UX Research for exploring
Exploration phase
In this phase of the research process, the techniques that correspond to this foundation are aimed at properly understanding user needs and addressing design and its difficulties from a global perspective.
Activities should be specifically aimed at establishing evidence-based guidelines, giving users control over the execution of all tasks, verifying inconsistencies, and aligning functionalities with user needs.
In this phase, we can choose up to 9 UX Research techniques, each of which has its own tools to provide support and help implement them.
If you want to learn more about how to do UX Research, don’t miss the 5th edition of the Advanced Research Specialisation Programme, which will start on 17 April 2023 (this training is in Spanish):
Programa de Especialización en Research Avanzado
Personas Building
Personas are archetypes of real users that represent behavior patterns, goals, and needs. They serve as support for design decision-making, putting the user at the center of the process.
They provide us with a better understanding and knowledge of the customer, reduce design cycles, and improve product quality. With them, we obtain identification of user profiles, with a clear description of each one and the personification of those user typologies.
Tools: Templates or platforms for self-creation.
User Stories
User stories are descriptions of a functionality that adds value to the user. They serve us to understand and investigate user needs and all their possible viewpoints within the project.
User stories will be used when prioritizing the features of a digital product.
Tools: Templates and platforms to develop both techniques.
Empathy Map
An Empathy Map is a humanizing tool that allows us to empathize with users to make decisions thinking about their needs and expectations. It serves to show different planes of the user during their interaction with the product: what they feel, think, do, say, see, and listen to.
Empathy Maps should be implemented in the early design stages, following a user-centered methodology.
Tools: Guidance templates on paper or digital.
User Journey Map
A User Journey Map is a visual representation of the steps a user takes when interacting with a digital product. It serves to identify the key points of user interaction with a specific digital product, thus reinforcing and improving the user experience.
User Journey Maps are developed once Personas have been constructed, to understand how the Persona will use the product.
Tools: Creative platforms, usually. Some examples: UXpressia, Bagheera or Miro.
You may also see them referred to as Customer Journey Maps.
Expert or Heuristic Analysis
An expert or heuristic analysis is a system that allows interfaces and processes to be evaluated by experts, based on the principles of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). This analysis allows us to quickly and effectively identify usability errors and problems.
Expert analysis is generally applied when it is necessary to evaluate an existing product, as it will identify possible areas for improvement or even blocks for the user.
Tools: Tools for taking notes on interface, heuristic analysis templates with scoring.
Focus Group
A focus group consists of a meeting of a group of selected individuals to discuss and develop, from personal experience, a theme that is the subject of research.
These serve a triple purpose: to test the usability of the design, as well as the identification and possible rectification of problems, with first-hand involvement of the user.
It is appropriate to conduct a focus group to prevent errors, validate the effectiveness of a design solution, and to identify user needs.
Tools: Tools for taking notes (recorders, video cameras, text tools, etc.).
Card Sorting
Card sorting provides relevant information to make and/or validate decisions about the information architecture of a product. This technique allows aligning user expectations (groupings and labels) with those of the team responsible for the structure of the contents.
The card sorting technique should be implemented in the early stages of the project, during the concept design stage or during the usability evaluation stage.
Tools: Optimal Workshop if we are going to execute it online or paper to carry out the process offline.
Tree Testing
Tree testing is a technique designed to evaluate the hierarchical categorization of a content tree, where certain tasks must be completed. It is used to check the ease of finding specific content within an extensive information architecture.
A tree test should be implemented when evaluating hierarchy according to the product’s functioning in a real scenario using tasks and narratives.
Tools: Optimal Workshop (online)
User Testing
User testing is a usability test based on the observation and analysis of how real users behave when using a digital product. This test will help us detect usage problems, both those expressed verbally and those expressed physically by the users.
User testing should be implemented in the following scenarios:
- In new projects, throughout its development.
- In redesign projects, after conducting a heuristic analysis.
- To avoid previously committed errors, after conducting a heuristic analysis.
Tools: Lookback or UsabilityHub.
In our processes, we use combinations of all these techniques since they allow us to obtain better data in this exploration phase. With this data, we can anticipate certain aspects of the next phase, testing.
This is a translation of the following article from our corporate website:
