17 UX research methods
UX research methods
When you create an IT product, there is no way around the UX subject. Any business owner wants the man-hours spent to turn into profit and to be appreciated by the end user.
This article covers 17 techniques of UX research that will help minimize the risks of creating the ‘wrong’ product. Some of these methods are basic and trivial, some are more sophisticated, but each of these has the right to exist and each can help reach a quality result with minimal losses.
- Market analysis
- Proof of concept
- Focus group
- Ethnographic research
- User involvement in the design
- Tree testing
- Preference testing
- Lab research
- Remote research
- Eye-tracking
- Five-second test
- Panel analysis
- A/B testing
- Usability testing
- Heat map
- User feedback
- Interview
Types of methods
Behavioral/Relational
Behavioral methods always pivot around the “How do users behave?” question. Relational methods answer the “What impression does the product make on users?” question. The two answers do not always coincide, but depending on the purpose of the research, both can be equally important.
Quantitative/Qualitative
Some studies always yield results that can be precisely measured. For instance, you may do a survey and get an explicit picture: for/against, 5/10, 62%, etc. These are quantitative studies. In other cases, only a qualitative assessment is possible, i.e. consisting of the judgments of a researcher or participant (clear/confusing, short/long, etc.).The quantitative and qualitative methods differ mainly in the amount of data and subjects. More data/subjects, and less time designated for particular cases (quantitative research method). At the same time, a smaller amount of data allows you to process it more efficiently, without missing a single detail (qualitative method).Based on this, a UX designer must be able to maneuver between quantity and quality, depending on the task.
Product research methods
Based on the degree of actual product participation in the research, there are the following methods:
- Scenario-based hypothesis testing;
- Finished product testing;
- Combinations of the above;
- Without product participation (surveys, competitor research, audience research, etc.)
Development stage
There are three stages of product development: Planning, design and results. Thus each research method can be suitable for a particular step of the project.
1. Market analysis
Behavioral/relational: both possible
Qualitative/quantitative: both possible
Product research method: hypothesis testing
Development stage: planning
When to use: at the initial stages, at the stages of idea formation, product research, research of the properties of the target audience and competitors.
Method in short: the method is driven by studying existing potential competitors in the market: analyzing their target audience, sales channels, traffic channels, as well as studying their business model. Perfect at the start of idea formation as it helps to build the right foundation for further work, find new solutions or advantages of a future product.
2. Proof of concept
Behavioral/relational: relational
Qualitative/quantitative: both possible
Product research method: combined
Development stage: planning
When to use: at the initial stages, at the stages of idea formation.
Method in short: the method is intended to highlight the key qualities of the product and to determine whether it meets the needs of the target audience. It should be exercised preferably with an audience of five people and more. The main goal is to understand the need for the product.
3. Focus group
Behavioral/relational: relational
Qualitative/quantitative: qualitative
Product research method: combined
Development stage: without product participation
When to use: at the beginning of a project, to understand what users expect from the product.
Method in short: a small group of up to 10 participants, led by a moderator, discusses their views on the future product. The moderator should facilitate a conversation about the product and help the participants reveal their opinion about the product.
4. Ethnographic research
Behavioral/relational: both possible
Qualitative/quantitative: both possible
Product research method: hypothesis testing
Development stage: planning
When to use: when monitoring similar products on the market. The method provides crucial insights about user needs, letting refine the overall product concept.
Method in short: the task of the designer is to observe users in their natural environment. Research is conducted with competitors’ audiences with existing similar products on the market.
In general, the research is mainly focused on obtaining comprehensive behaviors of the competitor’s audience rather than studying their product. The researcher should be physically present and conduct the research both as passive observation and observation with participation and interviews.
5. User involvement in the design
Behavioral/relational: relational
Qualitative/quantitative: quantitative
Product research method: hypothesis testing or finished product testing
Development stage: planning, design
When to use: during product design as a brainstorming session
Method in short: users are invited to work out the product structure on their own, participate in the role of a designer and offer their own architecture options. Being involved and familiarized with the product, users attempt to create the most convenient service for themselves. The work in this method can be offered to users in the format of sketching on paper or work with ready-made UI elements.
6. Tree testing
Behavioral/relational: behavioral
Qualitative/quantitative: quantitative
Product research method: without product participation
Development stage: planning, development
When to use: during the design of the navigation logic.
Method in short: the user’s objective is to find the desired item in the text scheme. By opening one item, the user falls into others, etc. As a result, you should get a complete picture of the user’s clicks before reaching the desired item.
7. Preference testing
Behavioral/relational: behavioral
Qualitative/quantitative: both possible
Product research method: hypothesis testing, finished product testing
Development stage: planning, development
When to use: at the design completion stage, also during design development, to understand the user’s impression about a particular design.
