Ux research

UX Research

Research Method Selection

Method	Question Type	Sample Size	Time	Best For
User interviews	Why/how	5-8	1-2 weeks	Discovery, problem validation
Usability tests	Can users do X?	5-8	1-2 weeks	Design validation
Surveys	How many? How often?	100+	1-2 weeks	Quantitative validation
Diary studies	What do they do over time?	10-20	2-4 weeks	Longitudinal behavior
Card sorting	How do users categorize?	20-30	1 week	IA, navigation
Tree testing	Can users find X in nav?	50+	1 week	Navigation validation
A/B test	Which performs better?	1000+	2-4 weeks	Optimization
Session recordings	What do users actually do?	50-200	Ongoing	Behavior observation

Research Plan Template

# Research Plan: [Study Name]

**Researcher**: [Name]
**Date**: [Start – End]
**Product Area**: [Feature/Flow]

## Research Questions
1. [Primary question — the most important thing to learn]
2. [Secondary question]
3. [Secondary question]

## Hypotheses
- H1: We believe [users] struggle with [X] because [reason]
- H2: We believe [Y feature] will help because [assumption]

## Method
[Selected method + rationale]

## Participants
- Target: [Persona/segment description]
- Criteria: [Screener criteria]
- Recruitment: [Source — panel, CRM, Craigslist, etc.]
- Incentive: [$X gift card / product credit]
- N: [Number of participants]

## Schedule
- Recruitment: [Dates]
- Sessions: [Dates, duration each]
- Analysis: [Dates]
- Readout: [Date]

## Materials
- [ ] Discussion guide / test script
- [ ] Prototype / test environment
- [ ] Screener survey
- [ ] Consent form
- [ ] Recording setup (Maze/Lookback/Zoom)

User Interview Guide

Structure (60-minute interview)

0:00-0:05  Introduction & consent
0:05-0:15  Warm-up: background, context, workflow
0:15-0:45  Core questions (problem space)
0:45-0:55  Concept/prototype reaction (if applicable)
0:55-1:00  Wrap-up: anything else? recruiting referrals

Interview Question Bank

Warm-up

• Tell me about your role and what a typical [relevant task] looks like for you.
• How long have you been doing [X]?
• Walk me through the last time you [relevant activity].

Problem Discovery

• What's the hardest part of [task]?
• What does your current workflow look like? Take me through it step by step.
• What tools do you use? What do you wish they did differently?
• If you could wave a magic wand and fix one thing, what would it be?
• Tell me about a time when [problem area] didn't go as expected.

Behavior & Motivation

• Why do you do it that way?
• What would have to be true for you to change how you do this?
• Who else is involved in this decision/process?
• How do you know when you've done [task] successfully?

Reaction to Concept (show prototype)

• What's your first impression?
• What would you expect to happen if you clicked [X]?
• Is anything confusing or unclear?
• What would make you trust/use this?

Interview Anti-Patterns

• Don't ask leading questions: "Don't you find X frustrating?" → "How do you feel about X?"
• Don't ask hypotheticals: "Would you use this?" → "Tell me about the last time you..."
• Don't ask binary yes/no → follow up with "tell me more"
• Don't jump to solutions → stay in problem space longer

Usability Testing Protocol

Moderated Test Script

"Thank you for joining. Today I'm going to ask you to complete 
some tasks using [product/prototype]. I want to be clear: we're 
testing the design, not you. There are no wrong answers. 
Please think aloud — say what you're thinking and looking at.
I won't be able to answer questions about how to use it, but 
I want to hear what you'd expect."

[Task 1]
"Please [task instruction]. Think aloud as you go."
Observe: where do they start? where do they pause? where do they go wrong?

[After each task]
"How was that? What was easy/hard?"
"What did you expect to happen when you clicked X?"

Metrics to Track

Metric	Definition	Target
Task success rate	% completing without assistance	>80%
Time on task	Seconds to complete	<baseline
Error rate	# of errors per task	<2
SUS score	System Usability Scale (0-100)	>68
NPS	Would recommend (0-10)	>30

Research Synthesis Frameworks

Affinity Mapping

1. Capture every observation on individual sticky notes (digital: FigJam, Miro)
2. Sort silently — group related notes without discussing
3. Label clusters with insight statements (not categories)
4. Identify patterns across clusters
5. Prioritize by frequency and severity

Jobs-to-Be-Done Analysis

Functional Job: [What they're trying to accomplish]
Emotional Job: [How they want to feel]
Social Job: [How they want to be perceived]

Outcome Statements:
"Minimize the time it takes to [functional outcome]"
"Increase the likelihood of [desired result]"
"Reduce the number of [pain point occurrences]"

Problem Statement Format

[User persona] needs a way to [accomplish goal] 
because [insight about their motivation/context].

Currently they [current behavior] which leads to [pain/inefficiency].

We know this because [evidence — N participants, quote, data].

Insight Documentation Template

## Insight: [Short title]

**Confidence**: High | Medium | Low
**Evidence**: [N/X participants mentioned this] [quote]
**Impact**: [What this means for the product]
**Recommendation**: [What we should do about it]

### Supporting Quotes
> "[Direct quote from participant]" — P3, SMB Customer

### Related Insights
- [Link to related insight]

Research Repository Structure

research/
├── studies/
│   └── 2024-Q1-onboarding/
│       ├── plan.md
│       ├── guide.md
│       ├── raw-notes/
│       ├── synthesis.md
│       └── readout.pdf
├── insights/
│   ├── onboarding-insights.md
│   ├── retention-insights.md
│   └── enterprise-insights.md
└── participants/
    └── (PII-protected, consent on file)

Participant Recruitment Checklist

• Screener survey written and tested
• Recruitment source identified (own users, panel, LinkedIn)
• Incentive approved (typically $75-150/hr for professionals)
• Scheduling tool set up (Calendly)
• Consent form prepared (recording consent)
• Over-recruit by 20% (no-shows)
• Confirm 24h before each session