UNIT III FOUNDATIONS OF UX DESIGN

Introduction to User Experience - Why You Should Care about User Experience -
Understanding User Experience - Defining the UX Design Process and its
Methodology - Research in User Experience Design - Tools and Method used for
Research - User Needs and its Goals - Know about Business Goals

INTRODUCTION TO USER EXPERIENCE

User experience (UX) design is the process used to create products that provide a
positive experience for end users.

UX design uses research to understand users, define problems, and develop ideas
for solutions. It considers every interaction we have with a product or service. And
that’s why UX design can make or break the success of a product or brand.

UX Design—A Formal Definition

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines user experience

as:
“A person's perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated
use of a product, system or service.”
We can break this definition into two parts:
1. A person’s perceptions and responses.
2. The use of a product, system or service.
 In user experience, designers do not have much control over a person’s
perceptions and responses—the first part of the definition. For example, they cannot
control how someone feels, moves their fingers or controls their eyes as they use a
product. However, designers can control how the product, system or service behaves
and looks—the second part of the definition.

The fundamental principles of UX design

There are seven fundamental UX design principles: accessibility, credibility,

desirability, findability, usability, usefulness, and value.

These principles lay the foundations for the process UX designers follow.
Accessible: This principle works to ensure users of a full range of abilities can
access products. When designing for accessibility, you’re often creating products that
are easier for everyone to use, not just those with disabilities.
Credible: This principle means that users believe in the product and have faith it
delivers on what it’s promising. If it does, the user experience will be enjoyable, even if
the product isn’t perfect.
Desirable: A desirable product is an in-demand product, and something users
will want to talk about with others. This principle is brought to life via things like
branding, image, aesthetics, and emotional design.
Findable: By using intuitive navigation, information architecture, and search, UX
ensures users can easily find what they’re looking for.
Usable: A usable product means users can achieve their objectives effectively.
Useful: This principle ensures products will be useful to its end users. With new
features, or improving existing features, UX design asks what purpose the product or
feature will have.
Valuable: This principle ensures the product delivers value to end users and to
the company that created it.
 The simplest way to think about user experience design is as a verb and a noun.
A UX designer designs (verb)—ideates, plans, changes—the things that affect the user
experience (noun)—perceptions and responses to a system or service.

Qualities of a great UX Designer

A great UX Designer needs to have a technical mind, and a whole lot of

patience. But there are also a number of key traits that a UX Designer must have:

The 3C’s :

Curiosity: to research the best solution for the project being tackled

Communication: to get a message across clearly and to understand instructions well

Care: to give 100% of your skills for the client’s benefit

The 3L’s:

Logic: to find a systematic way of thinking that solves problems fast

Lead: to be able to take over and show your expertise, even when others don’t agree

Love: to pour 100% of your heart into the overall design and planning

The 3P’s:

Precision: to find easier paths that make the project more successful
Punctuality: to meet deadline and deliver with time to make necessary changes

Pride: to share 100% of your success for your own benefit

Requirements of user experience:

 The first requirement for an user experience is to meet the exact needs of the
customer, without fuss or bother.
 Simplicity and elegance that produce products that are a joy to own, a joy to use.
 In order to achieve high-quality user experience in a company's offerings there
must be a seamless merging of the services of multiple disciplines, including
engineering, marketing, graphical and industrial design, and interface design.

Difference between user experience and customer experience:

 User experience encompasses all aspects of the end-user's interaction with the
company, its services, and its products.
 The term customer experience (CX) has been used to describe the totality of the
interactions that a user has with an organization over time.

Levels of user experience:

The Five Main Ingredients of UX

 Psychology
 Usability
 Design
 Copywriting
 Analysis
1.Psychology
A user’s mind is complex. You should know; you have one, (I assume). UXers
work with subjective thoughts and feelings a lot; they can make or break your results.
And the designer must ignore their own psychology sometimes, too, and that’s hard!

Ask yourself:
 What is the user’s motivation to be here in the first place?
 How does this make them feel?
 How much work does the user have to do to get what they want?
 What habits are created if they do this over and over?
 What do they expect when they click this?

2.Usability
If user psychology is mostly subconscious, usability is mostly conscious. You
know when something is confusing. There are cases where it is more fun if something is
hard—like a game—but for everything else, we want it to be so easy.

Ask yourself:
 Could you get the job done with less input from the user?
 Are there any user mistakes you could prevent? (Hint: Yes, there are.)
 Are you being clear and direct, or is this a little too clever?
 Is it easy to find (good), hard to miss (better), or subconsciously expected (best)?
 Are you working with the user’s assumptions or against them?

3.Design
As the UX designer, your definition of ―design will be much less artist than a lot
of designers. Whether you ―like it is irrelevant. In UX, design is how it works, and it’s
something you can prove; it’s not a matter of style.

