No excuses user research

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@lily_dart lilydart.com Lily Dart Freelance user experience design & research No excuses user research

Transcript of No excuses user research

@lily_dart lilydart.com

Lily Dart

Freelance user experience design & research

No excuses user research

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Most of us are plagued by opinion-driven design

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Design and development based on subjective opinion, not objective data

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

When we can’t agree, it’s the highest paid opinion who gets to break the tie

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Forced to prioritise features based on internal wants and pressures

Make design and language decisions based on project-leader preferences

Become focused on delivery speed and uptime over usability and product fit

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Forced to prioritise features based on internal wants and pressures

Make design and language decisions based on project-leader preferences

Become focused on delivery speed and uptime over usability and product fit

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Forced to prioritise features based on internal wants and pressures

Make design and language decisions based on project-leader preferences

Become focused on delivery speed and uptime over usability and product fit

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Forced to prioritise features based on internal wants and pressures

Make design and language decisions based on project-leader preferences

Become focused on delivery speed and uptime over usability and product fit

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

For most of us, this sucks

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

To counter to subjective opinions, we need objective data

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

We just don’t have the time, money or people to do research.”

“Excuse

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

We already have a site that people use. Why do I need to know more about those people?”

“Excuse

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No excuses user research

We already know what our users want.”“

Excuse

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No excuses user research

We don’t know enough about the behaviour or needs of our users

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

User research doesn’t have to be time consuming, expensive or difficult

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

User research doesn’t have to be time consuming, expensive or difficult

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Method

Usability feedback through complaints and bug reports

Method

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Bug reports, where no functional bug can be identified, are a potential source of user feedback.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

The problem does not exist between chair and keyboard.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

If you’ve handled ‘PEBCAK’ reports, then you’ve been handling usability feedback.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Complaints are feedback borne of frustration and dissatisfaction. They often reveal the best insights.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Identify potential usability issues in our interfaces

Identify mis-matches in product features and user expectation

Reduce the amount of non-functional bug reports and complaints we receive

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Identify potential usability issues in our interfaces

Identify mis-matches in product features and user expectation

Reduce the amount of non-functional bug reports and complaints we receive

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Identify potential usability issues in our interfaces

Identify mis-matches in product features and user expectation

Reduce the amount of non-functional bug reports and complaints we receive

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Record reports in a system that allows tagging

Tag reports with appropriate labels; e.g. “usability” and “login”

Check back regularly until you have enough for analysis

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Record reports in a system that allows tagging

Tag reports with appropriate labels; e.g. “usability” and “login”

Check back regularly until you have enough for analysis

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Record reports in a system that allows tagging

Tag reports with appropriate labels; e.g. “usability” and “login”

Check back regularly until you have enough for analysis

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

I’ve just tried to make a payment on my credit card but the debt is still showing the same amount.”

“ Two days ago I paid £300 off my credit card, and the payment still hasn’t shown up. Has the payment bounced?”

I tried to pay off my credit card, the money has left my account, but isn’t showing up on my statement.”

“ “#usability #card-statement #usability #card-statement #usability #card-statement

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

I have just moved house and am trying to update my address, but the button won’t work.”

“ Recently I changed my surname after getting married, but can’t seem to make the change on your system.”

I want to update my profile photo, but the page won’t save it.”

“ “#usability #profile #usability #profile #usability #profile

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

I have just moved house and am trying to update my address, but the button won’t work.”

“ Recently I changed my surname after getting married, but can’t seem to make the change on your system.”

I want to update my profile photo, but the page won’t save it.”

