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How can ANYONE do UX Research?
Speakers: Vasundhara Sridharan, Jeanine LeDoux, Stephanie Bach
Medullan

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Product Camp
Stephanie Bach
Director, UX
Vasundhara Sridharan
Sr UX Researcher
Jeanine LeDoux
Sr UX Researcher

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1. Validate - what you already know - or think you know - about your customers
and their needs, expectations and preferences
Learn - areas of opportunity, potential barriers and pitfalls, market
considerations
Compare - your value proposition against user expectations and competition
Iterate - to adapt to changing customer and market fluctuations
Value of UX Research: Why do it?

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• Successful launch in London helped secure $100 million in funding to extend to US
• Launched in US in major markets: New York, DC and Chicago in 2013 without prior market
research in US markets
• Failed in US by 2014
The HAILO Story: Taxi!

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Without it:
• Seemingly great ideas can fail to take off when launched...to great cost.
• A business model, product or design that works in one environment may not
work well in others.
• Adaptation is critical to product and design success.
Never assume you know what your users want. Just ask them.
Value of UX Research: What does this teach us?

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Important to ask:
• Do you know who your audience is?
• Did we ask users what they want?
• How they want it?
• Whether they could use it?
• Do users understand the story of your
product?
• Does your product offer a solution to a
problem they have (not a problem that
you want to solve)?
Value of UX Research
To ensure product success, it is
important to understand and
represent the voice of the user in all
stages of product development and
post-deployment.

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• There are many ways a product can benefit from UXR:
– Making insights through on-site observation
– Validating business hypotheses through customer research
– Discovering usability issues through user testing
• Product experience is what creates value and establishes power in the
marketplace. Forrester research found companies providing a superior user
experience led to:
Value of UX Research
4.4% more
customers
willing to buy
the product
15.8 % fewer
customers
willing to go to
purchase from
competitor
16.6% more
customers likely
to recommend
product

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Overarching process that anyone can apply
Define your goals
and decide on an
approach
Recruit
participants
Gather data
Analyze
Share with team
Make decisions
Iterate
Define user base
& screen

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General goals & methods
Qualitative Methods Quantitative Methods
Best for “Why” or “How”
Questions
Common methods include :
focus groups, interviews, and
usability tests
Can be in person or remote (for
instance, by telephone or video
conference)
Best for “How many” or “How
much” Questions
Common methods include
surveys, A/B testing, web
analytics, and summative
(benchmark) studies
These are almost always
remote

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Method 1
In Depth Interviews

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Purpose: When you want to sit down and talk in depth with users/potential
customers to get a sense of “why” and “what’s going on”
When do I use IDIs?
• There are many ways to use it such as for discovery research and for getting
deeper insights on existing products
• Focus of this talk: Discovery IDIs
– Output may be personas, journey maps or empathy maps
Purpose: In-Depth Interviews (IDIs)

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1. Get learning objectives for interviews
2. Write a discussion guide
3. Recruit people and set up interviews
4. Choose in person or conferencing software or platform
5. Conduct the interview
How can anyone conduct interviews?

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How can anyone write a good discussion guide?
Introduce
yourself and set
stage
Explain what to
expect from the
session
Consent/NDA
Ask for
permission to
record
Start with
introductory
questions
Get into
in-depth Qs

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How can anyone write a good discussion guide?
Introduce
yourself and set
stage
Explain what to
expect from the
session
Consent/NDA
Ask for
permission to
record
Start with
introductory
questions
Get into
in-depth Qs

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Context: you are building a movie ticket booking app. You want to understand your
user base better and get a sense of how they book tickets and what their
experience is.
Write 2 questions on a sticky note to open the conversation and set the stage for
discussing online movie ticket booking.
You have 5 mins
Pass on your stickies to us when done.
Activity: Write 2 Qs to get to know someone

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● Questions should ask about only one thing: “What do you notice first?” NOT “What’s the first thing
you notice on this page and where would you go next?”
● Questions should be open-ended—not easily answered with yes or no.
● Avoid leading questions: “Is this easy?” Instead, ask, “What do you think about this?”
● Ask questions you think you know the answer to. You might learn something new or realize your
basic assumptions were wrong.
● Ask questions that seem obvious. Don’t assume you understand what the participants “mean”
without them actually saying it.
Tips for framing Qs

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● Don’t provide an answer within a question: “Are you trying to find your order history?” Instead, ask,
“What are you trying to do here?”
● Wait for an answer. This is harder than it sounds. If the participant doesn’t answer immediately, keep
waiting. Do not offer an answer or ask another question. Remember, this is not a normal
conversation; you do not need to avoid silence. Let them think and answer.
● Ask follow up questions: “Why?,” “Tell me more about that,” “Why do you say that?,” “Help me
understand what you’re thinking.”
● Do not correct answers. If participants misunderstand your product, ask questions to figure out what
is causing the confusion. Do not tell them they are wrong.
Tips for framing Qs

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Method 2
Usability tests

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Purpose: When a product exists in sufficient state of completion (active website,
app, or functional design prototype) and needs testing for ease of use, wayfinding,
etc.
Purpose: Usability tests

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1. Get learning objectives
2. Write tasks out
a. Ask people to complete typical tasks using your product or prototype
3. Recruit people and set up
How can anyone do usability tests?

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1. Get learning objectives
2. Write tasks out
a. Ask people to complete typical tasks using your product or prototype
3. Recruit people and set up
a. Getting people through recruiting services or user testing platforms
b. Through a recruitment company
c. Scheduling constraints
d. No shows & incentives
e. Special populations (e.g. patients with specific diseases)
How can anyone do usability tests?

