User Experience Research: The Secret to a Good Website/App

Every now and then you hear someone say that user research is an important weapon you can use to get to know your users better.

User Experience Research (UXR), sounds like a heavy, complex term right? Well, to put you at ease, it's actually not that complex.

A UXR is a systematic approach for getting a better knowledge about your user - think of it as becoming virtual friends with your users. UXR enriches you with insights which help to curate creative yet effective solutions for challenges. One could define UXR as the “process of understanding the impact of design on an audience”.

A thorough understanding of UXR will guide you to understand your users 

• Needs
• Behaviour 
• Attitudes 
• Pain Points 

Simply put, the keys to win your user's heart. 

Timeline

The timeline for UX research is one of the main areas to focus on. Typically the UX research is done right before beginning the project but it remains an essential part of the project constantly evolving throughout. When done at the beginning of the project, it helps to think beyond the surface level. UX research allows the company to see things from the user's perspective and come up with solutions which they could have missed otherwise.

The application of different methods allows the team to make well thought out decisions validating early concepts and problems. 

How does one go about UX research?

The main goal of UX research is to inform you about the end perspective of the user and figure out how exactly to reach out to them. A good UX research prevents you from creating a design which is just aimed at one user or yourself because the very essence of user experience is to design a product aimed at the end value - your user.

UX research breaks down the information in just the right pieces:

• Who is your user?
• What is their aim?
• How are they looking to use your product?
• What are they looking for when they come to you?

UXR is mainly divided into two parts:

• Collecting the data
• Organising it according to the usability

Data collection is done at the beginning of the project where the main aim of the research is lined out and all the information is laid out.

Once the foundation for the research has been laid, comes the next part - organising the data according to usability. This part helps to analyse the missing points of the research and allows to develop key focus on the usability of it. Post this comes the testing phase. 

How to conduct a UX research?

UX research can be divided into two parts, Qualitative and Quantitative. 

• Thoughts and sentiments = Qualitative research
  Any research that is concerned with the thought process and the feelings of the user towards the product comes under qualitative research. This helps to find the user’s opinions, difficulties, and motive. 
   
• Statistics and numbers = Quantitative research
  Any research that can be measured in numbers comes under quantitative. The answer to questions like ‘how much’ and ‘how many’ can be answered here. When you think about statistics & numbers, you look at quantitative research. 

Why is UX research Important?

Every big picture is made out of small details. Here user experience being the bigger picture, a key detail is UX research. Without proper research, you are basically creating designs based on assumptions. If you are unaware about the main motive of your users, you won’t know how to talk to them.

To conclude, UX research is the key to your user’s good experience. After all, the first impression - good or bad - is the last impression.