“ “#usability #profile #usability #profile #usability #profile

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

An individual bug report or complaint isn’t enough to give us certainty of an issue

Not everyone has the time or motivation to provide feedback or log bugs

Consider the size of your user base, ease of reporting and the severity of the issue

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

An individual bug report or complaint isn’t enough to give us certainty of an issue

Not everyone has the time or motivation to provide feedback or log bugs

Consider the size of your user base, ease of reporting and the severity of the issue

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

An individual bug report or complaint isn’t enough to give us certainty of an issue

Not everyone has the time or motivation to provide feedback or log bugs

Consider the size of your user base, ease of reporting and the severity of the issue

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

An individual bug report or complaint isn’t enough to give us certainty of an issue

Not everyone has the time or motivation to provide feedback or log bugs

Consider the size of your user base, ease of reporting and the severity of the issue

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Users who report issues in anger are unintentionally doing you a favour.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Identify usability issues

Identify product misunderstandings

Reduce complaints and bug reports

Complaint and bug report analysis can help you to:

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Identify usability issues

Identify product misunderstandings

Reduce complaints and bug reports

Complaint and bug report analysis can help you to:

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Identify usability issues

Identify product misunderstandings

Reduce complaints and bug reports

Complaint and bug report analysis can help you to:

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Complaint and bug report analysis

Dev time None

Analysis time 30 mins +

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Method

User feedback through transaction audits

Method

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

A transaction audit allows us to capture feedback from users at the point of success, or failure.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Transaction audits are usually single questions or short forms that we ask users to fill in at the end of their journey.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Transaction audits give us on the spot feedback about user interactions

They can tell us why a user was unsatisfied, and give insight into improving our sites

They give users a simple route to feedback when they may not otherwise be motivated

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Transaction audits give us on the spot feedback about user interactions

They can tell us why a user was unsatisfied, and give insight into improving our sites

They give users a simple route to feedback when they may not otherwise be motivated

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Transaction audits give us on the spot feedback about user interactions

They can tell us why a user was unsatisfied, and give insight into improving our sites

They give users a simple route to feedback when they may not otherwise be motivated

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

testtransaction.com

Did you find what you were looking for?

Yes No

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Thanks for your feedback.

testtransaction.com

Did you find what you were looking for?

Yes No

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Thanks for your feedback.

testtransaction.com

Did you find what you were looking for?

Yes No

If the user answers yes, submit the form.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

testtransaction.com

Did you find what you were looking for?

Yes No

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Did you find what you were looking for?

Yes No

What were you looking for?

Send

testtransaction.com

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Did you find what you were looking for?

Yes No

What were you looking for?

Send

testtransaction.com

If the user answers no, submit the response immediately.

The text field should be optional. If a user fills it out, update their response.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Thanks for your feedback.

testtransaction.com

We use all of the feedback we receive to improve the site.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

How was your shopping experience today?

We’re sorry. What could we have improved?

Send

testtransaction.com

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Keep questions as simple and straightforward as possible to maximise responses

If a user completes a transaction regularly, don’t keep asking them

Reserve audits for key user journeys, or keep them discrete for content feedback

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Keep questions as simple and straightforward as possible to maximise responses

If a user completes a transaction regularly, don’t keep asking them

Reserve audits for key user journeys, or keep them discrete for content feedback

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Keep questions as simple and straightforward as possible to maximise responses

If a user completes a transaction regularly, don’t keep asking them

Reserve audits for key user journeys, or keep them discrete for content feedback

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Keep questions as simple and straightforward as possible to maximise responses

If a user completes a transaction regularly, don’t keep asking them

Reserve audits for key user journeys, or keep them discrete for content feedback

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Keep questions as simple and straightforward as possible to maximise responses

If a user completes a transaction regularly, don’t keep asking them

Reserve audits for key user journeys, or keep them discrete for content feedback

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Audits can be created from scratch, or can be embedded using an external survey tool

If you’re using a survey tool, the only additional feature you’ll need is ‘branching’

Some tools also allow you to add a hidden field to pass the URL of the page the form is on

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Audits can be created from scratch, or can be embedded using an external survey tool

If you’re using a survey tool, the only additional feature you’ll need is ‘branching’

Some tools also allow you to add a hidden field to pass the URL of the page the form is on

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Audits can be created from scratch, or can be embedded using an external survey tool

If you’re using a survey tool, the only additional feature you’ll need is ‘branching’

Some tools also allow you to add a hidden field to pass the URL of the page the form is on

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

So that transactions audits do not become intrusive to users, they must be optional.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Transaction audits are not surveys.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Transaction audits are not surveys.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

They are satisfaction gauges, or red flags for underperforming transactions.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Transaction audits can help you to:

