This article originally appeared on my website.
I'm a fan of writing notes while reading design books. The book belongs to the author(s). The notes are a quick reference for myself and others if they need it.
UX Research: Practical Techniques for Designing Better Products
Brad Nunnally & David Farkas
Good Research Starts with Good Questions
How Good Questions Go Wrong
- Leading Questions > "How do you use Outlook to communicate your work status?"
- Shallow Questions > "Do you use Yammer for team discussions?"
- Personal Bias > "I know I always struggle with invoices; what challenges do you have with your software?"
- Unconscious Bias > "Where do you guys go to unwind after work?"
Knowing When to Break the Rules
- Leading > "How much do your friends and family appreciate photo albums when you make one for them?
- Shallow > "How many times do you log in to Facebook in a day?"
- Personal Bias > "Do you think the Cubs actually have a chance at the World Series this year?"
Quantitative Research Methods
| Method Name | Insight-Driven | Evaluative | Generative |
|---|---|---|---|
| A/B Testing | X | ||
| Analytics | X | X | |
| Card Sorting | X | X | X |
| Customer Feedback | X | X | |
| Email Surveys | X | X | |
| Eye Tracking | X | ||
| Intercept Testing | X | X | |
| Moderated Product Testing | X | X | |
| Surveys | X | X | |
| Taxonomy Review (Tree Jacking) | X | X | |
| Unmoderated Product Testing |
Qualitative Research Methods
| Method Name | Planning | Discovery | Validation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card Sorting | X | X | |
| Contextual Inquiry | X | X | |
| Diary Study | X | X | |
| Heuristic Evaluation | X | X | |
| Landscape Analysis | X | X | |
| Moderated Product Validation | X | ||
| Participatory Design | X | X | |
| Stakeholder Workshop | X | X | |
| Surveys | X | X | |
| Taxonomy Review | X | X | |
| Unmoderated Product Validation | X |
Heuristic Evaluation
- Summary > Provide a quick summary (1 sentence) of the tasks that is performed for this heuristic violation
- Page Identified > Provide the URL/page title that the violation is found
- Strengths > Provide any positive factors about the task performed for the violation
- Heuristics Violated > Provide the code of the heuristic it violates
- Details > Provide any other detail that hasn't been captured above or short recommendation on how to resolve violation
- Screen shot of violation
Faciliating Research
Key Body Signals
- Open arms and legs > More approachable and agreeable overall
- Closed arms and legs > Mindset is defensive and potentially closed off
- Spread-out arms and legs > Attempt to expand your personal space/assert your overall presence
- Leg positioning > Legs like to point in direction you want to move
- Head movements > Look up: accessing imagination and potentially being deceitful > Look down: accessing memory and potentially being more truthful
Key Expressions
- Surprise > Eyes wide open and jaw dropped
- Fear > Eyes wide, mouth barely open, and forehead wrinkled
- Disgust > Teeth barred, nose wrinkled, and eyes slightly closed
- Anger > Hard stare, closed and tense lips, and nostrils possibly open wide
- Happiness > Broad smile, crow's feet around eyes, and raised cheeks
- Sadness > Pouting lips and drawn-in eyes
- Contempt > Partial fake smile and squinting eyes
Communicating Insights
Research Artifacts & Diagrams
- Experience maps
- Personas
- Mind maps
- User flows
- Swim lanes
- Mental models
- Severity scales
- Click maps
- Actionable recommendations
- Change logs
- Design specifications
As written above, these are just my notes for this title. I encourage you to read a copy of your own for further insight into the text.
Top comments (1)
I also recommend checking out gapsystudio.com/blog/ux-research/. This is a comprehensive guide to UX research that starts with a simple explanation of what UX research is, followed by further discussion and explanation of the types and methods of research.