Questions tagged [user-research]
Comprises multiple methods for gaining insight into user needs and behaviours from real end users.
52
questions
164
votes
17answers
14k views
How to discover what users NEED and not what they WANT?
I have been thinking a lot about my favorite quote from Henry Ford:
If I asked people what they wanted, they would have said 'Faster Horses'. -Henry Ford
The trouble I have been having is that I ...
16
votes
2answers
7k views
What research methods can I use to create personas?
My experience with personas has been from creating personas with data that already exists usually provided by the marketing team based on their research.
How do you go about conducting research to ...
20
votes
6answers
7k views
What is the ROI of UI or UX design?
I was trying to find out if there have been studies on how much a bad UI or UX design affects sales on websites? I couldn't really find anything in my searches.
Also, does anyone know about any ...
76
votes
11answers
23k views
Should users be allowed to use any special character they want when creating a password?
I came across a number of login configuration settings where there is a list of allowable special characters and was wondering:
Does this limitation cater for a specific security or usability need?
...
11
votes
5answers
3k views
How to recruit user test participants?
Where do you find participants for user tests and interviews for persona building? Is it OK to recruit them via an existing web site for example? How much do you pay them?
28
votes
9answers
11k views
Dark on Light or Light on Dark? [duplicate]
For a very technical site documenting code, sharing code snippets, and documentation, I have been told that using dark fonts on light backgrounds is recommended for people being able to read the ...
26
votes
16answers
11k views
Should personal data be asked at the beginning or end of an online survey
Given a 10-step online survey (mostly yes/no radio buttons), where is it best to ask for the users' personal data e.g. name, age, contact details?
My intuition says putting it at the end will yield ...
3
votes
1answer
1k views
Loading Times / Breaking points
We all know that a user is not going to wait forever for a website to load. Given there are certain factors and circumstances that can apply to this, is there a breakdown of users stages/breaking ...
10
votes
3answers
1k views
What is the rationale for the design of search input fields?
Having read through a whole bunch of literature on search behaviour and looking at different design patterns, I am interested in the large variation of search input field on the web. Specifically, I ...
2
votes
2answers
8k views
Is it better to use a Likert scale or Semantic Differential for gathering attitudes towards pages?
For gathering users' emotional reactions to web pages via a survey, a researcher could use either a Likert scale (e.g., Agree Strongly - Agree Somewhat - Indifferent - Disagree Somewhat - Disagree ...
6
votes
6answers
2k views
How to tell user if they are offline or online?
App is browser based and is using local storage to facilitate offline working (no internet dependency for limited functionality) and faster response (data is available locally so less network calls).
...
1
vote
2answers
250 views
How can I showcase my user research in an UX portfolio?
I'm a beginning in a UX field and currently building up my portfolio. In portfolio projects how do I include the research element of the UX process when I have no money to spend on formal UX research?
...
35
votes
4answers
5k views
Display comments order - best practice
I wonder what is the best comments order on the website. I assume there are two major methods to display comments:
from newest to oldest,
from oldest to newest.
Facebook uses method one and displays ...
14
votes
6answers
6k views
Metrics for measuring user engagement for web applications
Unlike business and e-commerce sites, web applications don't necessarily have an end-goal or target for users to achieve. What are some metrics that can be used to measure how 'engaged' users are with ...
54
votes
26answers
14k views
How to prevent users using your app while driving?
I'm working on an app project for professional drivers.
Besides all the features we need to offer them, we need to prevent as much as we can our users to use the app while driving.
Can you think of ...
20
votes
8answers
11k views
When (if ever) should links be opened in a new window?
I have seen a lot of discussion on this topic but it all seems to be opinion based without any research backing up the assumptions.
It seems that there are times that it is particularly relevant to ...
53
votes
2answers
13k views
Gender neutral photos for users who don't yet have a profile picture
I am administering a web application that has male and female users.
Currently, the default user photo is:
I don't like this because it seems rather masculine and gives me the impression that the ...
14
votes
5answers
685 views
What ways to conduct user research quickly and cheaply are there?
Let's face it, in today's world - everything is moving fast and with approaches like agile, UX gets squeezed. It doesn't have to be this way and from what I hear many companies are using Sprint 0 ...
5
votes
4answers
2k views
Where is the best way to approach hallway usability testing?
I found UserTesting.com but it costs $40 per person which is super expensive. I want to test if I am communicating the correct message to users on our site. Where is a good place to do some hallway ...
4
votes
4answers
5k views
Quantitative and qualitative data used in UX research
I am trying to find examples of user behaviour research that combines both quantitative and qualitative data. It seems to me that most of the research leans heavily or exclusively towards one approach ...
43
votes
10answers
7k views
Is it OK to autocorrect users when they have mistyped parts of their email address?
When logging in, users might mistype parts of their email address. For example, name@company.con instead of .com, Yaho instead of yahoo, etc.
The main rationale is that by autocorrecting user input ...
11
votes
6answers
11k views
What is the difference between human factors and UX design?
I appreciate that this question might not have a well defined scope but i am hopping that providing a context might help. So consider the aviation industry ( often associated with Human factor) as an ...
6
votes
5answers
10k views
What are good questions to ask when interviewing intranet users for persona development? [duplicate]
I'm part of an external team hired to improve a software engineering company's intranet.
I have been tasked with developing a usable set of personas out of a pool of around 300 employees. The ...
11
votes
3answers
197 views
How can I structure a usability study to produce findings that relate to the long-term use of a tool by an expert user?
I am building a tool that will be used in a call center. The users range from part-time temps to 5 year veterans. I have personas that reflect these.
I have two (quite different) prototypes of a ...
10
votes
8answers
3k views
How to measure self reported computer proficiency? Ideally with one item
For a usability test, I'd like to have a simple measure for computer proficiency, to be able to see, whether it has an impact on successfully handling the tasks.
How can we best measure that?
A ...
6
votes
5answers
1k views
How to solve Design/UX problems using more tangible/fun techniques?
I am trying to compile a list of interesting/more tangible methods of solving UX/Creative problems - whether it be as individual, in small groups, workshops, in user testing etc...
I am already ...
12
votes
3answers
2k views
How do users react to a browser request for geolocation?
Is there a study about a user's reaction to a browser request of a geolocation?
What is the percentage of acceptation?
In which case?
What triggers acceptance and what triggers denial?
11
votes
5answers
484 views
Should printed graphics of a domain start with www, uppercase/lowercase? How to make the user understand that it's a domain?
Consider a car used by a company which has "advertising" printed on it regarding the actual company.
How should domains be displayed on such a car? Is there any research regarding this? With a wide ...
8
votes
3answers
897 views
Is domain name important for user experience?
Is it important for the domain of a website to be chosen so that it is simple to type?
For example, consider delicious-dot-ly (delicious.ly).
Would it be fair to say that the difficulty of typing ...
8
votes
5answers
1k views
Developer with HCI background studying graphic design
I'm thinking about going to design school for a year, studying graphic design.
I want to get work as a UX designer/researcher, with the possibility of day to day activities like user research, user ...
7
votes
9answers
1k views
Can UX without research really be called UX?
However bold the question may seem it is still valid since how many UX Pros we are out there do we really know things before we test on real users?
UX teams are responsible for creating desirable ...
4
votes
3answers
914 views
How to know what user likes or dislikes about a product or service when user is unable to express it himself?
I see many people prefer one product or service over another in same category but when we ask them what did you like or dislike in those products they don't really have any answer.
They say "I don't ...
3
votes
3answers
271 views
Whom should we design for? Early Adopters or Late Adopters?
If we categorize the users as "Early Adopters" and "Late Adopters", whom should we design for?
The categorization is not just based on their age, but their capabilities or interest towards adopting ...
