Collecting

I use this website to collect, and eventually syndicate, my thoughts and interesting links.

  3. Zoompathy. Coming to a research project near you?

    @bowmast on the importance of context in qualitative, the tradeoffs we incur with remote research and how to challenge them.

    Tradeoffs and risk.

    …short-term reliance on research methods without explaining the tradeoffs may risk training our clients to accept what appears to be a more convenient option. As design-at-pace sometimes seems more user-scented than centered…

  4. Undemocratising User Research

    @SaswatiSM’s argument against democratised research.

    Love this definition of a researcher ❤️

    A researcher is a dynamic thinker who has to adapt their methods and questions based on who is in front of them, how much they have already learnt and what new areas could be probed on.

    Saswati makes some great observations about analysis paralysis.

    More data is not equal to better data.

    … the ambitious were burnt out and the less ambitious, lowered the quality of their output or just gave up. None of these are outcomes you would want in your organisation on a regular basis.

    Actual outcomes.

    So what we really got was not a new pool of researchers but an access to some skill sets which we would normally not have got if we went via the typical prioritization route for their time and skills.

    Goals for strategic researchers.

    As a UX Research Lead, I would like 80% of my team’s time to go towards discovering the right opportunities. This will require UX Researchers to enhance certain skills — do more literature reviews, get better at identifying and tracking trends over time, improve one’s story-telling and quantitative market sizing skills to be able to own the full narrative around an opportunity.

  7. Democratization is our Job

    @beh_zod describes the importance of democratising research.

    What is democratization?

    …the reality is that democratization is about being a good navigator and a good passenger.

    How does it work?

    You want to be able to partner with other disciplines, set expectations, and educate, enable, and empower them to be rigorous in their curiosity.

    What is the value?

    …any work we can do to help others with systems, processes, tools, and programs will make their work more impactful and give them a deeper understanding of why our expertise is valuable.

  9. More, Broader, Faster: A Brief Intro to Effective Remote Research

    @productherapist’s tips for better remote research.

    Advantages of remote Research:

    • Easier to reach a wider geographic audience
    • Lowers cost of attending physical spaces for research sessions
    • Easier for the participants to attend sessions

    Useful tips:

    • Have a backup telepresence, email, phone number
    • Slow down to ensure comprehension
    • Send setup instructions before the sessions
    • Know when to quit and reschedule
    • Prepare and test
    • Get there early to make a head start

  10. Don't jump: My tips for interpreting user research

    @keithemmerson’s gives some great advice about observing research sessions.

    Keith makes an interesting point about the attitudes and motivations of research session observers.

    “… what’s more dangerous: someone who doesn’t attend any sessions, or someone that attends 1 or 2 sessions but misinterprets what they see and hear?”

    What I came to realise is that the question is not whether people should attend research. It’s how they listen and observe during research, and whether they take part in group analysis after research.

    In the full article Keith highlights behaviours that are avoidable during research sessions. I found these particularly interesting:

    1. Go to sessions with an open mind. It’s all too easy to attend a single lab session with the intention of confirming an existing hunch or assumption.
    2. If you have it, compare your test participant’s behaviour with data from your live or beta service.