User Research Summary

“How do you figure out what your customers really need from your product? The answer lies in asking smart questions and observing behavior carefully.”

1. Data-Driven Decision-Making Starts With the Right Questions

While access to abundant customer data is valuable, it’s only as useful as the questions you ask. Without focusing on purposeful queries, you risk drowning in irrelevant or misleading data.

Stephanie Marsh highlights that user research begins even before product development. For example, if you’re designing a new app, ask, “What problem does this solve, and will users pay for it?” You could sketch out your concept and test it with a small group to quickly understand if there’s demand or a need.

Honesty and transparency are foundational when collecting this data. Participants need to understand what they’ve consented to. For instance, informing them explicitly if their session is being recorded ensures ethical practices. It’s equally important to provide clarity on how their input will be utilized.

Examples

• A startup designs a prototype for a fitness app and tests it with ten potential users, discovering key reservations before launch.
• A customer focus group is informed their sessions will be recorded, ensuring complete transparency.
• Developers test out sketched designs to confirm that features match user needs before investing in development.

2. Observing Behaviors Speaks Louder Than Words

People’s actions often reveal more than their words ever could. Observation allows you to uncover truths that might go unnoticed during traditional questioning.

Marsh recounts her consulting work for the British government, where user tests showed how a website's ease of use determined user satisfaction. In one instance, a participant expressed frustration with their government rather than the website, revealing external bias. Observing her behavior as she navigated the site provided more valuable insights than her verbal feedback.

Staying neutral makes the findings more reliable. Neutral questions like, “What, if anything, did you find useful or challenging?” open up feedback channels without imposing bias on the participant’s responses.

Examples

• Watching a test user struggle silently with a drop-down menu can signal poor interface design.
• A participant’s physical tension when using a product can reveal discomfort even if they verbally say everything is fine.
• Neutral phrasing like “What did you enjoy?” avoids steering answers compared to loaded prompts like “Did you love this feature?”

3. Moderated Usability Testing: In-Depth but Time-Consuming

Moderated usability testing allows researchers to collect detailed feedback by directly observing participants. However, the intensive nature of oversight makes scaling up challenging.

This hands-on approach is interactive and allows for real-time questions. For instance, if a participant struggles with a product feature, researchers can gather instant feedback about what solutions might help. But this method takes significant time, as sessions must align with everyone’s schedules.

Lastly, while moderated tests are insightful, convincing decision-makers of their value can sometimes prove tough. Many managers prefer larger-based data over the qualitative depth derived from just a few individual tests.

Examples

• A researcher records feedback from five participants and their struggles navigating a test app.
• In-person testing captures the frustration users experience due to confusing icons.
• Extensive scheduling between users and facilitators limits the number of participants.

4. Unmoderated Usability Testing: Scaled Faster but Less In-Depth

If you’re short on time, unmoderated usability testing offers quicker and easier methods to gather data. Here, participants try out products independently.

This approach allows testing across wider demographics. For example, participants from rural areas or those without time for scheduled sessions can still contribute remotely. While this increases sample size, it also means losing control over the testing environment, which runs the risk of incomplete or flawed data.

Another challenge is that unmoderated techniques may exclude groups like older adults who are less accustomed to navigating tech-based platforms.

Examples

• An online test collects responses from 500 diverse participants within two days.
• Recorded sessions show users experiencing connectivity issues, which weren’t apparent during moderated tests.
• An elderly participant might abandon a task independently, leaving data incomplete.

5. Surveys: A Highly Efficient Data Collection Tool

Surveys remain the go-to for collecting large-scale user feedback. Their versatility and ability to sample thousands at once make them extremely effective for quantitative research.

To ensure relevance, the survey group selected should reflect your audience. For instance, a survey targeting gamers must include users from all age brackets actively playing games. Keeping questions short and emphasizing simplicity boosts completion rates.

Closed-ended questions (e.g., yes/no) work better than open-ended ones since they’re less time-consuming. Progress bars during digital surveys serve as motivators, informing participants of their progress and increasing the likelihood of completion.

Examples

• An e-commerce site asks 2,000 customers if they’d purchase an upcoming smartphone color.
• A short online form with two-minute completion results in an 80% response rate.
• A retailer compares 1,000 “yes/no” responses confirming whether shoppers read their policy updates.

6. Tackling Sensitive Topics with Empathy

For fields like health or emotional well-being, user research must prioritize participants’ feelings. Sensitivity ensures participants feel safe and willing to share their experiences.

Marsh shares her work interviewing terminally ill individuals and their loved ones. Each session began with gentle queries, gradually building toward deeper conversations. Communicating empathy through tone and pauses allowed participants to speak openly.

Ending sessions gracefully and offering professional support closes these sensitive interviews without causing harm to contributors.

Examples

• Conducting a feedback session with terminally ill patients emphasizes participant consent at all stages.
• A family grieving loss opened up in a study only after initial light questions.
• A counselor was available on-site for those feeling emotionally overwhelmed during interviews.

7. Great Interviewing Comes from Handling Awkwardness

Interviews are invaluable, yet real conversations can sometimes feel heavy with silence or indirect answers. Effective interviewers learn to handle pauses and manage discomfort.

For instance, filling a pause excessively might steer the conversation away from valuable areas. Instead, allowing participants a few moments lets them gather their thoughts naturally. Additionally, interviewers must resist answering participants’ questions, which could bias outcomes.

The book advises redirecting inquiries politely. For example, when asked, “What do you think?” an interviewer might respond, “I’d prefer to focus on what you think right now.”

Examples

• A participant, after silence, shares an unexpected insight about their shopping habits.
• Pauses in a conversation lead someone to describe a specific situation they’d hesitated to mention before.
• Responding, “Let’s focus on your experience first,” invites participants to expand.

8. Ethnography: Learning by Watching the Unconscious

Ethnography focuses on studying people in their real-world environments, emphasizing unspoken needs or unnoticed behaviors.

For example, airport design benefiting from incorporating outlet ports into seating instead of on walls demonstrates ethnography’s relevance. It involves watching subtle choices people make daily and translating them into efficient solutions.

Technology now helps participants self-document their thoughts. From video logs to smartphone records, ethnographic studies have gone remote, reducing logistical hurdles.

Examples

• Travelers unknowingly display their need for a functional workspace, influencing modern airport setup.
• Observing children use chairs unintentionally led to ergonomic learning furniture designs.
• A participant records daily walking routines, revealing the best locations for shoe store ads.

9. Flexibility Is Key in User Research

Above all, research methods need to adapt based on organizational constraints, user preferences, and product objectives.

For instance, if a company struggles financially, guerilla testing—such as approaching people in coffee shops—offers accessible insights. Marsh underscores staying inventive. Every organization can uncover valuable information within budget limits if the researcher adapts.

Creativity also builds stronger personal communication skills by forcing researchers out of their comfort zones and into real, unscripted feedback sessions.

Examples

• A startup team validates an early prototype device by asking locals in malls for opinions.
• Small businesses apply low-budget guerilla research to tweak app changes rapidly.
• A prototype cookbook is handed to strangers at a café for immediate feedback.

Takeaways

1. Prioritize transparency—always explain your objectives clearly and seek proper consent from participants before proceeding with research.
2. Experiment with both high-tech and low-cost user research methods to determine what works best for your business.
3. When aiming to optimize user experience, spend time observing behavior, as actions often reveal what words cannot.