Gather feedback at the point of success or failure

Identify unsatisfactory transactions

Receive continuous user feedback

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Gather feedback at the point of success or failure

Identify unsatisfactory transactions

Receive continuous user feedback

Transaction audits can help you to:

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Gather feedback at the point of success or failure

Identify unsatisfactory transactions

Receive continuous user feedback

Transaction audits can help you to:

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Transaction audits

Dev time 30 mins +

Analysis time 1 hr +

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Method

Content and language analysis through search logs

Method

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Internal search logs are a rich, often untapped, source of insights about user behaviour and needs.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Search log analysis reveals the value of “search returned no results”

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Search logs can help us to identify content missing from our site that users want or expect

They can reveal when we’re using different language or categorisation than our users

They can give us an indication of how easy our popular content is to find

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Search logs can help us to identify content missing from our site that users want or expect

They can reveal when we’re using different language or categorisation than our users

They can give us an indication of how easy our popular content is to find

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Search logs can help us to identify content missing from our site that users want or expect

They can reveal when we’re using different language or categorisation than our users

They can give us an indication of how easy our popular content is to find

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Top search queries Klingons Daleks The Doctor Vulcans

A.I. Borg Cardassian Ferengi Hirogen

Romulan

Delvian Time Lords Jedi Wookie

Bajoran Robots Kardashian Peacekeepers Weeping Angels

Ood

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

On aliens4eva.com; a site about alien races in Science Fiction.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Klingons Daleks The Doctor Vulcans

A.I. Borg Cardassian Ferengi Hirogen

Romulan

Delvian Time Lords Jedi Wookie

Bajoran Robots Kardashian Peacekeepers Weeping Angels

Ood

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

Top search queries which don’t return results

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Klingons Daleks The Doctor Vulcans

A.I. Borg Cardassian Ferengi Hirogen

Romulan

Delvian Time Lords Jedi Wookie

Bajoran Robots Kardashian Peacekeepers Weeping Angels

Ood

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

Top search queries which don’t return results

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Klingons Daleks The Doctor Vulcans

A.I. Borg Cardassian Ferengi Hirogen

Romulan

Delvian Time Lords Jedi Wookie

Bajoran Robots Kardashian Peacekeepers Weeping Angels

Ood

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

Top search queries which don’t return results

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Klingons Daleks The Doctor Vulcans

A.I. Borg Cardassian Ferengi Hirogen

Romulan

Delvian Time Lords Jedi Wookie

Bajoran Robots Kardashian Peacekeepers Weeping Angels

Ood

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

Top search queries which don’t return results

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Klingons Daleks The Doctor Vulcans

A.I. Borg Cardassian Ferengi Hirogen

Romulan

Delvian Time Lords Jedi Wookie

Bajoran Robots Kardashian Peacekeepers Weeping Angels

Ood

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

Top search queries which don’t return results

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Klingons Daleks The Doctor Vulcans

A.I. Borg Cardassian Ferengi Hirogen

Romulan

Delvian Time Lords Jedi Wookie

Bajoran Robots Kardashian Peacekeepers Weeping Angels

Ood

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

Top search queries which don’t return results

1. User language and categorisation doesn’t align with site content

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Klingons Daleks The Doctor Vulcans

A.I. Borg Cardassian Ferengi Hirogen

Romulan

Delvian Time Lords Jedi Wookie

Bajoran Robots Kardashian Peacekeepers Weeping Angels

Ood

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

Top search queries which don’t return results

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Klingons Daleks The Doctor Vulcans

A.I. Borg Cardassian Ferengi Hirogen

Romulan

Delvian Time Lords Jedi Wookie

Bajoran Robots Kardashian Peacekeepers Weeping Angels

Ood

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

Top search queries which don’t return results

2. Content that users are searching for does not exist on the site

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Klingons Daleks The Doctor Vulcans

A.I. Borg Cardassian Ferengi Hirogen

Romulan

Delvian Time Lords Jedi Wookie

Bajoran Robots Kardashian Peacekeepers Weeping Angels

Ood

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

Top search queries which don’t return results

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Klingons Daleks The Doctor Vulcans