Ask yourself:
 Do users think it looks good? Do they trust it immediately?
 Does it communicate the purpose and function without words?
 Does it represent the brand? Does it all feel like the same site?
 Does the design lead the user’s eyes to the right places? How do you know?

4. Copywriting
There is a huge difference between writing brand copy (text) and writing UX copy.
Brand copy supports the image and values of the company. UX copy gets shit done as
directly and simply as possible.
Ask yourself:

 Does it sound confident and tell the user what to do?

 Does it motivate the user to complete their goal? Is that what we want?
 Is the biggest text the most important text? Why not?
 Does it inform the user or does it assume that they already understand?

5.Analysis
In my opinion, most designers’ weak spot is analysis. But we can fix that!
Analysis is the main thing that separates UX from other types of design, and it makes
you extremely valuable. It literally pays to be good at it.

Ask yourself:

 Are you using data to prove that you are right, or to learn the truth?
 Are you looking for subjective opinions or objective facts?
 Have you collected information that can give you those types of answers?
 Do you know why users do that, or are you interpreting their behavior?

UX Design is User-Centered

User-centered design is an iterative process where you take an understanding

of the users and their context as a starting point for all design and development.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT USER EXPERIENCE

User Experience (UX) design is a crucial aspect of product development that
focuses on creating a positive and seamless experience for the users of a product or
service. It involves understanding the needs, motivations, and behaviors of the users,
and designing solutions that meet their expectations and enhance their experience.
Incorporating UX design into the development process can bring numerous
benefits, such as improved user satisfaction, increased user engagement, reduced
development costs, and increased conversions. In this article, we will explore 8 reasons
why you should consider a UX design process for your next project.

 Improves User Satisfaction: A well-designed user experience leads to a more

satisfying interaction with a product or service, increasing the likelihood of
repeat usage and customer loyalty. For example, a website with a user-
friendly interface, easy navigation, and clear call-to-actions is more likely to
keep visitors engaged and coming back.
 Increases User Efficiency: A good UX design helps users accomplish their
goals more quickly and effectively, saving time and reducing frustration. For
example, a mobile app with intuitive menus and shortcuts can help users find
the information they need faster and with less effort. For example, a grocery
delivery app that has a clean interface, clear product categories, and an easy-
to-use search function makes it easier for users to find what they need and
place an order.
 Enhances Brand Image: A positive user experience can contribute to a better
perception of a brand and its products. For example, a company that invests in
creating a user-friendly website and user-centered design is likely to be
perceived as more professional and trustworthy.
 Facilitates Accessibility: Good UX design can make products and services
more accessible to a wider range of users, including those with disabilities.
For example, a website with proper alt text descriptions and keyboard
navigation can be used by visually impaired users with screen readers.
 Enhances User Retention: A well-designed UX can encourage users to return
to a product or service, improving user retention. For example, a social media
app that is easy to navigate and provides users with relevant content is more
likely to keep users coming back.
 Improves User Engagement: Good UX design can enhance the overall user
experience and encourage users to engage more with a product or service. For
 example, a gaming app with intuitive controls and a well-designed interface is
more likely to keep users engaged and playing for longer periods of time.
 Increases Conversion Rates: A well-designed UX can lead to higher
conversion rates by making it easier for users to take a desired action, such as
making a purchase. For example, an e-commerce website with clear product
descriptions, high-quality images, and an easy-to-use checkout process is
more likely to result in successful sales.
 Supports Business Goals: A well-designed UX can support and align with a
business’s overall goals, such as increasing revenue or improving customer
satisfaction. For example, a company that invests in UX research and design to
better understand its customers can create products and services that better
meet their needs and increase sales.

Why is UX design important?

UX design is important because it focuses on fulfilling user needs. This ultimately

benefits businesses as it improves brand reputation and loyalty. A good user experience
provides a competitive edge and reduces the risk of product failure.

What does a UX designer do?

UX designers tend to be concerned with, as you can see from the image below, 3
primary factors: the look of a product, the feel of that product and the usability of that
product.
  The look of a product is all about creating a product that has visual appeal and
which, in particular, harmonizes with a user’s values and captures the spirit of
what they expect in that product
 The feel, which is really about developing products that are ―a joy to
use‖. That is, whether you’re interacting with them or reacting to them
 Usability is the cornerstone of user experience. If a product isn’t usable, the
experience of using it can never be good

Skills for UX designer

 Leadership
 communication
 project management
 presenting

What Do Graphic Design and UX Design Have in Common?

