User Research in Agile Environments

A primer to user research in agile environments (mostly Tech). This presentation was designed by collecting general user research FAQs from graduate level design students in India for their virtual internship in 2020. Suitable for junior & mid-level user researchers working in tech companies.

Resources mentioned in the presentation:

Nikki Anderson - Follow her on Dscout & Medium
https://userresearchacademy.com

Youtube: Video clip from movie "White men can't jump"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajBHZKoKYbU

Wikipedia - The French Stone Soup Fable
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Soup

Medium - Spotify Squad Framework
https://medium.com/pm101/spotify-squad-framework-part-i-8f74bcfcd761

Infographic - Toggle: Software Development Life Cycle
https://toggl.com/track/developer-methods-infographic/

Cheryl Paulsen - User Research Landscape Map
http://cherylpaulsen.com/rubik/UXResearch_Landscape_Map-RUBIK.pdf

Buster Benson - Congnitive Biases
https://medium.com/thinking-is-hard/4-conundrums-of-intelligence-2ab78d90740f

David Travis - 7 Deadly Sins of User Research
https://www.slideshare.net/dtravisphd/the-7-sins-of-user-research

ResearchOps - Research Skills Framework
https://www.researchskills.net

Transcript

1. © 2004-2020 THINK DESIGN COLLABORATIVE SAFIULLAH KHAN MOHAMMED Indep. User Researcher & Strategist Ex -Think Design User Research in Agile Environments TOPIC Presented on: 9th June 2020, during Think Design InternFromHome Mentorship Program
2. Summary Of Topics MAIN POINTS COVERED Reminder: All attendees will get a copy of this deck, and the recording! Channel your efforts toward marking questions you may want for end of the session. 1. Academia versus applied research 2. Understanding the business and teams 3. Research methods selection at different stages of SDLC 4. Lean research process, criteria and impact 5. Common pitfalls 6. Q&A Extra resources at the end of the deck!!
3. Hi, I’m Safi! That’s me on the right, back in 2011 at Think Design, Hyderabad office. It was around this time that the design research bug bite me bad J Hamdardo ka Sa-fee
4. Academic Research Applied Research • Slower process • Needs the IRB (Institutional Review Board) • Statistical significance • Methodical • Small teams or solo work • (Usually) one study at a time • Incredibly fast-passed • No formal process • Not an exact science • Scrappy • Team depends on you • Multiple studies at once Source: Nikki Anderson, Intro to UXR Webinar
5. But first, what is user research? User research is the systematic study of the goals, needs, and capabilities of users* so as to specify design, construction, or improvement of tools to benefit how users work and live. * Users includes both internal (Sales, Marketing, Business, Design, Engineering) & external (end consumer, users)
6. In a scene from the film White Men Cant’s Jump, Woody Harrelson and Rosie Perez are in the bed together. She turns to him and says, “Honey, I’m thirsty,” so he gets up, walks to the kitchen sink, fills up a glass of water, comes back, lies down in bed, and hands her the glass of water. She gives him a dissatisfied look, and he says “What the hell, what did I do wrong?” and she says, “Honey, I said I was thirsty. I didn’t want a glass of water. I wanted you to sympathise & connect with me. I wanted you to say I know what it’s like to be thirsty.” YouTube: White Men Cant’ Jump (1992)
7. The French Fable: Stone Soup Source: Wikipedia
8. Collaboration & Empathy Moral How do you persuade others to cooperate, overcome their fears and use limited available resources to create something valuable, seemingly out of nothing. Shows power of optimism and storytelling in persuading people to a common point of view and benefit of the rapid built / test cycle. Research Goals • Understanding • Empathy • Insight
9. You need to understand the teams & business first, before the user. PRODUCT MANAGER You help the product manger understand what would bring value to the user, as well as to the business. You also help with prioritizing features UX/UI DESIGNER You help to define what a product will look like and how it will function. As well as helping designers get into the mental model of the user DEVELOPERS You help developers get into the mind of the user, so they can understand how something should be build, and why. OTHER DEPARTMENTS Marketing, customer support, account management, and sales can all benefit from better understanding how user’s think, feel and act. Stakeholders Assumptions Hypotheses Biases User Researcher Goals & Objectives Research Questions Methods
10. Team Structures Siloed Teams Research Engineering Product Design Sales Customer Support Lean Teams Squads / Pods / Triads etc. Product Line 3 Product Line 4 Product Line 5 Product Line 2 Product Line 1 Spotify Squad Framework
11. Development Cycles Toggl.com : Software Development Explained With Cars