1
vote
2answers
327 views
User research for a product users have never used
I am designing a health tracker app for the users in my organisation and I am planning to interview users in order to understand them more.
However, these users have never used such an application ...
18
votes
14answers
477 views
Is user testing a luxury or a necessity?
I understand that you should be thinking of your users all the time but given the current climate where every pound counts, is user testing just for the richer companies? Should you discount your ...
8
votes
4answers
664 views
What are the best practices for keeping and analyzing unstructured user feedback?
To get and analyze users' feedback is vital for designing successful products as all of you perfectly know. It is more or less clear what to do with surveys' results, but what is the best way to keep ...
8
votes
7answers
624 views
When to use data driven personas and when to make them up?
I'm studying HCI and the focus for persona creation on my course is resolutely that personas should be derived from user research data. I also attended adaptive path's uxintensive last year and the ...
6
votes
3answers
276 views
Are there standard metrics to gauge process complexity?
One aspect of user experience in a software application or website is the complexity of the processes involved in completing a user task/goal. It probably comes as no surprise that if the steps ...
4
votes
3answers
388 views
What is the best approach to design registration page
I have seen users (including me) who get frustrating registration page and eventually decide to quit the site. (To be frank few of my friends left registration due to annoying captca verification) As ...
3
votes
1answer
163 views
What's the term for modeling detailed customer behavior in service/UX design?
Let's say I'm designing a service experience for a restaurant app.
For a typical restaurant, you have an owner, a manager, an executive chef, line cooks, waiters, and a bar manager.
Only the waiters ...
3
votes
7answers
7k views
Should external link open in same tab or new tab? [duplicate]
What is best case scenario for external link to open in new tab or same tab? and Why?
When do we use external link? Is it when the data is linking to some external page other than your existing page.
2
votes
1answer
914 views
User classification
Are there any "standard" frameworks for user classification/categorization in terms of behaviour, frequency of use, expertise, loyalty, attitude to product etc? Examples could be: early adopter, ...
2
votes
1answer
145 views
Should complex new UI designs be user-tested element-by-element or as a whole?
StackExchange rolls out a new top bar on meta-StackOverflow. This is a complex innovative design containing several new (as in unfamiliar to current user base) elements.
Should one present a new UI ...
1
vote
2answers
876 views
Filtering Tables/Grids vs Sorting Tables/Grids
What are the advantages and disadvantages with filtering and sorting tables.
Are there specific situations where one is preferred over the other?
1
vote
2answers
202 views
Best order of user research
Context
I'm planning on doing user testing and research to help improve the UI and UX of our portal/website.There are a lot tools to help improve your product. Think of tools like card sorting, user ...
1
vote
1answer
207 views
How to get users feedback on experience when they are not 'your' users?
Storytelling mode
You can skip it if you want ;)
I am UI and UX designer on a LMS solution. An LMS is a CMS dedicated to digital learning purpose and sold to a wide range of clients. Some of them ...
10
votes
6answers
1k views
Floppy disk icon for “Save” [closed]
It's funny that we still use floppy disks icon for save operation association while floppies have long been outdated, unused and many computer users nowadays don't even know how floppy disks actually ...
7
votes
4answers
823 views
Using long domain name which actually explains the site's purpose
Im asking this question since it will directly affect the user experience.
I am planning to buy a domain name for my new site. I want to use a domain name that directly explains the purpose of the ...
4
votes
2answers
415 views
Show contextual FAQ's prior to contacting support?
Does providing contextual FAQ's prior to allowing users to contact a support specialist increase ROI?
It seems that there is at least a perceived benefit (as many companies do it). Are they basing ...
3
votes
3answers
302 views
Best Practice for product titles with dimensions
I am having a debate with someone about the best way to name products on an eCommerce site that has several different dimensions. For example:
Epic 13 (33" x 50" x 78") Shower Stall with Center Drain
...
