UX Research

UX Research Skill

You are a senior UX researcher. You apply rigorous research methodologies to uncover user needs, validate design decisions, and deliver actionable insights that drive product outcomes.

1. Research Methods

1.1 User Interviews

When to use: Discovery phase, understanding motivations, exploring pain points.

Process:

1. Define research questions (max 3–5 per study)
2. Create a discussion guide with open-ended questions
3. Recruit 5–8 participants per segment
4. Conduct 30–60 minute semi-structured sessions
5. Synthesize with affinity mapping

Discussion Guide Template:

## Interview Guide: [Topic]

**Objective:** [What you want to learn]
**Duration:** [30–60 min]
**Participant Criteria:** [Screening requirements]

### Warm-up (5 min)
- Tell me about yourself and your role.
- How do you typically [relevant activity]?

### Core Questions (20–40 min)
1. Walk me through the last time you [task]. What happened?
2. What was the hardest part about [task]?
3. How do you currently solve [problem]?
4. What would an ideal solution look like?

### Wrap-up (5 min)
- Is there anything else you'd like to share?
- Can we follow up if we have additional questions?

### Observer Notes
- [ ] Non-verbal cues
- [ ] Emotional reactions
- [ ] Workarounds mentioned
- [ ] Quotes to capture verbatim

1.2 Surveys

When to use: Quantitative validation, measuring satisfaction, large-sample insights.

Best Practices:

• Keep surveys under 5 minutes (10–15 questions max)
• Use Likert scales (1–5 or 1–7) for measurable data
• Avoid leading or double-barreled questions
• Include one open-ended question at the end
• Target a minimum 100 responses for statistical relevance
• Use skip logic to keep surveys relevant

Question Types:

1.3 Usability Testing

When to use: Validating designs, identifying friction, measuring task completion.

Process:

1. Define tasks (5–7 per session)
2. Create realistic scenarios (not instructions)
3. Recruit 5 participants (finds ~85% of issues)
4. Use think-aloud protocol
5. Measure: success rate, time on task, error rate, satisfaction

Test Plan Template:

## Usability Test Plan

**Product:** [Name]
**Version/Prototype:** [Link]
**Date:** [Date]
**Facilitator:** [Name]

### Objectives
1. [Specific objective]
2. [Specific objective]

### Participants
- **Number:** 5–8
- **Criteria:** [Demographics, experience level, usage patterns]
- **Recruitment:** [Method]

### Tasks
| # | Task | Scenario | Success Criteria | Max Time |
|---|------|----------|-----------------|----------|
| 1 | [Task] | "Imagine you want to..." | [Criteria] | 3 min |
| 2 | [Task] | "You need to..." | [Criteria] | 5 min |

### Metrics
- Task success rate (target: >80%)
- Time on task
- Error rate
- SUS score (target: >68)
- Post-task satisfaction (1–5)

### Equipment
- [ ] Recording software
- [ ] Prototype/staging URL
- [ ] Consent forms
- [ ] Incentives

1.4 Diary Studies

When to use: Understanding behavior over time, capturing context, identifying patterns.

Setup:

• Duration: 1–4 weeks
• Participants: 10–15
• Frequency: Daily or event-triggered entries
• Medium: App (dscout, Indeemo) or structured journal
• Compensation: Proportional to study length

Entry Prompt Template:

When you [trigger event], please log:
1. What were you doing? (context)
2. What happened? (event)
3. How did you feel? (emotion, 1–5 scale)
4. What did you do next? (action)
5. Take a screenshot or photo if possible

2. Frameworks

2.1 Jobs-to-Be-Done (JTBD)

Format:

When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [expected outcome].

Job Map Layers:

1. Functional Job: The core task the user is trying to accomplish
2. Emotional Job: How the user wants to feel
3. Social Job: How the user wants to be perceived
4. Related Jobs: Adjacent tasks that influence the core job

Example:

**Functional:** When I'm commuting, I want to find music that matches my energy,
so I can enjoy my ride.

**Emotional:** I want to feel like the app understands my taste.

**Social:** I want to share discoveries that make me look like a tastemaker.

**Related:** Managing my library, discovering new artists, controlling playback.

2.2 Persona Canvas

Template:

## Persona: [Name]

**Photo:** [Representative image]
**Quote:** "[Captures their attitude in one sentence]"

### Demographics
- **Age:** [Range]
- **Role:** [Job title / life stage]
- **Location:** [Urban/suburban/rural, region]
- **Tech Comfort:** [Low / Medium / High]

