User Research Techniques

User Research Techniques

Overview

Comprehensive guide to qualitative and quantitative research methods for understanding users, validating ideas, and informing product decisions.

When to Use This Skill

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• research-ops - For research methods, planning, and best practices

Use when you need:

• Planning research studies
• Choosing research methods
• Conducting interviews or tests
• Analyzing research data
• Validating product decisions

Research Methods Matrix

           Quantitative ← → Qualitative
           (What & How Many)  (Why & How)
              │
Behavioral ─┼─ Analytics        Usability Testing
(What they  │  Surveys          Field Studies
  do)       │  A/B Tests        Diary Studies
              │
Attitudinal ─┼─ Surveys          Interviews
(What they  │  NPS              Focus Groups
  say)      │  Questionnaires   Concept Tests

Qualitative Methods

1. User Interviews

Types:

• Discovery: Understand problems and needs
• Validation: Test solution fit
• Evaluative: Assess existing product

Best Practices:

• Open-ended questions
• Listen more than talk (80/20 rule)
• Ask "why" 5 times
• Avoid leading questions
• Record and take notes

Interview Structure (60 min):

Introduction (5 min)
- Build rapport
- Explain purpose
- Get consent

Warm-up (5 min)
- Background questions
- Context setting

Main Questions (40 min)
- Behavioral: "Walk me through..."
- Pain points: "Tell me about a time when..."
- Goals: "What are you trying to achieve?"

Wrap-up (10 min)
- Anything missed?
- Who else to talk to?
- Thank you

Sample Questions:

Discovery:
- "Walk me through the last time you [task]"
- "What's most frustrating about [process]?"
- "Tell me about a time when [problem] occurred"

Validation:
- [Show concept] "What's your initial reaction?"
- "How would you use this?"
- "What concerns do you have?"

2. Usability Testing

Types:

• Moderated: Facilitator guides session
• Unmoderated: User completes alone
• Remote: Video call or tool-based
• In-person: Lab or coffee shop

Process:

1. Recruit: 5-8 participants (80% of issues)
2. Prepare: Tasks, scenarios, prototype
3. Test: Think-aloud protocol
4. Analyze: Issues, patterns, severity
5. Report: Findings and recommendations

Task Format:

Scenario: "You want to [goal]"
Task: "Using this prototype, [specific action]"

Example:
Scenario: "You want to find last month's sales report"
Task: "Find and download the December 2024 sales report"

Think-Aloud Protocol:

• "Please speak your thoughts out loud"
• "What are you looking for?"
• "What do you expect to happen?"
• Don't help unless stuck >2 minutes

Metrics:

• Task completion rate
• Time on task
• Errors
• Satisfaction (SEQ: Single Ease Question)

3. Field Studies (Ethnography)

When: Understand context and environment

Methods:

• Contextual Inquiry: Observe in natural setting
• Shadowing: Follow user through day
• Diary Studies: Users log activities

Process:

1. Observe silently
2. Take field notes
3. Ask clarifying questions
4. Look for workarounds
5. Identify pain points

4. Card Sorting

Purpose: Understand mental models, organize information

Types:

• Open: Users create categories
• Closed: Users sort into given categories
• Hybrid: Start closed, allow new categories

Tools: OptimalSort, UserZoom, Miro

5. Focus Groups

Format: 6-10 participants, moderated discussion

When to Use: Explore opinions, generate ideas

When NOT to Use: Validation (groupthink risk)

Quantitative Methods

1. Surveys

Types:

• NPS (Net Promoter Score): "Likelihood to recommend" (0-10)
• CSAT (Customer Satisfaction): "How satisfied?" (1-5)
• CES (Customer Effort Score): "How easy?" (1-7)
• Custom: Specific questions

Survey Design:

Good Question:
"How often do you use [feature]?"
□ Daily
□ Weekly
□ Monthly
□ Rarely
□ Never

Bad Question:
"Do you love our amazing new feature?"
(Leading, biased)

Best Practices:

• Keep short (< 10 questions)
• One question per topic
• Mix question types
• Avoid double-barreled questions
• Pilot test first

Sample Sizes:

• 100+ for directional insights
• 384+ for 95% confidence, ±5% margin
• Calculator: surveymonkey.com/mp/sample-size-calculator

2. Analytics (Behavioral Data)

Metrics to Track:

• Engagement: DAU, WAU, MAU, session duration
• Conversion: Funnel drop-offs, completion rates
• Retention: Cohort retention curves
• Feature Adoption: % users using feature

Tools: Mixpanel, Amplitude, Heap, Google Analytics

3. A/B Testing

Process:

1. Hypothesis
2. Design variants
3. Determine sample size
4. Run test (1-2 weeks)
5. Analyze (significance)
6. Ship or iterate