A.I. Borg Cardassian Ferengi Hirogen

Romulan

Delvian Time Lords Jedi Wookie

Bajoran Robots Kardashian Peacekeepers Weeping Angels

Ood

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

Top search queries which don’t return results

3. Misspelling means some users can’t find pages they are looking for

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Top search queries in the top 20 most visited pages

Klingons Daleks The Doctor Vulcans

A.I. Borg Cardassian Ferengi Hirogen

Romulan

Delvian Time Lords Jedi Wookie

Bajoran Robots Kardashian Peacekeepers Weeping Angels

Ood

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Top search queries in the top 20 most visited pages

Klingons Daleks The Doctor Vulcans

A.I. Borg Cardassian Ferengi Hirogen

Romulan

Delvian Time Lords Jedi Wookie

Bajoran Robots Kardashian Peacekeepers Weeping Angels

Ood

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Losing traffic for popular content to other sites in natural search

Some popular pages are harder to discover through the site navigation

User interface promotes some content, increasing the amount of page views

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Losing traffic for popular content to other sites in natural search

Some popular pages are harder to discover through the site navigation

User interface promotes some content, increasing the amount of page views

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Losing traffic for popular content to other sites in natural search

Some popular pages are harder to discover through the site navigation

User interface promotes some content, increasing the amount of page views

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Top search queries in the top 20 most visited pages

Klingons Daleks The Doctor Vulcans

A.I. Borg Cardassian Ferengi Hirogen

Romulan

Delvian Time Lords Jedi Wookie

Bajoran Robots Kardashian Peacekeepers Weeping Angels

Ood

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

4. Navigational routes to some popular content may be convoluted

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Search query analysis results

User language and categorisation doesn’t align with site content

Content that users are searching for does not exist on the site

Misspelling means some users can’t find pages they are looking for

Navigational routes to some popular content may be convoluted

1

2

3

4

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Consider the timeframe for analysis; do external factors affect your traffic and search terms?

Consider the size of your user base when deciding on depth of analysis

Test out top search terms in your search engine; where do they appear in the list of results?

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Consider the timeframe for analysis; do external factors affect your traffic and search terms?

Consider the size of your user base when deciding on depth of analysis

Test out top search terms in your search engine; where do they appear in the list of results?

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Consider the timeframe for analysis; do external factors affect your traffic and search terms?

Consider the size of your user base when deciding on depth of analysis

Test out top search terms in your search engine; where do they appear in the list of results?

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Search log analysis can help you to:

Identify missing or difficult to find content

Identify non-user friendly language or categorisation

Reveal poor information architecture

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Search log analysis can help you to:

Identify missing or difficult to find content

Identify non-user friendly language or categorisation

Reveal poor information architecture

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Search log analysis can help you to:

Identify missing or difficult to find content

Identify non-user friendly language or categorisation

Reveal poor information architecture

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Search log analysis

Dev time 10 mins +

Analysis time 1 hr +

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Identify usability issues and reduce usability related bug reports and complaints

Gather continuous feedback on transaction success and user satisfaction

Improve poor information architecture by aligning it to user language and categorisation

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Identify usability issues and reduce usability related bug reports and complaints

Gather continuous feedback on transaction success and user satisfaction

Improve poor information architecture by aligning it to user language and categorisation

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Identify usability issues and reduce usability related bug reports and complaints

Gather continuous feedback on transaction success and user satisfaction

Improve poor information architecture by aligning it to user language and categorisation

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Identify usability issues and reduce usability related bug reports and complaints

Gather continuous feedback on transaction success and user satisfaction

Improve poor information architecture by aligning it to user language and categorisation

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Using all of these methods on a project would likely take less than 8 hours a month.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Reduced uncertainty Better outcomes Less conflict

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Reduced uncertainty Better outcomes Less conflict

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Reduced uncertainty Better outcomes Less conflict

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

Reduced uncertainty Better outcomes Less conflict

@lily_dart lilydart.com

No excuses user research

User research is the cure for opinion-driven design.

@lily_dart lilydart.com

Lily Dart

Freelance user experience design & user research

Any questions?