Emotional Design
 Graphic design is about emotional communication through typography, color
and images; serif fonts and dark, duller colors evoke seriousness, while san-serif fonts
and bright colors tend to bring out a sense of joy or excitement.
Graphic designers are hence very often emotional designers who elicit specific
reactions in a user. UX design is also concerned with shaping the emotions of the user
Creative thinking
Graphic designers and UX designers are both equally skilled at creative thinking.
For graphic designers, creating visuals that adhere to conventions. UX designers have to
create products that solve users’ problems
Prototyping
Graphic designers often create mockups and wireframes of their designs prior to
delivering a finished design.
UX designers create mockups and prototypes too, but these tend to be less
focused on the look of the product and more on the feel of it.

The Differences between Graphic Design and UX Design

User-focused vs pixel-focused
Graphic designers tend to pursue pixel perfection in their designs. Ensuring that
texts have perfect kerning and colors conform to brand guidelines. UX designers,
however, are primarily focused on users. They study the interface between users and
the product, finding ways to ensure that the product answers to the user’s key needs

Iterative problem solving

UX design is very much an iterative problem solving process, and it can be very
different from what you’re used to doing as a graphic designer.

Multi-disciplinary vs specialized
Graphic design is a specialized discipline, and there is a certain level of
craftsmanship and set of specialized skills (such as typography and color theory)
required to produce great visuals.
UX design, on the other hand, is much more multi-disciplinary and involves many
schools of knowledge. UX designers have to constantly learn about human psychology,
interaction design, information architecture and user research techniques

UNDERSTANDING USER EXPERIENCE

 User Experience (UX), as the name suggests, encompasses all the interactions
and experiences a user has with a product. UX concentrates on the product's usability,
functionality, and how users perceive, interact, and feel about the product. Think of UX
as the whole journey: from the moment a user discovers your product, to their
interactions, feelings, and thoughts that transpire as they navigate through it.
UX covers

 Usability: How easy is the product to use?

 Engagement: Is the interaction with the product satisfying and enjoyable?
 Functionality: Does the product perform its functions well?

User experience (UX) encapsulates all the interactions a person has with a
product. It's also about how they feel throughout the entire process, from the moment
they first hear about it, to the point they try it out, and even when they stop using it.
Translated to the world of product development, UX is about empathy and
understanding your user's needs, wants, and expectations . Here are a few reasons why
user experience is so critical to product development:

 Your product needs to be intuitive. A product that's difficult to use will put
people off, no matter how beautiful or innovative it may be.
 Good UX design can make your product stand out from the competition. In
today's saturated markets, a well-designed user experience can be the defining
factor that sets your product apart.
 An excellent user experience helps retain users and foster loyalty. If users enjoy
using your product, they're more likely to continue using it and recommend it to
others.

How Does UX Affect Product Development?

The best products out there didn't just happen by accident. They are the result of
careful planning, perfect execution, and meticulous attention to user experience (UX).
UX design iteratively improves the overall quality of the product, ensuring the final
outcome is not only functional but also user-friendly and appealing.
However, in what concrete ways does incorporating UX into
product development improve its quality?

 Reduces Development Time: When user feedback is integrated at every

stage of product development, it helps identify issues earlier, saving
precious resources and time. This could mean preventing a product release
that may fail due to poor UX.
 Enhances User Satisfaction: A product developed with user experience in
mind is more likely to satisfy the users' needs, leading to higher user
engagement, retention, and ultimately, business success.
 Mitigates Risks: Incorporating UX in the product development process
from the get-go reduces the risk of product failure drastically. It eliminates
assumptions and guesswork, replacing them with user-tested, data-based
decision-making.
Ways to Enhance User Experience

Following are some techniques that can help you improve user experience:
  User Research: Nothing beats hearing straight from the users themselves. Conduct
user surveys, interviews, and research to understand their needs, motivations, and
challenges. Use this information to make the necessary improvements.
 Usefulness: Ask yourself, "Is the product or feature useful to the user?" If it doesn't
serve a purpose or resolve a pain point, it may not enhance the user experience.
Focus on creating value for your users.
 Usability: This pertains to the ease of use of the product. If users struggle to use the
product or find the information they need, they're more likely to abandon it. Make
sure your product is intuitive and straightforward.
 Accessibility: Your product should be accessible to everyone, including those with
disabilities. Accessibility is not only a legal requirement but also a moral one,
ensuring that everyone, regardless of ability, can use your product efficiently.
 Aesthetics: While functionality is king, "looks" still matter. A visually appealing,
modern, and clear interface can significantly enhance the user experience. But
remember, simplicity is key; you don't want the design to be distracting or confusing.
DEFINING THE UX DESIGN PROCESS AND ITS
METHODOLOGY
UX designers design every interface to be as intuitive and easy to use as possible,
and to do this, and they rely on “design thinking,” a step-by-step guide to the UX
design process. Let's explore the UX design process and look at common tasks in each
UX design phase and which roles are responsible for them.
The user experience design cycle can be unpredictable. Every project will have
different user needs and business goals. Each problem has a different context and scope.
Most of all, design teams must learn to recognize the right problem to solve.

