IxDF: User Research—Methods and Best Practice

User research seems the most simple and straightforward thing for me to write about. In a way, the course felt more like a validation rather than learning. Although I did learn quite a bit, and a lot of techniques and vocabulary to help expand my knowledge base, I primarily felt like I was reiterating things I already know.

So take that imposter syndrome!

Most of what you need to know to do good and competent user research is exactly what you think it is: showing empathy, having targeted and focused inquiries, and preparation. If you can do these things, then it’s primarily about practicing interviewing with others. There is, of course, non interview based research, such as audits, surveys, etc, but none require the time and input that an interview does. And in terms of qualitative vs. quantitative, it’s really dependent on what you’d like to get out of it. Much of the class was understanding that bottom line: what do you want to get out of it.

A vital question to be answered for sure.

Although this is a very short post, I think it’s important to catalogue my learnings and my victories. The fact that the class was so simple and straightforward for me is a great indicator of my confidence with best practices for user research! It’s a good thing I’ve been analyzing market research and competitor audits for several years at this point I guess!