Column: Discovery

In this edition of Discovery, we’ll take a closer look at the discussion guide—the main document you use to run your UX research sessions. Whether you’re conducting a usability evaluation or a one-on-one user interview to understand a specific domain, the discussion guide is more than just a driving force behind data gathering. Notably, it illuminates the ultimate game plan for your study.

Let’s examine some of the potential pitfalls of discussion guides and ways to avoid them. In this column, you’ll hear from some of my colleagues and other industry professionals who have come up with clever and useful ways of using the discussion guide as more than just a simple list of questions to ask your participants. Read More

Once upon a time, there was a word. It was quite happy for about a century or so. After some time, however, it grew quite upset. No one paid it any attention. It didn’t do anything to deserve such neglect. It just kind of happened. People didn’t care. After a good run, it died. Or did it? A few decades later, it was resurrected. Not only did it come back to life, it took on new meanings. Eventually, the word became so common that neologists—the people who think about words—could not imagine life without this word! The word lived happily ever after in its little nook within the caves of our vernacular.

But not every word has such a fairy-tale story behind it. In fact, most don’t! According to Dr. Allan Metcalf, Professor of English at MacMurray College, forensic linguist, and author of multiple books about the English language, many thousands of new words are born every day. But only a few hundred survive, cementing themselves in our vocabulary and earning a page in the dictionary. Read More

At your company, what percentage of your time is spent doing evaluative studies—for example, usability testing or expert reviews—versus formative, early-phase research, using such approaches as contextual inquiry or low-fidelity prototype testing?

If you’re spending significantly more time evaluating the usability of your existing applications and finding and fixing problems, there’s a good chance your firm is underinvesting in exploratory research.

The main purpose of exploratory research is to discover and understand how your clients are using your existing products and identify their painpoints and challenges within their current context. It’s also about understanding how prospective buyers are using similar products to get their work done today. Read More