The five steps of Design Thinking are:

  Empathize: Explore the problem, and find out who your users are
 Define: Learn what the users want and need and how the problem affects them
 Ideate: Brainstorm solutions that make sense based on test findings
 Prototype: create many designs based on the ideas from ideation
 Test: Test the prototypes and find the best solution.
Roles involved in the UX design process

Collaboration is the cornerstone of UX. UX teams include specialized roles to

ensure the seamless handoff from one phase to the next:

 UX Researchers conduct user testing, analyze data, and communicate their

findings. They craft user personas, journey maps and affinity diagrams. They test
prototypes and live products that need improvement.

 UX Designers create low and high-fidelity prototypes, wireframes, and mockups.

They are responsible for the layout and user flows of the final product.

 Content Writers (or UX writers) ensure the interface is saying the right things in
the right way. They write button text, menu names, tooltips and error messages,
called “microcopy.”

 UI Designers and Web Developers turn prototypes into final products. They are
responsible for maintaining a live product. They usually have strong technical
expertise.

Methodology of UX design

The process of “design thinking” is well-known among designers as an approach

to UX. It consists of five stages: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. Almost all
design processes are based on this concept. For product design, we would follow a UX
process with the following five phases:
  Defining the product
 Research
 Analysis
 Design
 User Testing

Defining the product

Understanding a product’s context for existence is the first step toward building
one. The product definition phase sets the foundation for the final product. In this
phase, as a UX designer, I need to brainstorm with stakeholders on the highest level to
understand their approach.
This phase usually includes:

 Interviewing stakeholders to gain insight into business objectives.

 A value proposition map aims to identify what the product is, who will use it, and
why they will use it. Defining the value proposition helps the team and
stakeholders agree on what the product will be and how to match user needs with
business goals.
 A concept sketch is an early version of the future product (often a low-fidelity
paper sketch of the product’s architecture).
Product research

Once we’ve defined our idea, we move on to the research phase. This phase
typically includes both user research and market research.

This phase can include:

 Individual in-depth interviews : In-depth interviews provide qualitative data

about the target audience, such as their needs, wants, fears, motivations, and
behavior.

 Competitive research: Research helps me understand industry standards and

identify opportunities for the product within its particular niche.

Analysis

During the analysis phase, the intent is to establish “why” users want, think, and
need what was discovered during the research phase based on the data collected during
the research phase.
This phase of the UX process usually includes:
  Creating user personas: A persona is a fictional character that represents a
specific type of user for your product. This will help us construct realistic personas
for target audiences as we design our product.

 Creating user stories: A user story helps designers understand the

product/service interactions from the user’s perspective.

Design

During this stage, the product team works on various activities, from creating

information architecture (IA) to designing the UI.

The design phase usually includes:

 Sketching: Sketching is the easiest and fastest way to visualize our ideas. You
can do this by drawing by hand on a piece of paper, on a whiteboard, or in a
digital tool.
 Creating wireframes: A wireframe is a tool that helps designers visualize
the basic structure of a future page, including the key elements and how they
fit together.
 Creating prototypes: While wireframes are mostly about structure and
visual hierarchy, prototypes are about the actual interaction experience
 Creating a design specification: Design specifications contain all of the
visual design assets required for developers to turn prototypes into a
working product.

User Testing

Testing is an essential step in the design process because it helps us understand

whether their design works for their users. Usually, the validation phase starts after the
high-fidelity design is ready since testing with high-fidelity designs provides more
valuable feedback from end-users).

The validation phase of the UX process may include the following activities:

 It is essential that team members use the product on a regular basis,

conducting routine operations, in order to discover any major usability

issues.

 Testing sessions. User testing sessions with people who represent your

target audience are very important.

  Surveys. Surveys are a great tool for capturing both quantitative and

qualitative information from real-world users.

 Analytics. Quantitative data (clicks, navigation time, search queries, etc.) from

an analytics tool can be very helpful to uncover how users interact with your

product.

RESEARCH IN USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN

User experience (UX) research is about diving deep into how customers interact
with your brand on a practical, functional level, and observing how easily they can
complete their tasks and meet their goals.
User research is the process of discovering the behaviours, motivations,
and needs of your customers through observation, task analysis, and other types of user
feedback. It can involve working directly with members of your target audience through
UX testing sessions, remote session observation using digital tools, surveys to collect
user feedback, and many more UX research methods and techniques.

Importance of UX research

The fresh perspective of your end-users is exactly why UX research is so

valuable. Because they’re not already immersed in your language, processes, and
systems, user testing participants are in the best position to help you see where things
might be confusing to a newcomer who isn’t involved with your business.