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1. Get learning objectives
2. Write tasks out
a. Ask people to complete typical tasks using your product or prototype
3. Recruit people and set up
4. Choose in person or conferencing software or platform
5. Conduct the test
6. Analyze
7. Share learnings
How can anyone do usability tests?

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Product Camp
Creating usability tasks
Include an introductory scenario that
sets the stage.
You can one scenario per task, or
one for multiple tasks. Mention the
motivation of the user.
E.g. “You and your friends John and
Jane have decided to go out this
Saturday evening.”
Write your tasks so that they are
commands that represent real user
goals.
Write the task more broadly, don’t
mention that the user should “click
here” or “click there”.
Ask your participants to “think
aloud” as they complete tasks.
Prepare a short set of probing or
follow-up questions for each task to
help you understand what needs to
be improved.
A typical question after a task is,
“What do you think about how that
worked?”

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Product Camp
Creating usability tasks
Include an introductory scenario that
sets the stage.
You can one scenario per task, or
one for multiple tasks. Mention the
motivation of the user.
E.g. “You and your friends John and
Jane have decided to go out this
Saturday evening.”
Write your tasks so that they are
commands that represent real
user goals.
Write the task more broadly,
don’t mention that the user
should “click here” or “click
there”.
Ask your participants to “think
aloud” as they complete tasks.
Prepare a short set of probing or
follow-up questions for each task to
help you understand what needs to
be improved.
A typical question after a task is,
“What do you think about how that
worked?”

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Context: you are building a movie ticket booking app. You want to understand
whether your users are able successfully book tickets on on your app.
Grab a sticky note. Write a scenario and an associated task to give your users in a
usability test.
You have 5 mins
Pass on your stickies to us when done.
Activity: Create a task for testing usability

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• Ask more general questions
– Overall feedback on the product/prototype or concept
– Brainstorming about how things could be improved in the future
– Final thoughts
– Any comments for the developers of this product?
– A good question to end sessions with is, “Is there anything I didn’t ask you that I should
have?”
Wrapping up a usability test

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Method 3
Surveys

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Primary: Gather quantitative insights
Secondary: Can also be used for qualitative insights.
Surveys are typically presented as a form, which people answer on paper or online.
These can genuinely feel anonymous, which is useful for some kinds of information
gathering.
Surveys can best be used when gathering data across a wide population, in great
numbers and where cost and/or timing is a factor.
Purpose: Surveys

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Unlike qualitative research, surveys are used to quantify information for
comparison, marketing or validation purposes. For best practice, when conducting
the same survey across multiple populations or across a time lapse, questions
should remain consistent from one execution to another.
Focus for today: User feedback on an existing completed product.
Purpose: Surveys

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1. Try to ask a neutral question, avoid leading questions
Don’t: How much do you like purchasing tickets online?
Do: Rate your preference for purchasing tickets online ( 1- 5 scale)
2. Keep it easy and simple
3. Ask meaningful Qs to your audience
Don’t: How much did you like your last purchase experience?
Do: Please rate your satisfaction with your most recent ticket purchase transaction.
4. Ask 1 question at a time
Don’t: Are you interested in travel tips and discounts?
Do: Choose your areas of interest (check all that apply)
Writing Survey Questions: Tips

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5. Use a balanced rating scale
Don’t: Yes - Sometimes - No
Do: Always - Often - Sometimes - Rarely - Never
6. Ask limited open questions
Don’t: Give an example of your favorite pastimes
Do: Choose the hobby in which you spend the most time
7. Give a “none of the above” or “other” option
Writing Survey Questions: Tips

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1. Multiple Choice - single answer - drop down
menu or radio button list:
Choose the hobby in which you spend the
most time :
Sports or exercise activities
Crafting or building activities
Cooking or food-related activities
Raising or caring for animals
Media or technology-based activities
Gardening or working with plants
Other
None
Writing Survey Questions: Methods
2. Multiple Answer - checkboxes:
Indicate the hobbies in which you have
interest (check all that apply):
Sports or exercise activities
Crafting or building activities
Cooking or food-related activities
Raising or caring for animals
Media or technology-based activities
Gardening or working with plants
Other
None

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3. Liekert Scale (1-5, 1-10, word group):
Rate the following statement :
I engage in sports or exercise activities:
Always
Often
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
Writing Survey Questions: Methods
4. Rating Scale - number order:
Rate the following activities by placing a
number in front of each in the order - use
number 1 for the activity you do the most.
__ Sports or exercise activities
__ Crafting or building activities
__ Cooking or food-related activities
__ Raising or caring for animals
__ Media or technology-based activities
__ Gardening or working with plants
__ Other
__ Does not apply
Always Often Sometimes Rarely Never

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5. Binary:
Do you engage in a regular hobby?:
Yes
No
Writing Survey Questions: Methods
6. Open Ended:
Describe your favorite hobbies:

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1. Write the survey questions
2. Prep the survey on a platform: Survey Monkey, Google Forms, Qualtrics etc.
3. Test it with pilot users to find mistakes or things that could be improved
4. Find an audience (platforms or through recruiting firms)
5. Launch survey
6. Collect responses
7. Analyze data
How can anyone do surveys?

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Context: You are building a movie ticket booking app. You want to understand your
user base better and get a sense of how they book tickets and what their
experience is.
Write 2 questions on a sticky note to include in a survey and the format/ method
you might use. Note how these might differ from how you asked these same
questions in an interview format
You have 5 mins
Pass on your stickies to us when done.
Activity: Write 2 survey questions

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Wrap Up: Q and A
Thank you!