What is UX Research and why should you care?
Before we jump into the whats and whys of UX research it is important to define the term UX (User Experience), especially since the term is used in a very broad context by stakeholders across organisations and industries, each from their own perspective.
The international standard on ergonomic of human-system interaction, ISO 9241–210, defines user experience as “a person’s perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, system or service”.
According to the ISO definition, user experience includes all the users’ emotions, beliefs, preferences, perceptions, physical and psychological responses, behaviours and accomplishments that occur before, during, and after use.
From the above definition we can conclude that a precursor to good UX design is, an elaborate and a systematic study of the target user group, the requirements of such groups and all the factors that can influence the perceptions of the said group, when interacting with the proposed product, service or system. And this precursor to UX is called, you guessed it, UX research.
If I had only one hour to save the world, I would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem, and only five minutes finding the solution.
UX research is about finding insights, insights that can guide design, insights that can influence a user’s response. UX research also involves the continuous evaluation of the impact of UX on people. I see user experience research as bridging gaps between business and users of the product/service delivered by business. Mike Kuniavsky, a UX designer, researcher and author, describes it as “the process of understanding the impact of design on an audience.”
It’s the UX Researcher’s job to define a question which he/she is looking to answer and find answer(s) to such questions, by employing the right research tools and methods. Each research method has benefits and drawbacks and each can be used to achieve different goals. Which method a researcher employs depends on, what is to be achieved and number of other practical concerns such as type of project, budget and time constraints.
Answers obtained from the conclusion of a successful user research often drive the overall strategy behind the product, service, system or sometimes even businesses.
So to sum it up UX research helps:
- designers create experiences that are truly relevant to target users.
- to create experiences that are easy and pleasurable.
- to understand what would be the best approach to guarantee a return on investment.
You can find one of my UX Research Projects here: https://www.behance.net/gallery/119388599/Design-Research-Project
