introduction to ux research methods

09 September 2011 @dgcooley #FCSTL 1

Introduction toUser Experience Methods

Introduction to User Experience MethodsDanielle Gobert Cooley

@dgcooley

About me

• 12 years as user researcher/usability specialist• BE, Biomedical & Electrical Engineering• MS, Human Factors in Information Design• Selected Employers & Clients

danielle@dgcooley.com

@dgcooley

Important Things to Know About UX Methods

Please RememberTh

ings to

The purpose of these methods is to

inform your design.

They are not validation methods.

Let Me Repeat ThatTh

ings to

inform your design.

You Are Not Your UserTh

ings to

NOT YOU

Why Do It? To Avoid Ending Up HereTh

ings to

One More Thing…Th

ings to

inform your design.

Usability Study

Questions It Answers*

• How easy or difficult is it to use the product?

• How efficiently do people use the product?

• Do the users understand the product’s terminology?

• Do the controls make sense?

• Can people find the information they are seeking?

Usabilit

* Depends in part on prototype fidelity … more on that in a few moments.

How It’s Done

1. Recruit representative end users.

2. Observe impartially as they attempt to perform tasks with a prototype.

3. Typically, participants are asked to think aloud as they use the prototype to perform the tasks. This provides insight into WHY certain interface elements are confusing and what might work better.

Usabilit

dyTips…– Recruiting the right users is key!– Avoid bias everywhere – in task

phrasing, your and your observers’ body language, and in verbal questions asked. – Recordings are great, but huge time

sucks.– Quantitative studies often aren’t worth it.

A Note About Prototype FidelityUsa

bility S

Advantages

• Controlled setting means easier logistics.• Recording and observing is easier, too.

• For the rare quantitative study, lab-based testing makes it easier to use such tools as Morae or Ovo.

• Lab-based testing has fewer variables to control, which can be a factor for more rigid studies.

Usabilit

Disadvantages

• Lab setting provides no context of use.• Labs can be expensive to rent or build

– (but they don’t have to be)• Participants are sometimes timid in a lab setting

Usabilit

Field Study

Questions It Answers

• How do environmental circumstances affect the usability of the product?

• How have people worked around issues with the product?

Field St

How It’s Done

2. Observe impartially in the environment in which the product will be used as they attempt to perform tasks with a prototype.

3. Collect artifacts.

Field St

Advantages

• Gathers contextual data– Ambient light, noise– Distractions

• Participants usually less intimidated

• Much more convenient for participants, so recruiting can be easier

Field St

udyContextual Inquiry?

Though the terms are often used interchangeably, Contextual Inquiry is

actually a type of field study that follows a very specific format.

Disadvantages

• Logistics are more difficult for researchers.• Observation is more challenging.• Recording is more challenging.• Security issues sometimes prohibit photographs or other

recording.

Field St

Card Sort

• How would the users organize the product’s content and features?

• Do the users largely agree on how the content should be organized?

• Do the users agree with the categorizations proposed by the project team?

Card So

How It’s Done

2. Identify content items to be categorized

3. Participants sort the content items into groupings that make sense to them.

Card So

rtTwo types …

–In an OPEN card sort, participants create the categories.

–In a CLOSED card sort, the researcher establishes the categories.

Advantages

• Incredibly inexpensive• Done very quickly with remote

evaluation tools.• Asynchronous, so scheduling is not an

issue. Participants take part at their convenience.

Card So

Disadvantages

• More complicated with large sets of cards.

• Really, there’s almost no reason NOT to do a card sort, unless you don’t plan to use the results.

Card So

Tree Test

• Can users find content in the proposed navigation?

• Do the proposed group labels correctly reflect the content within them?

Tree T

How It’s Done

2. Set up study with IA to be evaluated.

3. Give participants specific content elements to find in that architecture.

Tree T

Advantages

• Incredibly inexpensive• Done very quickly with remote

evaluation tools.• Asynchronous, so scheduling is not an

issue. Participants take part at their convenience.

Tree T

Yep. Just like card sorting!

Disadvantages

• The full IA and nav structure must be created in order to execute a tree test, so there is significant investment in the “prototype,” if you will.

Tree T

Tree Test vs. Card Sort–An OPEN Card Sort generates an information architecture.–A CLOSED Card sort

usually evaluates high-level labeling.–A Tree Test evaluates findability in an existing information

architecture.

OK. This one IS a validation method.

Survey

• What is the users’ opinion about various facets of the product?

• How do users believe they use the product?

How It’s Done

1. Recruit participants2. Write survey3. Relax while the data rolls

right in.

Advantages

• Cheap• Fast• Remote• Easy data collection• Large number of participants

Disadvantages

• Data are self-reported.– What people do is not the same as what people SAY they do.

• Good question curation is surprisingly challenging.

Expert Review

• Does the product comply with conventions and best practices?

• Has the expert seen issues in the past with any of the design elements or interaction techniques used in the product?

How It’s Done

• An experienced UX Specialist analyzes the product, looking for common mistakes or interface elements or interactions that are not consistent with best practices.

iewHeuristic Evaluation?

Though this term is thrown around a lot, a Heuristic Evaluation is really a specialized type of Expert Review.

Advantages

• Considerably less expensive than lab or field studies

• Often relatively fast – again, as compared to lab or field studies.

Disadvantages

• No actual end-user perspective.• Experts vary.

Other Techniques

In No Particular Order…

• Journaling Studies – Users keep a journal of their interactions (good and bad) with the product.

• A/B Testing – Two different versions of a product are placed online and success rates analyzed.

• Analytics – Web site or product metrics are analyzed to determine user success or failure.

• Personas – Descriptive profiles of representative end users. This is actually an output of field research.

Recap & Additional Resources

• User Experience is important. Really.• These are NOT validation techniques!• There are a lot of methods to choose from.

Nov 2011

introduction to ux research methods

notvalidation methods

knowthe purpose

right users

prototype fidelity

user experience methods109

verbal questions

human factors

observers body language

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