Learning UX Research
Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Understanding Methods and Techniques
There is no better source of information for how people feel about your product or service than users themselves. Research is the best way to mine the information you need to build better products, but the number of resources and options available for research often feels overwhelming.
Join Brad Nunnally and David Farkas for an introduction to the most useful research methods currently available and a detailed exploration of the logistics that go into executing each. Research is a cumulative skill, and improving your research requires practice. In this two-hour, hands-on workshop, through a combination of lecture, guided activities, and group discussion, you’ll learn the principles and best practices for approaching research and leave ready to organize and conduct your own research protocol.
What you’ll learn and how you can apply it
By the end of this live, online course, you’ll understand:
- The requirements for planning a successful research project
- What information you need to gather to ensure research participants give you the information you need
- How to derive findings from the research to make better product design decisions
And you’ll be able to:
- Craft and initiate a basic research protocol within your team or organization
- Communicate with colleagues and managers about the value and opportunities of user research
This live event is for you because...
- You’re a product manager who wants to better understand the tactics and methodologies of your product team and be able to discuss research through a shared vocabulary.
- You design digital products and want to be able to gather insights to improve your product.
- You’re a business analyst working on enterprise-level applications who needs to make products more efficient and effective.
Prerequisites
- Experience conducting or enabling research in a role like product designer, visual designer, product manager, UX designer, or UX researcher (useful but not required)
- An understanding of human-centered design and its purpose within product development
Recommended preparation
Read:
A Field Guide to User Research
Watch:
Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are
The Power of Nonverbal Communications
User Research Fundamentals (Learning Path)
Specifically the following segments:
- Usability Testing Overview 00:03:06
- Overview Of User Interviews 00:02:13
- Personas 00:01:30
- Expert Reviews 00:02:19
- Determine The Number Of Users To Test 00:07:32
- User Recruitment Overview 00:07:35
- Determine Recruitment Criteria 00:10:38
Schedule
The time frames are only estimates and may vary according to how the class is progressing.
- The history of research and good questions (25 minutes)
- Quantitative and qualitative methods: Analytics, surveys, tree jacking, contextual inquiry, participatory design, and stakeholder interviews (30 minutes)
- Break (10 minutes)
- Choosing methods and mind map activity (30 minutes)
- Logistics and recruiting and screener activity (30 minutes)
- Break (10 minutes)
- Rules of engagement and facilitating research (35 minutes)
- Final Q&A (10 minutes)
Your Instructors
David Farkas
David is a User Experience Designer in Philadelphia, PA. David started his career in-house, has worked in consultancies of all sizes, has had opportunities to craft the design process within an organization, and has also adopted and evolved existing paradigms. His experience includes a range of financial services systems, business systems, and e-commerce and cross-channel platforms.
Brad Nunnally
Brad Nunnally is a User Experience Designer out of St. Louis, MO. He regularly speaks on research methods, design techniques, and strategy. For the last decade, his work has included research, modeling, design, and testing. Over the course of his career, he has helped clients in the financial, healthcare management, public utilities, and pharmaceutical management industries identify user needs and develop engaging experiences based on those needs.