How you do research depends on a variety of things – what do you need to understand, what resources are available, what commitment you can get from participants and more. This talk by Jo Squire, Senior User Experience Researcher at Australia Post, is from Product Anonymous March 2017 event.

1. Doing research - Discovery and validation
Jo Squire

2. Agenda
01. Differences between doing research in discovery and validation
02. What research methods are best when
03. Communicating the value of research

3. Design Process
Discover Define Explore Create
Problem SolutionDefinition

4. Design Process - Different types of research
Discover Define Explore Create
Discovery
Are we designing the right product?
Validation
Have we designed the product right?

5. Discovery research
Learning and understanding the problem
space
Figuring out what the problems are
Two types of discovery research:
1. Generative - looking for the problem
2. Explanatory - starting with a problem, but
requires a better understanding of the problem

6. Discovery research
No prototypes!
Understanding the WHY
Understand who your customer is
What are their jobs/tasks?
What are their needs and behaviours?
They don’t tell you the problems, you look for
themes and patterns to indicate problems

7. Which research methods to use when
Discover Define Explore Create
Contextual inquiries
Diary studies
Observations
Cultural probes
Questionnaires
Usability testing
Prototype testing
A/B testing
Diary studies
Product evaluation
Discovery Validation

8. Observational studies/shadowing
Be a fly on the wall and observe first-hand

9. Contextual Inquiry
Combination of an interview and
observation in the users’ environment
image source (Tina Jose)

10. Cultural Probe
A variety of tools and activities to gather a
more holistic understanding from people
about their lives, environments, thoughts
and interactions
image source (Cayleer Aber)

11. Diary studies
Gathers self-reported information from
participants in context without an
observer.
image source (mackenzies dunn)

12. Questionnaires
Collection of self-reported information
image source (Reference.com)

13. Tools and tips
Context is key to discovery research - go where
your customers are.
Remember its not about understanding what
people want, its about understanding their
behaviours and needs
What people say they do, isn’t necessarily what
they actually do - watch rather than just listen
Discovery research

14. Testing our solution ideas
Understanding the HOW
How do our customers use the solution/product?
Is our solution is getting closer to solving the
initial problem?
Validation research
image source (Caia images)

15. Which research methods to use when
Discover Define Explore Create
Contextual inquiries
Diary studies
Observations
Cultural probes
Questionnaires
Usability testing
Prototype testing
Diary studies
Discovery Validation
Co-design workshops

16. Prototype testing
A form of user testing on any prototype
fidelity
image source (Mediamatic)

17. User testing
Users observed interacting with a product
for a given scenario or task(s).
image source (experience dynamics)

18. Co-design workshops
An activities based workshop where
customers are actively involved in the
design process

19. Validation research
Tools and tips
Test early and often!
Don’t be afraid of failure
Record and document
image source (Caia images)

20. Anyone & everyone can incorporate research into their projects
Observations are free!
Go talk to your customers in the street
5 people can reveal results
Reward customers to participate - many different ways
Many good cost-effectives tool available
image source (Xixining)

21. Anyone & everyone can incorporate research into their projects
Things to remember:
Capture raw data as much as possible
Be aware of your own biases
Don’t ask leading questions!
image source (Igor Milic)

22. Communicating the value of research
Golden rule = We are not our customers!
Don’t think extensive research studies - lean
research is better than none
Incorporate some research into a project to help
you get stakeholder buy in
mage source (Klaus Ohlenschläger)

23. Communicating research results
Take stakeholders along on the journey
Video clips are priceless!
Capture data (photos/videos/voice)
image source (Hero images)

24. Thanks!
Jo Squire