedia
!
… or your sample isn’t sufficiently representative

35. Types of Questions
Interviewer bias:
!
You insert your opinions into the interview or
observation.
!
This may not be conscious: "I just wanted the
participant to see that button!" (Note: This is hard.)

36. Types of Questions
Social bias:
!
People may not say what they think makes them
look bad.
!
And people tend to want to please you: "Oh, your
site looks perfect! I can tell you worked so hard on
it!"

37. Credit Where Due
http://www.abookapart.com/products/just-enough-research

38. Credit Where Due
http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/interviewing-users/
Also: http://
rosenfeldmedia.com
/books/
interviewing-users/
resources/

39. PRACTICE
Let’s interview each other.
!
It’ll be fun.

40. PRACTICE
Interview scenario:!
!
You work for the City of Oakland, which wants to create a web
site to help citizens come to and get the most out of the new
farmers’ market.
!
The goal of the research is to identify unmet needs people
might have around participating in and enjoying this new
farmers’ market.
!

41. PRACTICE
!
!
Look for:
— goals
— priorities
— tasks
— motivations
— barriers
— habits
— relationships
— tools
— environment
Interview practice:

42. PRACTICE
!
!
Break into groups of three: one interviewee, one interviewer,
one notetaker/observer.
!
Switch roles in 15 minutes.
!
Two rounds.
!
Interview practice:

43. PRACTICE
!
!
So… what did we learn today?
!
Interview practice:

44. Next up:
Personas and scenarios
ddt@twoangstroms.com
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