User Research@ Company X

Q1 2011

Your Questions

Do users feel supported

through the process?

Do users want personalized

opportunities?

How do people create community

(on and off the site)?

How are users reengaged?

What do users want to learn or know before they make

decisions?

What is user research?

• AKA UX research• Purpose:– Identify and prioritize unmet needs and pain

points among our users – Findings serve as a guide to where solutions can

be found– Framing the problems lets us design the best

solutions to meet those needs.

Why user research?

• Competitive strategy: differentiation

• 2011 team objectives: – [general objectives]– [specific objectives]

User research at Company X

• Identify what’s most important to our users

• Align their needs with our business goals

• Prioritize what we build, when, and how it’s delivered:– Product

– Technology

– Finance

• Determine how we speak to and explain things to our clients/users and what we emphasize:– Marketing

– Sales

– Account management

– Customer support

Methods

• Quantitative—tells you what– Site analytics and log files– Surveys

• Qualitative—tells you why– Usability testing– Cognitive walkthroughs– Interviews

Methods• Now

– Outside research: cognitive and behavioral findings– Surveys– Usability testing– Internal interviews: UX goals and questions

• Next– User profiles and interviews– Prioritize your UX goals and questions according to

• Business goals• User goals• Technology (goals)

– Frame the problems we’re solving for• Unmet user needs• Opportunities for product development

Surveys

• What they capture– Who our users are– Their opinions

• Purpose– Gives us information about what qualities define

our audience– Tells us on whom to concentrate qualitative

research

Who we survey

• Primary audience• Secondary audience A• Secondary audience B• Tertiary audience

Survey insights – Q1

• User demographics• Self-reported behavior• Self-reported motivations

Age distribution of primary audience

Primary audience demographics

Female

Male

After completing task A, users ranked site tasks B, C, D and E as most important:

Very importantSomewhat importantNot important

In the last 12 months, behavior A was the only incidence, on our site or any other site, reported by 40% of secondary audience B. Almost 80% reported 3 or fewer incidences

in the past year.

Users feel equally motivated by A as they are by B. C is deemed to be more important than D.

C is cited as the most significant influence on behavior M. Many also reported that they are creatures of habit or

influenced by others.

Top three ways of completing task F currently happen off the site, even when

on-site opportunity exists.

Why do most incidences of task F happen off the site?

How can we improve this experience?

Usability testing and cognitive walkthroughs

• Used to examine the functionality of individual features and how they’re presented

• Shows what real users do when presented with a task

• Gives insight into thought processes and mental models for completing tasks

• 5-8 participants uncover 80% of problems

This month’s test: tasks I, J, K

• Goals: increase conversions – Goal #1– Goal #2– Goal #3

• Improve conversion rates by removing barriers to key flows– Key flow #1– Key flow #2– Key flow #3

Usability test tasks:

– Task I defined– Task J defined– Task K defined

Preliminary results: Themes and trends

• Overall, product perceived to be a valuable tool• Users looked for feedback from site after completing

certain tasks• Confusing calls to action • Confusing sequence of steps• Users expressed high degree of concern for making

responsible and educated decisions

Preliminary findings: Key feature areas to address

• Feature area 1• Feature area 2• Feature area 3• Feature area 4

“Representative user quote.”

Feature area 1 details– 3/3 users looked for X and did not find it– 2/3 users expected to see Q– One subject was dissatisfied with functionality and left the

site to search on Google.

“Representative user quote.”

Feature area 2 details• Users looked for ways to do Y and Z

unsuccessfully• Users looked for and had trouble finding

information about X in Feature area 2.

Next steps

• Complete remaining usability sessions and write final report

• Circle up with individual teams• Purpose of surfacing findings is to:– Be descriptive, not prescriptive– Prioritize product improvements and features– Communicate better with users in communications

(in-product, outbound, community)

Questions? Curious?

• Swing by for a chat• Observe a usability testing session• Post your additional UX questions on the

wall

References• Reference A• Reference B• Kuniavsky, Mike. Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner’s Guide to User

Research. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers: San Francisco, 2003.