User research should be a core part of every designer’s activity. There are a number of research methods that can help designers to both design new products and, as will often be the case, redesign existing products. In this article, Christopher Murphy will take a closer look at the importance of undertaking user research.
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You can’t afford to skip testing, because even a simple round of testing could make or break your product. Investment in user testing is just about the only way to consistently generate a rich stream of data on user behavior. Testing provides the inspiration, guidance and validation that product teams need in order to design great products. That’s why the most effective teams make testing a habit. In this article, Nick Babich will show you some tips that can be applied to different types of testing.
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When soliciting and listening to user feedback, you will inevitably run into bias on both sides of the coin: Biases will influence the people providing feedback, and your own biases will influence the way you receive that feedback. Bias is universal, but so too are the methods you can take to avoid it. By simply understanding what each bias is and by breaking down the ways that it appears during the feedback process, you can put measures in place to overcome misleading preconceptions and gather the most impartial feedback possible. In this article, Hunter Jensen will take a closer look at four of the most common types of cognitive biases that pop up when collecting and interpreting UX feedback — and how you can nip these biases in the bud, before they skew your production process.
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Quantitative research methods come with effective statistical techniques for determining a sample size. Qualitative research methods currently have no similar commonly accepted technique. Yet, there are steps you should take to ensure you have collected and analyzed the right amount of data. In this article, Victor Yocco will propose a formula for determining qualitative sample sizes in user research. He’ll also discuss how to collect and analyze data in order to achieve “data saturation.” Finally, Victor will provide a case study highlighting the concepts explored in this article.
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Previously, Bruce Lawson’s tried to make some supply-side improvements to web standards so that websites can be made to better serve the whole world, not just the wealthy West. But there are other challenges, such as ways to get over creaky infrastructure in developing markets, to surmount, and Bruce will also look at some of the reasons why some of the offline billions remain offline, and what can be done to address this.
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Many of the developing economies across the world are growing extraordinarily fast, with a rapidly expanding middle class that has increasing disposable income. In this article, Bruce Lawson will examine some of those countries and where the next 4 billion connected people will come from, as well as some of the innovations that the standards community has made to better serve them.
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How can you do useful user research with social media? Social media is one of the dominant forms of interactions on the Internet. It allows researchers to tap into the recent experience of people without the formality of interviewing or user testing. Leading platforms such as Facebook and Twitter count hundreds of millions of users each month. In this article, Dave Ellender will show you how social media is a rich vein of data for user researchers.
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We often want information on what users and potential users of our designs think and how they behave in the context of where they will use our design. Intercepts allow you to engage users in a variety of settings to collect data to inform your design. In this article, Victor Yocco shares a method to design and carry out effective intercepts as part of your user research. You can use the steps and information provided in this article in your own process for intercepting users!
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In this article, Becky White will try to point out how you could avoid common pitfalls through UX considerations such as the variety of ways you can usability test with children, when and how to use non–digital prototyping, why you shouldn’t forget about adults, or when to incorporate audio/visual feedback. It’s not just taking grown–up content and dumbing it down. In fact, there are many reasons why designing for kids is actually more difficult than designing for adults.
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As a designer, you have the power to help millions of people live longer, healthier and happier lives. But a truly delightful and meaningful app doesn’t happen by magic. In this article, Jen Maroney presents useful examples and explains how you can achieve best results when design consumer-facing healthcare apps. She’ll explore how to plan and conduct research, design moments of delight, integrate data from third-party devices and develop a messaging matrix.
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