(See experiment-designer skill for details)

Research Synthesis

Affinity Mapping

Process:

1. Write observations on sticky notes
2. Group similar notes
3. Label themes
4. Identify patterns
5. Extract insights

Tool: Miro, FigJam, physical wall

Thematic Analysis

Steps:

1. Familiarize: Read all data
2. Code: Tag recurring concepts
3. Theme: Group codes into themes
4. Review: Refine themes
5. Define: Name and describe themes
6. Report: Write findings

Jobs-to-be-Done Framework

Job Statement: "When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [outcome]"

Example: "When I'm preparing for a client meeting, I want to quickly find relevant past conversations, so I can provide informed recommendations"

Interview Questions:

• "What job were you trying to get done?"
• "What were you using before?"
• "What triggered you to switch?"
• "What obstacles did you face?"

Research Planning

Define Research Questions

Good Research Questions:

• "How do users currently [task]?"
• "What prevents users from [goal]?"
• "Which features drive retention?"

Bad Research Questions:

• "Will users like this?" (too vague)
• "Should we build X?" (not research question)

Choose Method

Decision Tree:

What vs Why?
├─ What/How Many? → Quantitative
│  ├─ Behavior → Analytics
│  └─ Attitudes → Survey
└─ Why/How? → Qualitative
   ├─ Discover → Interviews
   ├─ Validate → Usability Test
   └─ Context → Field Study

Recruit Participants

Screener Questions:

1. How often do you [relevant behavior]?
   ○ Daily (CONTINUE)
   ○ Weekly (CONTINUE)
   ○ Monthly (SCREEN OUT)
   ○ Never (SCREEN OUT)

2. Do you work at [Competitor/Partner]?
   ○ Yes (SCREEN OUT)
   ○ No (CONTINUE)

Incentives:

• $50-100 for 1-hour consumer interview
• $150-300 for B2B professional
• Gift cards, credits, or cash

Sources:

• User Interviews, Respondent.io
• Your user base (email list)
• Social media, communities

Best Practices

1. Avoid Bias

Confirmation Bias: Seek disconfirming evidence Leading Questions: Ask neutral questions Selection Bias: Recruit diverse participants Observer Effect: Users behave differently when watched

2. Sample Sizes

Qualitative:

• 5-8 users per segment (diminishing returns)
• 15-20 total for diverse product

Quantitative:

• 100+ for trends
• 384+ for statistical significance
• Use power calculations

3. Triangulate

Combine Methods:

• Interviews (why) + Analytics (what)
• Usability tests + Surveys
• Quantitative → Qualitative → Quantitative

4. Continuous Discovery (Teresa Torres)

Weekly Touchpoints:

• Talk to 2-3 customers per week
• Mix research types
• Share with team
• Document insights
• Map to opportunities

Common Mistakes

Avoid

• Asking what users want (they don't know)
• Leading questions ("Do you love this?")
• Only talking to power users
• Research without action
• Skipping synthesis

Do

• Observe behavior, not just opinions
• Ask open-ended questions
• Recruit diverse participants
• Act on findings
• Share insights widely

Tools

Research Platforms:

• UserTesting, Maze (unmoderated testing)
• User Interviews, Respondent.io (recruitment)
• Lookback, Zoom (moderated testing)

Analysis:

• Dovetail, Airtable (synthesis)
• Miro, FigJam (affinity mapping)
• Typeform, SurveyMonkey (surveys)

Analytics:

• Mixpanel, Amplitude (product analytics)
• Hotjar, FullStory (session replay)
• Google Analytics (web analytics)

Templates

Research Plan

# Research Plan: [Topic]

## Goals
- [Research question 1]
- [Research question 2]

## Method
- Type: [Interviews / Testing / Survey]
- Timeline: [Dates]
- Participants: [N, criteria]

## Questions/Tasks
1. [Question/Task 1]
2. [Question/Task 2]

## Analysis
- [How we'll synthesize]
- [Key metrics]

## Deliverables
- [Report, insights, recommendations]

Resources

Books:

• "The Mom Test" - Rob Fitzpatrick
• "Just Enough Research" - Erika Hall
• "Continuous Discovery Habits" - Teresa Torres
• "Don't Make Me Think" - Steve Krug

Online:

• Nielsen Norman Group articles
• IDEO Design Kit
• Google Ventures Research Sprint

Quick Guide

Need to understand why? → Interviews
Testing usability? → Usability Tests
Measure satisfaction? → Survey (NPS/CSAT)
Understand behavior? → Analytics
Validate solution? → Prototype Test
Deep context? → Field Study

Always: Define questions, recruit right users, synthesize, act on insights