12. Lean UX 1. Before Development Goal: Exploration Questions: What do people need? What are they already using? What’s working & what’s not? Where are we starting from? 2. During Development Goal: Evaluation & Validation Questions: Are we on the right track? Does the product look & feel right? Do users get how to use it? Can they find what they’re looking for? 3. Post Launch Goal: Measurement Questions: How are we performing? What can we optimize? Does our actual user experience meet user’s expectations?
13. User Research Landscape Map Cheryl Paulsen created this map by building on the work of Christian Rohrer and The British Design Council.
14. Generative Plan
15. Evaluative Plan Source: Optimizly
16. These are some primary ways companies gauge the success of their business and also use it as metrics to evaluate their internal teams & processes performance i.e., • Increased Revenue • Reduced Cost • Increased Brand Value • Faster Development Cycles If your research study can help teams make progress on any of the above criteria's, consider your work as success. Business Impact
17. Common Pitfalls Choosing research questions to study that are not aligned with the team’s interest or focus. #1 Framing inappropriate research questions There are about 100+ cognitive biases that conflict with our clearer thinking. Save yourself and your teams from misjudging the research findings. #2 Not taking care of their biases Also called as “Scaling research” where researchers have to go above & beyond to materialize their research insights by effective storytelling and empowerment of their team members. #3 Democratization
18. Framing Research Questions Know Knowns Examples • Results from previous research • Evidence from other data e.g. quantitative analytics Unknow Knowns Examples • Discoveries another team has made but hasn’t shared with you • Insights you haven’t picked up on because you haven’t synthesized previous research The Risk Management Assessment Matrix Know Unknowns Examples • Questions identified in research planning • Unanswered questions from previous research Unknow Unknowns Examples • Surprises from a customer segment or market you don’t know a lot about • Opportunities flagged up by a new competitor with a different lens on the world
19. Biases - Teams Buster Benson: Cognitive Bias Cheat Sheet, Simplified So Only Notice.. • Changes • Bizarreness • Repetition • Confirmation Too Much Info So Fill In Gaps With.. • Patterns • Generalities • Benefit Of Doubt • Easier Problems • Our Current Mindset Not Enough Meaning So Assume.. • We’re Right • We Can Do This • Nearest Thing Is Best • Finish What’s Started • Keep Options Open • Easier Is Better Not Enough Time So Save Space By.. • Editing Memories Down • Generalizing • Keeping An Example • Using External Memory Not Enough Memory
20. Biases - Self David Travis: Slideshare Presentation
21. Democratization Find interesting ways to disseminate your research findings using various communication channels & media formats. Don’t just hand over the report!! Storytelling + Empowerment Empower internal teams to take up tactical research activities (A/B testing, Unmoderated user testing) to free up researcher for more strategic research.
22. TL;DR - Recap • Agile research is about uncovering fast & strong evidences about your customer’s needs and behaviors, economically possible • Understand your internal teams before external customers • Learn to understand the root cause not suggest solutions • Keep constant check on biases • Research is a team sport
23. © 2004-2020 THINK DESIGN COLLABORATIVE It’s now time for Q&A’s THANK YOU LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/philosafi / Email mdskhan@gmail.com
24. Resources - Handpicked Books Think Like a UX Researcher: How to Observe Users, Influence Design, and Shape Business Strategy by David Travis Quantifying the User Experience: Practical Statistics for User Research by Jeff Sauros The Field Study Handbook, Field Edition by Jan Chipchase Exposing the Magic of Design: A Practitioner's Guide to the Methods and Theory of Synthesis by Jon Kolko Slack Channels Mixed Methods A great community for all things UX, both research and design. Join the growing community to post questions and help others in the field. ResearchOps A global community who’ve come together to discuss the operations and operationalization of user research and design research — also known as ResearchOps. ResearchOps includes the people, mechanisms, and strategies that set research in motion. Podcasts Dollars To Donuts A wonderful podcast, hosted by Steve Portigal, where he talks with people who lead user research in their organization about all things user research. Awkward Silences A podcast, by User Interviews, where they interview the people who interview people. Listen as they geek out on all things UX research, qualitative data, and the craft of understanding people to build better products and businesses. Start Here Research Skills Framework: Assess your research skills and identify your growth trajectory. Project by ResearchOps