At the beginning of the week as an introduction to the subject of user research, we covered what is it, why it is an important process and who in industry team would be most likely to look into it.
What is user research?
- Outlining business/project objectives
- Discovering how the user will interact with the product or service.
- Finding common interests of the users
- Establishing which target demographic/market to cater to
- Creating user personas and profiles
- Creating user journeys to test in relation to the design process
- Correlating trends and behaviour
Why is it carried out?
- Refine the criteria for ideation
- Target a specific audience
- Opportunity to find a gap in the market to suit user needs
- Validation to make sure the product you are developing is relevant
Who does it?
- Product/ Service designers
- Researchers
- UX/Interaction Designers
After this, we covered the meaning of formative and summative research and why different types of research are conducted at different points of the creative and technical process. Formative research is carried out when a creative team is still formulating the idea and then throughout the project. Summative research is used to validate the design that has been made. Having said this, some research methods are transferable between the two e.g. surveys.
To test our skills in a practical environment we conducted a mock user workshop. In the industry, this is where researchers and designers would sit down with stakeholders and outline user needs. From this, they would most likely create user personas and this would start to paint a clearer idea of the requirements. Our brief was to create an online mobile platform, preferably an app, that caters to the needs of the students on the BSc and BA courses. We knew that most users have iOS, however, we weren’t sure what to include in the app so we started by asking everyone on a scale of 1-10 how often they used their phones. The majority of the class voted 8/10 so we knew we were catering for an active audience. After running another group survey we established that on average, people checked their phone every 10-15 minutes. With this data in mind, we each wrote down 3 things we would like to be included on the app. These were separated into categories and we each voted for our favourites. It was clear to see that timetable and e-mail integration were the most popular. I really enjoyed doing this as a group and will definitely be using these methods in the future both as a student and in the work place. One of the most valuable lessons I learnt was, if you ask the right questions, you will receive the right answers.
Following this, we looked into the psychology of design. This is essential to take into consideration as a UX designer because the products and services I will be designing will be for humans who have thoughts and feelings. By applying psychological methods to aesthetic and functional design it is possible to optimise the project to the best of its abilities. This is especially relevant if substantial and correct user research is conducted and I can cater the psychological needs to my target market. There were four methodologies we looked at and these were Hick’s law, Gestalt principles, dual-coding theory and change blindness. The one that stood out the most to me was Hick’s Law as there are many times when I have been on a website and been confused almost instantly due to poor user experience design. Coupled with the fact that I am dyslexic and find it very hard to differentiate text it can be very stressful to read an article let alone navigate an incoherent website.
On Tuesday night I really enjoyed this weeks guest speaker session. Rupert and Harry visiting us from Neon Tribe, a Norwich based UX design/software development agency, was very inspiring and insightful. I thoroughly enjoyed their presence in the room and had a great time taking part in the exercises. I learnt a lot of valuable information about creating user personas along with how they can have a massive impact on the formative and summative parts of a project. The key pieces of information that I took away were:
- In this project, when having to play multiple parts at once and consider many different aspects of design and execution at once, the best thing to do is to cut down any time wasting. I should only be focusing on what is most important and getting the essentials done in the time frame provided.
- When creating a user persona, take into consideration elements of your fictional character that may seem irrelevant but may link up later. Overarching titles can be created such as basic information (name, age, location), hobbies, personality traits (introvert/extrovert, an early adopter of tech/lagger) and circumstances (married, homeowner, siblings). Links will soon form and a clearer picture of the target demographic will appear.
- Once a persona has been created they can be put into situations to see how they might react.
- PERSONA + SCENARIO = IDEA
E.g. Bella is a 15-year-old girl and has depression. She is bullied in school and online and feels very insecure about social interaction because of it. (User persona) She has to go to a cousin’s birthday party this weekend with her family and is feeling very nervous about it. (Scenario) I could develop an app which gives her prompts of how to cope with social situations. These could include conversation prompts and a breathing exercise for anxiety. (Idea).
- It helps to humanise the end user. Projects can be for people who you really get along with or they could be for people who you really don’t. On either end of the spectrum, you must still empathise (not so much feel sorry for but take their feelings into consideration) with the user and remember that they are the ones who will be using it, not you.
For my project, I decided to create a user persona and she is called Deborah. I have drawn a mind map like the one we did as a group with Harry and Rupert. I really enjoyed doing this and gained a lot from looking at the project from the perspective of someone in a different social group. It didn’t take that long to complete and I am really excited to use it again in the future. I especially enjoyed presenting my ideas on paper and my mind flowed a lot better through the pen and paper method. I tried using an online platform to create a mind map and trying to learn the controls was seriously hindering my speed and creativity. I would come up with an idea and because it would take too long to figure out the new controls, I was distracted and quickly forgot my train of thought.