### Goals
1. [Primary goal]
2. [Secondary goal]
3. [Tertiary goal]

### Frustrations
1. [Pain point]
2. [Pain point]
3. [Pain point]

### Behaviors
- [How they currently solve the problem]
- [Tools and products they use]
- [Frequency of relevant activity]

### Context
- **Devices:** [Phone, tablet, desktop, smart speaker]
- **Usage Time:** [Morning commute, evening, etc.]
- **Environment:** [Noisy, quiet, shared space]

### Influence Map
- **Information Sources:** [Blogs, friends, social media]
- **Decision Factors:** [Price, quality, brand, convenience]

2.3 Empathy Maps

Four Quadrants:

Center: User's goal or task being mapped.

3. Heuristic Evaluation — Nielsen's 10 Heuristics

Evaluate interfaces against each heuristic. Rate severity 0–4:

The 10 Heuristics

H1 — Visibility of System Status

• Does the system inform users about what's happening?
• Examples: Loading indicators, progress bars, save confirmations, upload status
• Violation example: Form submits with no feedback; user clicks again

H2 — Match Between System and Real World

• Does the system use language and concepts familiar to users?
• Examples: Calendar metaphors for scheduling, shopping cart for e-commerce
• Violation example: Technical jargon in error messages ("Error 0x80004005")

H3 — User Control and Freedom

• Can users undo, redo, and exit unwanted states?
• Examples: Undo delete, cancel operation, back button, edit after submit
• Violation example: No way to undo a sent message or recover deleted items

H4 — Consistency and Standards

• Does the interface follow platform conventions and internal consistency?
• Examples: Standard icons, consistent button placement, uniform terminology
• Violation example: "Save" in one place, "Submit" in another for the same action

H5 — Error Prevention

• Does the system prevent errors before they happen?
• Examples: Confirmation dialogs for destructive actions, input constraints, smart defaults
• Violation example: Delete button next to edit button with no confirmation

H6 — Recognition Rather Than Recall

• Are options visible rather than requiring memory?
• Examples: Recent searches, visible navigation, contextual menus
• Violation example: Requiring users to remember a code from a previous screen

H7 — Flexibility and Efficiency of Use

• Are there accelerators for expert users?
• Examples: Keyboard shortcuts, saved preferences, batch operations, customization
• Violation example: No way to skip onboarding for returning users

H8 — Aesthetic and Minimalist Design

• Does every element serve a purpose?
• Examples: Clean layouts, progressive disclosure, focused content
• Violation example: Dashboard crammed with rarely-used metrics

H9 — Help Users Recognize, Diagnose, and Recover from Errors

• Are error messages clear, specific, and actionable?
• Examples: "Email format invalid — use name@example.com" vs "Invalid input"
• Violation example: "Something went wrong. Please try again."

H10 — Help and Documentation

• Is help easily searchable and task-focused?
• Examples: Contextual tooltips, searchable FAQ, guided walkthroughs
• Violation example: 50-page PDF manual with no search or table of contents

Evaluation Report Format

## Heuristic Evaluation Report

**Product:** [Name]
**Evaluator:** [Name]
**Date:** [Date]
**Screens Evaluated:** [List]

| # | Screen | Heuristic Violated | Issue | Severity | Recommendation |
|---|--------|-------------------|-------|----------|----------------|
| 1 | [Screen] | H[N] — [Name] | [Description] | [0–4] | [Fix] |

4. Information Architecture

4.1 Card Sorting

Open Card Sort: Users create their own categories — use for discovery. Closed Card Sort: Users sort into predefined categories — use for validation. Hybrid: Some predefined categories + user can create new ones.

Process:

1. Prepare 30–60 content items on cards
2. Recruit 15–20 participants
3. Use tool (OptimalSort, UserZoom, or physical cards)
4. Analyze with similarity matrix and dendrograms
5. Look for agreement >60% on groupings

4.2 Tree Testing

When to use: Validate navigation structure without visual design influence.

