Rethinking UX ResearchBest Practices for Evaluating and Improving Your Web Sites

@cperfetti

Why UX research?

Doug Dietz

Principal Designer, GE Healthcare

What prevents your team from running UX research studies?

Not enough time

Not enough staffSlows the team down

Little buy-in from management

Unsure where to start

Too scientific

Unsure where to find users

MAKE A BUSINESS IMPACT

Involve stakeholders at the beginning

It’s about quality, not quantity

Your choice of research project matters

Identify a champion

Focus on quick wins

Review the web analytics

Data sources

• Visitor traffic and server logs• Conversion funnels• Search engine logs

800,000 of Microsoft’s pages have never been loaded from the server

Web analytics are a great starting point

Web analytics highlight potential problem areas

Tell us what is happening on the site

Don’t tell us why users behave in a certain way

Web analytics have limitations

Balance quantitative with qualitative research

IMPROVE DESIGNS

A usability test involves putting your users in front of your product and

observing what they do

Usability tests can be done anywhere

Running a test session

• Greet the user• Explain to user how the test will work• Give the users tasks to complete• General Q&A• Debrief with observers

Look for indicators of user failure

Back button

Pogosticking

Search

FAQs

Tests can be fast

5 Second Tests: Quick technique for measuring web site content pages

• Takes less than 10 minutes to run• Measures if content pages quickly communicate their purpose

Sharing your pictures online

• You want to post pictures online from your last vacation

• You are concerned that the upload process will be difficult

• How confident are you that you can easily and quickly upload photos?

Sharing your pictures online

• You want to post pictures online from your last vacation

• You are concerned that the upload process will be difficult

• How confident are you that you can easily and quickly upload photos?

Sharing your pictures online

• You want to post pictures online from your last vacation

• You are concerned that the upload process will be difficult

• How confident are you that you can easily and quickly upload photos?

BUILD EMPATHY

Start with the problem, not the solution

Ethnography

It’s lean: Fast, cheap, and informal

• You are the apprentice• Focus on the person• Focus on the present and past• Avoid leading questions• Ask open-ended questions

Ethnography tips

LEARN QUICKLY

“We’re building a what with what?”Heather O’Neill, Above the Fold

http://www.abovethefolddesign.com/blog/2010/08/24/from-paper-to-prototype/

ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION

WHAT IS THE END GOAL?

Can we come back tomorrow?

• Pick a project that makes an impact

• Start small

• Conduct quick tests

• Involve the entire team

• Start today!

Remember to ...

THANK YOU!