 Objectives :What do you need to find out about your users and their needs?
  Hypothesis: What do you think you already know about your users?
 Methods: Based on your deadline, project type, and the size of your research
team, what UX research methods should you use?
 Process: Using your selected UX research method(s), begin collecting data
about your users, their preferences, and their needs.
 Synthesis: Analyse the data you collected to fill in your knowledge gaps,
address your hypothesis and create a plan to improve your product based on
user feedback.

UX research is critical because it keeps you from wasting time, money, and effort
designing the wrong product or solution. It’s valuable for all areas of your business and
yields clear benefits for your product, your users, and your bottom line.

 Product benefits : By asking your customers for direct feedback about a potential
product, you can discover how and when customers prefer to use a product, what
pain points your product will solve, and how to improve your product design.

 User benefits : UX research is unbiased feedback, straight from the most valuable
source: your customers. Because this type of research is not biased by investors,
company leaders, or outside influences, it is the best resource for getting actionable
product feedback.
 Business benefits : Knowing what your users value helps you spend less time and
money fixing flawed designs, speeds up the product development process,
and increases customer satisfaction.

UX research helps brands and organisations to:

 Understand how users experience products, websites, mobile apps, and

prototypes
 Evaluate and optimise prototypes and ideas based on UX research discoveries –
and nail the design and experience early in a product’s life cycle
 Unearth new customer needs and business opportunities
 Find and fix hidden problems with products and services that arise in real-world
use cases
 Make informed decisions through the product development process by testing
various aspects of product designs
 Provide user experiences that outperform other businesses in your sector (UX
competitor research)
 Understand each user interaction across complete customer journeys
 Build a richer, more useful picture of your target audiences for better marketing
and advertising
TOOLS AND METHODS USED FOR RESEARCH
There are many types of user research methods for discovering data useful for
product design and development. Below are some common examples of tools user
experience researchers may use to gather information and draw insights into mental
models, or users’ thought processes.

 UX research surveys or questionnaires can discover data at scale through in-

person or remote polling, with specific questions designed to collate useful
information about user experience.
 User groups or focus groups are a form of a structured interview that consults
members of a target audience on their experience, views, and attitudes towards the
product or solution. They usually involve neutral parties, such as a moderator and
note-taker, and are led by a researcher who asks open-ended questions focused on
specific aspects of an investigation.
 User interviews are one-on-one structured interviews with a target audience
member, led by a UX researcher to understand more about personal
experiences with the product. These user interviews can be directed to compare and
contrast answers between users, or non-directed, where users lead the conversation.
 Ethnographic interviews take place within the target users’ typical environment to
get a better context-of-use view. Field studies and site visits are similarly
observational in nature, and take place in situ where the product or service is used,
but may involve larger groups.
 This is not a comprehensive list of research techniques but represents some of
the main ways UX researchers might perform usability testing or trial UX design.
The most common types of user research

First, let’s talk about the types of UX research. Every individual research method
falls under these types, which reflect different goals and objectives for conducting
research. Here’s a quick overview:

Qualitative vs. quantitative

All research methods are either quantitative or qualitative. Qualitative research

focuses on capturing subjective insights into users' experiences. It aims to understand
the underlying reasons, motivations, and behaviors of individuals.
Quantitative research, on the other hand, involves collecting and analyzing
numerical data to identify patterns, trends, and significance. It aims to quantify user
behaviors, preferences, and attitudes, allowing for generalizations and statistical
insights.
Attitudinal vs. behavioral

Attitudinal research is about understanding users' attitudes, perceptions, and

beliefs. It delves into the 'why' behind user decisions and actions. It often involves
surveys or interviews where users are asked about their feelings, preferences, or
perceptions towards a product or service. It's subjective in nature, aiming to capture
people's emotions and opinions.
Behavioral research is about what users do rather than what they say they do or
would do. This kind of research is often based on observation methods like usability
testing, eye-tracking, or heat maps to understand user behavior.
 Generative vs. evaluative

Generative research is all about generating new ideas, concepts, and insights to
fuel the design process. You might run brainstorming sessions with groups of users,
card sorting, and co-design sessions to inspire creativity and guide the development of
user-centered solutions.
On the other hand, evaluative research focuses on assessing the usability,
effectiveness, and overall quality of existing designs or prototypes. Once you’ve
developed a prototype of your product, it's time to evaluate its strengths and
weaknesses. You can compare different versions of a product design or feature through
A/B testing—ensuring your UX design meets user needs and expectations.