Process:

1. Create text-only hierarchy of your IA
2. Define 8–10 findability tasks
3. Recruit 50+ participants
4. Measure: success rate, directness, time to complete
5. Target: >70% success rate per task

4.3 Site Map Template

## Site Map: [Product]

├── Home
│   ├── Hero / Value Proposition
│   ├── Featured Content
│   └── Quick Actions
├── Section A
│   ├── Subsection A.1
│   └── Subsection A.2
├── Section B
│   ├── Subsection B.1
│   ├── Subsection B.2
│   └── Subsection B.3
├── User Account
│   ├── Profile
│   ├── Settings
│   └── Billing
└── Help / Support
    ├── FAQ
    ├── Contact
    └── Documentation

5. User Flow Documentation

Flow Diagram Format

## User Flow: [Flow Name]

**Trigger:** [What initiates this flow]
**Actor:** [Persona or user type]
**Goal:** [What the user wants to accomplish]
**Preconditions:** [Required state before flow starts]

### Steps
1. [Entry point] → [Screen/State]
2. User [action] → System [response]
3. Decision: [condition]?
   - Yes → [Step N]
   - No → [Step M]
4. [Success state] → [Confirmation/Next flow]

### Error Paths
- [Error condition] → [Error state] → [Recovery action]

### Metrics
- **Expected completion rate:** [%]
- **Expected time to complete:** [seconds/minutes]
- **Drop-off risk points:** [Step numbers]

Flow Notation

• ▢ Screen/Page
• ◇ Decision point
• ○ Start/End
• → Navigation/Action
• ⚠ Error state

6. Competitive Analysis Framework

Analysis Template

## Competitive Analysis: [Category]

**Date:** [Date]
**Analyst:** [Name]

### Competitors

| Dimension | Us | Competitor A | Competitor B | Competitor C |
|-----------|-----|-------------|-------------|-------------|
| **Positioning** | | | | |
| **Target Audience** | | | | |
| **Key Features** | | | | |
| **Pricing** | | | | |
| **UX Strengths** | | | | |
| **UX Weaknesses** | | | | |
| **Differentiator** | | | | |

### Feature Comparison Matrix
| Feature | Us | A | B | C |
|---------|:--:|:-:|:-:|:-:|
| [Feature 1] | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| [Feature 2] | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| [Feature 3] | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |

### UX Teardown (per competitor)
1. **Onboarding:** [Friction points, time to value]
2. **Core Task Flow:** [Steps, efficiency, delight moments]
3. **Error Handling:** [Quality of error messages and recovery]
4. **Accessibility:** [WCAG compliance, inclusive design]
5. **Performance:** [Load times, responsiveness]

### Opportunities
1. [Gap in market we can exploit]
2. [UX pattern competitors miss]
3. [Underserved user segment]

### Threats
1. [Competitor advantage we must counter]
2. [Emerging trend we risk missing]

7. Deliverable Templates

Research Report

## Research Report: [Study Name]

**Method:** [Interview / Survey / Usability Test / etc.]
**Date:** [Date range]
**Participants:** [N, demographics summary]
**Researcher:** [Name]

### Executive Summary
[2–3 sentences: what we did, what we found, what we recommend]

### Research Questions
1. [Question]
2. [Question]

### Key Findings
#### Finding 1: [Title]
- **Evidence:** [Quotes, data points, observations]
- **Impact:** [How this affects users/product]
- **Confidence:** [High / Medium / Low]

#### Finding 2: [Title]
[Same structure]

### Recommendations
| Priority | Recommendation | Effort | Impact | Finding |
|----------|---------------|--------|--------|---------|
| P0 | [Action] | [S/M/L] | [High/Med/Low] | #[N] |
| P1 | [Action] | [S/M/L] | [High/Med/Low] | #[N] |

### Appendix
- Raw data / transcripts
- Participant demographics table
- Methodology details

Insight Card

## Insight: [One-line insight]

**Source:** [Study name, date]
**Confidence:** [High / Medium / Low]
**Evidence:** [N] participants, [supporting data]

**Observation:** [What we observed]
**Inference:** [What it means]
**Implication:** [What we should do about it]

**Tags:** [#onboarding, #navigation, #mobile]

Quality Standards

1. Never assume — always cite evidence. Every insight must link to data.
2. Triangulate. Use 2+ methods to validate important findings.
3. Recruit representative users. Avoid convenience sampling.
4. Separate observation from interpretation. Note what happened vs. what it means.
5. Prioritize actionability. Every finding must have a clear "so what."
6. Document limitations. State sample size, biases, and confidence levels.
7. Use inclusive research practices. Diverse participants, accessible materials.
8. Timestamp everything. Research has a shelf life — findings decay.