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User research covers a wide breadth of methods from initial ethnographic interviews to usability research to quantitative research. You can use research to inspire your design, evaluate it, and measure its impact. For this course, we’ll be focusing on the second of these phases - evaluating your design.
New Terms:
- Generative Research Phase -- Researching user needs. The intention of this first phase is to inspire and uncover the needs of your users well in advance of starting your design work. It is about defining the problem.
- Tactical Research Phase -- Evaluate your design or prototype.
- Evaluative Research Phase -- Evaluate your final product in a real context.
Test early to...
- Make sure you are addressing a real user need
- Confirm your design is usable
- Save total development time
- Minimize the cost of product support
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[MUSIC]
0:00
Hi, everyone, I'm Anya.
0:09
I started as a UX researcher and
designer before joining Google and
0:11
being a UX manager there
until very recently.
0:14
I'm now excited to share
with you what I've learned.
0:17
Specifically, I wanna talk to you about
an essential a part of the UX process,
0:20
evaluating your design.
0:25
Together, we'll see how AB testing and
surveys help us determine whether or
0:27
not our designs are effective.
0:32
And we'll take a critical
look at usability testing so
0:34
that you can learn how to prepare, run and
report on your own usability study.
0:38
User research falls into three phases
that span your project timeline,
0:44
generative, tactical, and evaluative.
0:49
The generative phase is about
researching user needs.
0:52
The intention of this first
phase is to inspire and
0:56
to uncover the needs of the users well
in advance of starting your design work.
1:00
For example, if you're working for
a medical device company, you may observe
1:05
surgeons to understand how they work and
what unresolved needs you can address.
1:10
At this phase, you don't even
need to have a product idea.
1:15
The tactical phase is about evaluating
what you've created so far.
1:19
For example, if in your previous research,
1:24
you discovered that the surgeons need help
staying awake during long procedures.
1:27
The tactical phase should include
a prototype of how you plan to keep your
1:32
surgeons awake.
1:36
You may even set up a mock
surgery environment,
1:36
where the surgeons experiment with
your idea and give you feedback.
1:39
The third and
final phase of testing is evaluative.
1:44
This is the chance to see how your
product is doing in the real world.
1:49
Let's say that your device has been
approved for use in actual surgery.
1:53
Your job is still not done.
1:57
Now's your chance to collect data on
whether your product is improving
1:59
the surgery success rate and
the surgeons' well-being.
2:03
You may tweak the device along the way
to make incremental improvements.
2:06
For this course,
we'll focus on tactical research, but
2:11
we'll also touch on using evaluative
methods after your product has launched.
2:14
After looking at all of those
opportunities for research,
2:19
you might wonder, when do I actually
design and build a product?
2:23
Isn't it better to put my
ideas out there and fail fast?
2:27
How will I convince my team to wait for
me to do this research?
2:31
Well, imagine developing your products for
months, or maybe even years.
2:35
Then you find a critical
design flaw after launching.
2:39
Maybe the surgeons didn't want
to wear any additional devices.
2:44
All they really needed were
more frequent cups of coffee.
2:48
Now what?
2:52
Alternatively, you could have tested
early and discovered the critical design
2:53
flaw before any of your hardware
was built, or code was written.
2:58
So quick recap.
3:02
Test early so that you can make sure
you are addressing a real user need.
3:04
Designing something only you
are excited about is not enough.
3:11
Confirm your design is usable.
3:17
Are you making it easy for
people to achieve their goals?
3:19
Save total development time.
3:24
Discovering issues early means you
won't need to build the thing twice.
3:27
Minimize the cost of product support.
3:30
A usable product simply doesn't
require as much customer support.
3:33
Remember, people expect great design.
3:39
Imagine downloading a new calendar app.
3:42
You install it,
add your dinner plans for Friday night,
3:45
save it, and
realize you forgot to add the restaurant.
3:49
You look for the Edit button,
but you don't see it right away.
3:54
How long will you search before
abandoning this app for something else?
3:58
What's going to convince you
to try this app again later?
4:01
If only someone tested their
design before launching,
4:06
you might still be their customer.
4:10
So if you want to practice
user-centered design,
4:13
always keep the user at the center.
4:17
And that means making sure
to test your ideas early.
4:19
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