11 Best UX research methods and when to use them

There are various UX research techniques—each method serves a specific

purpose and can provide unique insights into user behaviors and preferences. In this
section, we’ll highlight the most common research techniques you need to know.
Read on for an at-a-glance table, and full breakdown of each method.

search Description When to use it Best for

technique gathering

User One-on-one open-ended and guided Start and end of your Qualitative
search Description When to use it Best for
technique gathering

interviews discussions project Generative

Field Observe people in their natural All stages Qualitative

studies environment Behavioral

Focus group Group discussions facilitated by a Start and end of your Qualitative
moderator project Generative

Diary Users keep a diary to track interactions Start of your project Qualitative
studies and experience with a product Evaluative

Surveys Asking people open or closed questions All stages Qualitative

Quantitative
Attitudinal
Generative
Evaluative

Card sorting Users sort information and ideas into Start of your project Qualitative
groups that makes sense to them Generative
Attitudinal

Tree testing Assess the findability and organization Start of your design or Quantitative
of information as users navigate a redesign process Behavioral
stripped-down IA Evaluative

Usability Users perform a set of tasks in a All stages Qualitative

testing controlled setting Behavioral
Evaluative

Five second Collect immediate impressions within a During initial ideation Attitudinal
testing short timeframe and throughout design Evaluative

A/B testing Compare two versions of a solution All stages Quantitative

Evaluative

Concept Evaluate the feasibility, appeal, and During initial ideation, Qualitative
testing potential success of a new product design, and before Generative
launch

1. User interviews

User interviews are a qualitative research method that involves having open-
ended and guided discussions with users to gather in-depth insights about their
experiences, needs, motivations, and behaviors.
 Typically, you would ask a few questions on a specific topic during a user
interview and analyze participants' answers. The results you get will depend on how
well you form and ask questions, as well as follow up on participants’ answers. That’s
why you should:

 Start with a wide context: Make sure that your questions don’t start with your
product
 Ask questions: Always ask questions that focus on the tasks that users are trying to
complete
 Invest in analysis: Get transcripts done and share the findings with your team

2.Field studies
Field studies—also known as ethnographic research—are research activities
that take place in the user’s environment rather than in your lab or office. They’re a
great method for uncovering context, unknown motivations, or constraints that affect
the user experience.
An advantage of field studies is observing people in their natural environment,
giving you a glimpse at the context in which your product is used. It’s useful to
understand the context in which users complete tasks, learn about their needs, and
collect in-depth user stories.

When to conduct field studies

This method can be used at all stages of your project—two key times you may
want to conduct field studies are:
 As part of the discovery and exploration stage to define direction and
understand the context around when and how users interact with the product
 During usability testing, once you have a prototype, to evaluate the effectiveness
of the solution or validate design assumptions in real-world contexts

3. Focus groups
A focus group is a qualitative research method that includes the study of a group
of people, their beliefs, and opinions. It’s typically used for market research or gathering
feedback on products and messaging.
Focus groups can help you better grasp:
 How users perceive your product
  What users believe are a product’s most important features
 What problems do users experience with the product
Here’s some things to consider:
 Write a script to guide the conversation
 Ask clear, open-ended questions focused on the topics you’re trying to learn
about
 Include around five to ten participants to keep the sessions focused and
organized

4. Diary studies

Diary studies involve asking users to track their usage and thoughts on your
product by keeping logs or diaries, taking photos, explaining their activities, and
highlighting things that stood out to them.
 Open, ‘freeform’ diary: Users have more freedom to record what and when
they like, but can also lead to missed opportunities to capture data users
might overlook
 Closed, ‘structured’ diary: Users follow a stricter entry-logging process and
answer pre-set questions
Diary studies are often valuable when you need to deeply understand users'
behaviors, routines, and pain points in real-life contexts. This could be when you're:
 Conceptualizing a new product or feature: Gain insights into user habits,
needs, and frustrations to inspire your design

 Trying to enhance an existing product: Identify areas where users are having
difficulties or where there are opportunities for better user engagement
5. Surveys

Although surveys are primarily used for quantitative research, they can also
provided qualitative data, depending on whether you use closed or open-ended
questions:
 Closed-ended questions come with a predefined set of answers to choose
from using formats like rating scales, rankings, or multiple choice. This results
in quantitative data.
  Open-ended questions are typically open-text questions where test participants
give their responses in a free-form style. This results in qualitative data.
While surveys can be used at all stages of project development, and are ideal
for continuous product discovery, the specific timing and purpose may vary
depending on the research goals. For example, you can run surveys at:
 Conceptualization phase to gather preliminary data, and identify patterns, trends,
or potential user segments
 Post-launch or during iterative design cycles to gather feedback on user
satisfaction, feature usage, or suggestions for improvements

6. Card sorting

Card sorting is an important step in creating an intuitive information

architecture (IA) and user experience. It’s also a great technique to generate ideas,
naming conventions, or simply see how users understand topics.
In this UX research method, participants are presented with cards featuring
different topics or information, and tasked with grouping the cards into categories that
make sense to them. There are three types of card sorting:
 Open card sorting: Participants organize topics into categories that make
sense to them and name those categories, thus generating new ideas and
names
 Hybrid card sorting: Participants can sort cards into predefined categories,
but also have the option to create their own categories
 Closed card sorting: Participants are given predefined categories and asked
to sort the items into the available groups
Card sorting isn’t limited to a single stage of design or development—it can be
employed anytime you need to explore how users categorize or perceive information.
For example, you may want to use card sorting if you need to:
 Understand how users perceive ideas
 Evaluate and prioritize potential solutions
 Generate name ideas and understand naming conventions
 Learn how users expect navigation to work
 Decide how to group content on a new or existing site
 Restructure information architecture
7. Tree testing

