What, How, & Why?
The Process
1. Research Planning
Overview
Define the goal, criteria and methodologies for research. Many projects have time and budget constraints, which means we need to collect data from a very small sample (typically less than 10 customers.) The goal is then to have a sample design so that you can cover all your target personas and have a reasonable belief (e.g., targeted confidence level) that your data will represent all your current and future user population. Many of our user research projects involve on-site or remote interviews. Collaborate with internal departments (normally partnership programs, marketing departments, sales representatives, tech services) to screen subjects and schedule interviews. Sometimes we hire external user research agencies to coordinate the recruiting and scheduling. Depending on the nature and phase of your project, a Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA) may be required to be signed by both 3M and the subject for an interview. Plan to obtain the CDA from the department head or the lab manager as soon as possible.
tools
Recruiting (Proposals & Tips)
Research Plan & Objectives
Screeners
2. Doing Research
Overview
Conducting user research is a critical part of the design process. Research methodologies are used to identify the problems worth solving, understand the complex ecosystems within which we are designing, and to evaluate design directions as we refine and develop our solutions.
Define the problem
Exploratory research is done at the beginning of most design projects to define what problems are worth solving. This discovery research often involves a mixture of contextual observations and interviews with potential end-users & key stakeholders to better understand their current workflows, the people, products, services, and information channels they interact with, their biggest pain points, their goals & motivations, and the things that currently work really well or delight them.
Ideate, Co-create, and Evaluate
Once you have developed an understanding of the people and industry you are designing for and defined the core problem(s) you are trying to solve, the team will need to brainstorm creative ways to address these needs. It is important to involve users and stakeholders at every stage of the design process, in order to evaluate design directions and make sure you are moving in the right direction. Prototypes are an important aspect of research in this stage, and you should iterate on them with increasing levels of fidelity as the direction is solidified.
User Testing and validation
Once the design direction has been defined, iterative prototyping and user-testing should be conducted to define the feature requirements, and evaluate interactions, information architecture, and visual designs. Usability and desirability of the execution should be evaluated using both qualitative and quantitive research methods. Remote user testing can be a great way to keep costs down, while getting feedback from a wide range of participants during this stage.
tools
Design Research Best Practices
Co-Creation Activities
Interviewing
Contextual Inquiries
Shadowing
Self-Reporting
Note-Taking
Prototyping
3. Data Synthesis
Overview
Synthesis is a process of sensemaking with the goal of developing a narrative around the key findings gathered during the research phase.
Start with translating the data into a shareable, manipulatable format when the data is still fresh in your mind (typically as a post-session activity). Pro tip: you can start to categorize each data point by keywords, user role, journey step, and whether it’s positive, negative, or neutral for faster synthesis.
Next, start grouping your data points into themes and formulate the key insights or takeaways. It is important to remember that not all data points will be relevant, you’ll want to focus on those that are most frequent, surprising, or powerful.
Finally, expound on the meaning of your themes by translating them into opportunity areas, make connections with other groups, and prioritize the focus areas. Pro tip: pose your opportunity areas as How Might We’s.
Tools
Process
Archetypes
Mind Mapping
Ecosystem Maps
Journey Maps
Personas
4. Reporting Findings
Overview
Convey your research findings in a way that your audience can understand the key insights and how to act on them. Start by identifying who that audience is to know how best to tailor that messaging. Research deliverables can be represented in long or short-form. Typically short-form reports are more of a summary for presentation purposes and long-form research deliverables include more of the details such as incorporating verbatim data from your research that can be provided as a leave behind. In either format it is important to outline the research approach, background on the methodology, and summary of participants as well as the insights and recommendations for next steps.
Pro tip: show, don’t tell. The more visual your reports can be, even in long-form, the easier it will be to bring your audience along with you. Examples of making your reports more visual include: pull quotes, quick infographics of approach and participant summary, and photos of the research sessions.