Method in short: users are shown different design options for evaluation to understand their attitude to a particular possible product style. To describe their position, participants choose a card with the best description from a prepared set of cards.
8. Lab research
Behavioral/relational: behavioral
Qualitative/quantitative: qualitative
Product research method: hypothesis testing
Development stage: design
When to use: at the prototyping or design stage of the UX product in order to prevent incorrect user scenarios.
Method in short: users are introduced to the required scenario for working with the product and given access to the product. During this, the moderator observes their actions and notes important details.
9. Remote research
Behavioral/relational: behavioral
Qualitative/quantitative: qualitative
Product research method: hypothesis testing
Development stage: design
When to use: in order to save resources, this method allows conducting research in a familiar environment for the user; consequently, the results may be more credible.
Method in short: basically, this is the same as lab research, with a single difference: users are not in their usual conditions. This is the most popular method as its efficiency is very high in relation to resources spent.
10. Eye-tracking
Behavioral/relational: behavioral
Qualitative/quantitative: both possible
Product research method: hypothesis testing, finished product testing
Development stage: design
When to use: used during product design with a working product version available. Helps to optimize the product prior to production.
Method in short: the research identifies interface elements that get more attention. It also helps to find areas that users have difficulties with. A special device, an eye-tracker, marks the fixation points of the user’s gaze when working with a site or application, as well as transitions between them.
11. Five-second test
Behavioral/relational: relational
Qualitative/quantitative: qualitative
Product research method: hypothesis testing
Development stage: design, results
When to use: at the stage of product concept development, in order to compare the designer’s concept with the user’s vision.
Method in short: a quick survey of a user to understand the first impression of the design. Survey participants are given a look at a design element or a single product screen. Then they are asked a set of prepared questions that lead to an understanding of the user’s impression of the design.
12. Panel analysis
Behavioral/relational: both possible
Qualitative/quantitative: both possible
Product research method: hypothesis testing, finished product testing
Development stage: design, results
When to use: useful when analyzing pending events, like planning product updates.
Method in short: a Panel is a specially trained group of users who independently work with the product and speak their thoughts out loud. Users record videos where they share their thoughts about the product. This method allows testing more user actions.
13. A/B testing
Behavioral/relational: behavioral
Qualitative/quantitative: quantitative
Product research method: finished product testing
Development stage: design, results
When to use: great at the stage of product improvement or before its release. The goal is to increase conversion and fine-tune UI elements for users.
Method in short: users are randomly divided into two groups. Each group is shown the same version of the website with minor differences (different buttons, different UI elements layout, different colors, etc.). This helps to discover the best user interface options by comparing data from different versions of the product.
14. Usability testing
Behavioral/relational: behavioral
Qualitative/quantitative: quantitative
Product research method: hypothesis testing
Development stage: design, results
When to use: when tracking the progress of user behavior optimization.
Method in short: a regularly conducted lab research to track changes in UX. The evaluation method is similar to A/B testing, comparing different versions of the same product. Comparison can be done with previous versions of the product or with its competitors in the market.
15. Heat map
Behavioral/relational: behavioral
Qualitative/quantitative: quantitative
Product research method: finished product testing
Development stage: design, results
When to use: used to test product hypotheses.
Method in short: data analysis of which pages and in what order the user visited. It lets identify problems related to site or app navigation. Easy to conduct using Google Analytics, Firebase, Mixpanel analytics systems.
16. User feedback
Behavioral/relational: relational
Qualitative/quantitative: both possible
Product research method: finished product testing
Development stage: results
When to use: when an active user is given a questionnaire in regards to their opinion about a specific function or about a product in general.
Method in short: mailing out questionnaires to a random sample of users in order to find out about their experience with the product. The questionnaire can be of any form, from web pages to email newsletters.
17. Interview
Behavioral/relational: relational
Qualitative/quantitative: qualitative
Product research method: hypothesis testing
Development stage: results
When to use: when planning a redesign or an upgrade of a working solution. The method allows you to evaluate the user’s perception of the product and the brand, as well as pay attention to the main technical flaws.
Method in short: personal interview with actual product users. The main goal of the interviewer is to learn from the user about their experience with the product, its negative and positive aspects.
As you have already noticed, there is a large set of tools available to designers and developers for studying a product through work with the users of that product. Each method will demand a certain amount of resources. However, using the right combination of the techniques, one can create a truly functional product that will both serve business goals and bring users a pleasant experience of using it. Development research is a fundamental part that gives an understanding of where the team should move and whether it is doing everything right. The development of any digital product is a big job, the goal of which is a successful product that achieves the set business goals.