During tree testing a text-only version of the site is given to your participants,
who are asked to complete a series of tasks requiring them to locate items on the app or
website.
The data collected from a tree test helps you understand where users intuitively
navigate first, and is an effective way to assess the findability, labeling, and information
architecture of a product.
Tree testing is often done at an early stage in the design or redesign process.
That’s because it’s more cost-effective to address errors at the start of a project—rather
than making changes later in the development process or after launch.

8. Usability testing

Usability testing evaluates your product with people by getting them to complete
tasks while you observe and note their interactions (either during or after the test). The
goal of conducting usability testing is to understand if your design is intuitive and easy
to use. A sign of success is if users can easily accomplish their goals and complete tasks
with your product.
 Usability testing is usually performed with functional mid or hi-fi prototypes. If
you have a Figma, InVision, Sketch, or prototype ready, you can import it into a platform
like Maze and start testing your design with users immediately.
The tasks you create for usability tests should be:
 Realistic, and describe a scenario
 Actionable, and use action verbs (create, sign up, buy, etc)
 To inform your design decisions, you should do usability testing early and
often in the process.
Here are some guidelines to help you decide when to do usability testing:
 Before you start designing
 Once you have a wireframe or prototype
 Prior to the launch of the product
 At regular intervals after launch

9. Five-second testing

In five-second testing, participants are (unsurprisingly) given five seconds to

view an image like a design or web page, and then they’re asked questions about the
design to gauge their first impressions.

Five-second testing is typically conducted in the early stages of the design

process, specifically during initial concept testing or prototype development. This way,
you can evaluate your design's initial impact and make early refinements or
adjustments to ensure its effectiveness, before putting design to development.
10. A/B testing

A/B testing, also known as split testing, compares two or more versions of a
webpage, interface, or feature to determine which performs better regarding
engagement, conversions, or other predefined metrics.
It involves randomly dividing users into different groups and giving each group a
different version of the design element being tested. For example, let's say the primary
call-to-action on the page is a button that says ‘buy now’.
You're considering making changes to its design to see if it can lead to higher
conversions, so you create two versions:
  Version A: The original design with the ‘buy now’ button positioned
below the product description—shown to group A
 Version B: A variation with the ‘buy now’ button now prominently
displayed above the product description—shown to group B
A/B testing can be used at all stages of the design and development process—
whenever you want to collect direct, quantitative data and confirm a suspicion, or settle
a design debate. This iterative testing approach allows you to continually improve your
website's performance and user experience based on data-driven insights.

11. Concept testing

Concept testing is a type of research that evaluates the feasibility, appeal, and
potential success of a new product before you build it. It centers the user in the ideation
process, using UX research methods like A/B testing, surveys, and customer interviews.
There’s no one way to run a concept test—you can opt for concept testing
surveys, interviews, focus groups, or any other method that gets qualitative data on
your concept.
Concept testing helps gauge your audience’s interest, understanding, and
likelihood-to-purchase, before committing time and resources to a concept. However, it
can also be useful further down the product development line—such as when defining
marketing messaging or just before launching.

USER NEEDS AND ITS GOALS - KNOW ABOUT

BUSINESS GOALS

A good way to inform your choice of user experience research method is to start
by considering your goals. You might want to browse UX research templates or read
about examples of research.
Michael Margolis, UX Research Partner at Google Ventures, recommends
answering questions like:
 “What do your users need?”
 “What are your users struggling with?”
 “How can you help your users?”
The Importance of Understanding Users’ Needs and Business
Goals

Understanding both users’ needs and business goals is essential for creating a
successful UX design that meets both the needs of the users and the goals of the
business and, ultimately, launching an effective product. Whether you’re a UX designer
or a business owner, the valuable insights provided here is for creating a successful
product that meets both users’ needs and business goals.
Now, let’s consider the importance of understanding users’ needs and business
goals when creating an effective UX design in greater depth, including the key aspects of
users’ needs and business goals that impact UX design, and how to find a balance
between them.

Identifying Users’ Needs

To create a successful UX design, it is essential that you first identify and gain
insights into users’ needs by conducting UX research such as surveys, user interviews,
and usability testing. Plus, you can analyze data analytics to identify user behaviors
and preferences.
Create user personas that represent the target audience and their characteristics
to help you understand the users’ goals, motivations, and behaviors. Work with
any UX researchers on your team to better understand your users. By understanding
users’ needs, desires, and pinpoints, you can create a user-friendly product that meets
their expectations and is easy to learn.

