User Research Tips #1

💡Matrix for prioritizing user research

With you have limited time & budget, you need to decide how to priortize research activities. Jeanette Fuccella proposed a framework on how to focus a team’s research efforts based on situations. The key idea is that the team needs to prioritize research activities depending on the problem clarity & current risk.

1️⃣ Ship it & Measure phase (High problem clarity, Low risk)

Happens when:

Product team already has concrete hypotheses and can support them with research findings about users (i.e., facts about users collected during the previous research on user behavior, trends, and funnel analysis)

What to do:

✔ Implement a new feature/design (i.e., build MVP to make design idea tangible);

✔ Measure the results (i.e., conduct A/B testing, etc);

2️⃣ Research Light phase (Low problem clarity, Low risk)

Happens when:

Product team is clueless about what is going on (i.e., there is a lack of data and knowledge about the topic), so it’s impossible to form coherent hypotheses about the current situation. However, the overall risk is very low. In this state, it’s important to clarify the problem while minimizing resource investment.

What to do:

✔ Identify & test hypotheses through rapid research activities (i.e., guerrilla testing, quick survey/polls, etc.);

✔ Refine the problem space using the quantitate & qualitative data you collected along the way;

3️⃣ Design heavy (High problem clarity, High risk)

Happens when:

Product team already has a concrete hypothesis and can back it up with data about customers (i.e., facts about users collected during the previous research activities) & the risks of not building the appropriate solution to address the problem is crucial.

What to do:

✔ Collaborate with other departments to create a design that effectively addresses the identified crucial problem;

✔ Build a shared vision for all stakeholders about the problem being solved;

4️⃣ Research heavy (Low problem clarity, High risk)

Happens when:

Product team is clueless about what is going on (i.e., there is a lack of data and knowledge about the topic), so it’s impossible to form a coherent hypothesis about the situation. And the risks of not building a solution to the problem are crucial and can have a significant negative impact on the business’s bottom line.

What to do:

✔ Conduct primary research. This will help the team uncover the unknowns and sharpen the knowns of the situation.

✔ Use tools like JTBD (https://lnkd.in/dZGPZ8kG) to have a better understanding of the target audience.

📕 Guides

✔ Prioritizing User Research (by Jeanette Fuccella)

https://lnkd.in/dMGGUXaH

✔ Matrix for prioritizing user research (by Ananda Nadya)

https://lnkd.in/dwN_i89i

#UX #uxresearch #design #uxdesign #research #productdesign