User Research
Who are our users? What do they need? How can we serve them better?
Competencies
Lessons
-
IA Methods
We’ll briefly discuss task analysis and scenarios as optional information architecture topics which may be helpful for your projects.
-
Observational Research
The best way to gather information about users' behaviors is to actually observe them doing things in their natural context.
-
Personas
Personas are a deliverable which helps us summarize and communicate findings from user research, embodying those findings in a representative user which other stakeholders can empathize with as well.
-
Surveys
Surveys can also help us form a better picture of our users, their behaviors, and preferences.
-
User Interviews
When planning new design work, interviewing potential users helps us understand behaviors and contexts to narrow down the problem(s) we should address.
Resources
-
Participatory Design ∞
-
Contextual Inquiry: Leave Your Office to Find Design Ideas ∞
-
Cultural Probes ∞
-
Methods for research: Contextual Inquiry ∞
-
Mental Models ∞
-
Interdisciplinary Interaction Design ∞
-
Just Enough Research ∞
-
The User Experience Team of One ∞
-
Contextual Inquiry: Workforce Mobility ∞
-
Interviewing Humans ∞
-
Task Analysis ∞
-
When to Use Which User-Experience Research Methods ∞