Understanding Business Goals

Designing a successful product that fulfils an organization’s business objectives

requires that you first comprehend the organization’s goals. You must understand the
company’s mission, vision, and values and identify the key performance indicators
(KPIs) that the company is striving to attain. Gaining insights into these factors enables
you to create a UX design that is both user friendly and helpful in achieving the overall
success of the organization.
The best way to understand an organization’s business goals is to speak with
your product manager and project manager to understand their KPIs. It also helps to
speak with the CEO to understand his or her priorities—especially if you work for a
small startup.
Balancing Users’ Needs and Business Goals

To balance meeting users’ needs and business goals during UX design, it is

important to prioritize all these needs and make strategic decisions about which needs
you must address. This means understanding the needs and goals of both the users and
the organization and finding ways to meet them both.
One key approach is to identify the most important users’ needs and business
goals, then prioritize design decisions that satisfy both. Achieving this goal requires
constantly testing and iterating your designs to ensure that they meet both objectives.
Of course, achieving this balance might require making some tradeoffs—for
example, compromising on certain business goals to meet users’ needs or vice versa. By
balancing users’ needs and business goals, you can create a product that not only meets
the organization’s business objectives but also satisfies the users, leading to a more
successful and impactful product.
How Users’ Needs and Business Goals Can Conflict in UX Design

Now, let’s consider some examples of how addressing users’ needs and business
goals could conflict in UX design—for example, if an ecommerce Web site were to
prioritize pushing sales over providing a user-friendly experience or endeavour to
maximize its revenues by encouraging customers to make more purchases.
To achieve this goal, the ecommerce company might bombard users with
multiple product recommendations and pop-up ads, making it challenging for users to
navigate the site and find what they’re looking for. Although this approach could
increase sales, it would also frustrate users and lead to a poor user experience.
Therefore, the company would need to find a balance between pushing sales and
providing a user-friendly experience—for example, by displaying personalized product
recommendations and ensuring that their site is easy to navigate.
Another example of how users’ needs and business goals might conflict in UX
design could occur if a social-media platform decided to prioritize increasing user
engagement over protecting users’ privacy.
For instance, Facebook might want to increase user engagement by encouraging
users to share more personal information and interact with other users on the platform.
To achieve this goal, they might make certain privacy settings less prominent and
harder to find, which could compromise users’ privacy. Although this approach might
increase user engagement, it could also lead users to distrust the platform and
negatively impact the overall user experience.
Therefore, the company should find a balance between increasing user
engagement and protecting users’ privacy—for example, by continuing to encourage
user engagement, but also providing clear, accessible privacy settings.
Balancing Users’ Needs and Business Goals in UX Design

While it can be challenging to find a middle ground between satisfying users’

goals and business goals, the following tips can help you achieve this balance:
 Conduct thorough user research. By understanding your users’ needs and
painpoints, you can ensure that your design decisions align with users’
expectations and goals.
 Prioritize your design decisions. Identify the most important users’
needs and business goals and prioritize design decisions that satisfy both.
 Continuously test and iterate your designs. By constantly testing and iterating
on your designs, you can ensure they meet both users’ needs and business goals.
 Communicate with your stakeholders. To ensure that everyone aligns on goals
and priorities, communicate with your stakeholders regularly, including business
leaders, product managers, and developers.
 Be adaptable. Be willing to make changes to your designs and priorities as
necessary to achieve a balance between users’ needs and business goals.
A Successful Service That Has Achieved This Balance

One example of a real-world business that has successfully achieved a balance

between users’ needs and business goals in UX design is Netflix. Their design solution
focuses on providing a seamless user experience that encourages users to continue
using the platform, while also meeting its business goals of retaining subscribers and
increasing revenues.
For instance, Netflix’s recommendation algorithm provides personalized
recommendations to users, which helps keep them engaged with the platform and
increases their watch time. At the same time, the company’s subscription-based model
generates revenues while minimizing the number of advertisements to which users are
exposed.
 By focusing on users’ needs and preferences while also meeting its business
goals, Netflix has become one of the most popular and successful streaming services in
the world.
Conclusion

In conclusion, achieving a balance between users’ needs and business goals is a

crucial goal of UX design. By understanding the importance of both users’ needs and
business goals, identifying potential conflicts, and following the actionable, you can
create successful products that satisfy both your users and your stakeholders.
The example provided demonstrates how a company such as Netflix has
achieved this balance to become a successful and highly impactful business. Whether
you’re a UX designer or a business owner who is looking to improve your product’s user
experience, then you can ensure that your product meets both users’ needs and
business goals, which could ultimately lead you to create a more successful and ethical
product.