Research: Analysis

In the last edition of Discovery, I explained how to collect data during your early-phase prototype research using tally sheets. If you missed that column, you might want to read it before reading this column to ensure you’ll get the most out of this one.

In this column, I’ll cover data analysis for a completed tally sheet, focusing on the following key areas:

• findings versus insights—What’s the difference?
• methods of analysis—We’ll look at grounded-theory techniques, using codes, and constant comparative analysis.
• identifying themes in the data—These include the obvious, the less obvious, the not so obvious, and what didn’t happen. Read More

Even for a project for which a startup claims the concept behind its product or service is unique and one of a kind, the chances are that there are already similar products that do similar things. By conducting a competitive analysis, you can understand the products your competitors have created and how they created them; compare the functions, strengths, and weaknesses of your product against theirs; and understand how your competitors are solving the problems of their target audience.

Competitive analysis is a way of collecting data about other platforms that have fully or partially solved similar problems for the same target audience as yours—perhaps using different methods. Marketing research and your analysis of the features, strengths, and weaknesses of your competitors can all provide useful metrics. Read More

As UX researchers, we provide two main types of information: findings and recommendations. The findings describe both the existing state of problems and opportunities a researcher has identified. Recommendations describe how to solve those problems and take advantage of those opportunities. While it’s very important for your audience of stakeholders to understand the findings, it’s even more important for them to know what actions to take based on that understanding. In this column, I’ll discuss how to provide effective UX recommendations that get implemented correctly.

What to Consider

Some considerations that can affect the types of recommendations you provide are the audience, the research method you’ve used, whether you’ll remain on the project after delivering your recommendations, and whether you or someone else is the UX designer. Read More