Is it possible to create a design without conducting research? Why is research not just talking to users? How important is triangulation (and what is it)? What tools will make you the norms of a design researcher? (Spoiler – none).
Research is a search for answers to important questions. It is necessary, to begin with, the delineation of “white spots” through the formulation of research questions. This is fashionable to call a research strategy. We are looking for what knowledge makes the work process unpredictable, and risky. And we select methods and sources of knowledge. Research is not needed if it is more convenient to get feedback from reality, for example, you can quickly release an update.
But at some point, the next stage of evolution becomes very expensive, because the most obvious improvements have already been implemented, and we have to look for others. Then, instead of a hundred A/B tests, it may be more effective to hire a researcher who will first conduct quality research, such as interviews, to get better hypotheses before testing. The trend in design is that the more complex the task, the higher the cost of error, the more tasks, and the narrower the specializations in the team.
Research is systematic methodologically correct conversations with users, but often any conversation with users is called research. Yes, it’s good to be in touch with users, but outsourcing is often a situation of ‘why research, we already know everything’. Several experts are interviewed, and this is good for formulating hypotheses. But it is not suitable to be completely based on such data, because it is a biased opinion of several people. Therefore, many projects are not tested by reality.
If you have a lot of knowledge in a particular field and analytics, you can go short iterations and test the effectiveness of the product on the market, then you do not need quality UX research. When new products are created in business, they are researched because it is scary to make a mistake and do an unnecessary thing. Research is the stage of studying reality, because ideas are often detached from it. That is, it is a way to connect what we have in our heads with reality.
You can ground yourself in different ways. You can first investigate the problem and come up with a solution. And you can come up with a solution and test it. If you come up with something and test this idea for viability cheaper, you can quickly release the update and test it. This will be a study. Therefore, research is not always fundamental and lengthy.
UX research serves for many purposes in the design process. It helps us identify and confirm or disprove our assumptions, find commonalities in members of our target audience, and recognize their needs, goals, and mental models. Overall, research animates our work, improves our understanding, and validates our decisions.
