User-centered design relies on the results of research that looks at users’ behavior and attitudes when they engage with the product. UX researchers use different types of tests during the design process to determine if the website or mobile app is easy and enjoyable to use, and whether it accomplishes what it was designed to do.
The Design Process
The user-centered design process can be described as: research, define, develop/design, and evaluate. This looks similar to the design thinking process, which is: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. This is because UX design is iterative, meaning it repeats as necessary throughout the cycle.
Timing of Research
UX design is a team effort that repeats as needed, and research comes in at different times in the product development cycle. There are four basic stages of research:
- Foundational - Also known as strategic research, foundational research happens before the project gets the official go-ahead. This is the phase where data are gathered to assess the general situation.
- Definition - This phase of research defines the problem and identifies the pain points users are experiencing as they try to accomplish their goals.
- Design - This phase builds on the others and looks at how the product should be built.
- Post-launch - Post-launch research tests the success of the product and points to improvements for the future.
Research Methods
The type of research method you choose depends upon the stage of the design process and the questions you want to answer. If you are looking for answers to questions of how manyor how much, you want to do quantitative research. This includes various types of surveys, especially those that ask respondents to choose a numerical answer or indicate a number on a scale. If your question is about how then you want to conduct qualitative research such as personal interviews, focus groups, and user observations.
Another way to group research is by whether it is primary research or secondary research. Primary research is research that you do yourself. Whether it consists of interviews, surveys, or usability tests, if you collected the information, it is primary research. Everything else falls into the category of secondary research, that is information gathered by someone else. The most common form of secondary research is published information in books and articles, and this type of research is often done first by the product leads on the team. The advantage of using secondary research is that it saves time and money because you don’t need to repeat what someone else has already done, but a drawback of secondary research is that it doesn’t give you information about your product.
Research Tools
UX Researchers have various types of tools available to get the information they need to drive user-centered design. Interviews, surveys, analytics, journey maps, and usability studies all reveal different information about the user’s experience with a product.
Interviews
Interviewing users or potential users of a product lets you collect the opinions, thoughts, and attitudes towards a process and your product’s place in it. It is important to ask detailed, open-ended questions to gather the kinds of responses that are the most useful. This kind of interview is expensive and time-consuming, so the sample size tends to be small, but interviews help the UX Researcher understand what users think and why. You can also ask follow-up questions later. Interviews and observations conducted in the user’s own environment are the most useful.
Diary Studies
Diary studies ask users to make note of what they do every day and to keep a log of how they attempt to accomplish a goal or use the product.
Surveys
Surveys involve asking participants to choose from a list or make a numerical ranking. They include a mix of quantitative and qualitative questions and can provide a larger sample size. Surveys can be done quickly and are relatively inexpensive, but they don’t give the kind of in-depth feedback you get from interviews.
Analytics
User analytics can provide insight into how users interact with the product. You can collect quantifiable data and identify trends, chart website traffic, and build reports. There are many different tools for collecting analytics like Google, Domo, and Grow.
Card Sorting
In card sorting tests, the UX researcher writes words and phrases on cards, then asks participants to organize them in the way that makes the most sense. The categories can be labeled to make sure the design is put together in the most logical way.
Usability Studies
In usability studies, UX Researchers observe users interacting with the actual product. They can identify problems or pain points along the way. Usability studies can be used to challenge the assumptions of the design team and make sure the process is on track. The drawbacks of usability studies are that they only measure how easy a product is to use and they are expensive. They must be done on-site in a lab, the users are usually paid for their participation, and it is difficult to tell if users behave the same way in a lab as they would in real life.
A/B Testing
A/B testing is a common form of usability test that has users compare two versions of a website to see which one works better. This type of test is useful further along in the design process.
Accessibility Testing
Accessibility evaluations are an important type of UX research because a product that isn’t useable by everyone is a failed product.
Where to Learn UX Design
If you would like to learn more about UX design and research in order to switch to a new career, one of the best ways to do that is to sign up for classes. You can choose classes that meet in-person or online to learn design software and other applications. Some people prefer to attend brick-and-mortar sessions when learning new information, but that isn’t always available. Live online classes have a similar set-up with a real-time, remote instructor who can answer questions and take control of your monitor—with permission—to show you how to do things. Training is part or full-time and available weekdays, weeknights, or weekends.
The best way to prepare for a career shift to a field like UX design is to enroll in a bootcamp or certificate program. These are intensive training courses that run from a few weeks to a few months and another plus of training is that you will leave class with a professional-quality portfolio that you can show to prospective employers.
Conclusion
It’s easy to learn UX design and start a new career. Check out Noble Desktop’s UX design classes. Choose between in-person sessions in NYC at Noble’s location or sign up for live online UX design courses and attend from anywhere. Use Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me to find other UX design bootcamps in your area.