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“ You've got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology.”
Well it all starts with assumptions really. Assumptions are essentially risks. I think most people recognise this. I also think that many of us would advance claims without hesitation about being unbiased in our daily proceedings if asked. However, this is not reality.
Let's consider two factors when thinking about people. First, people hate to be wrong. They rarely go out of their way to uncover the necessary understanding to evolve their point of view once they have made up their mind. Finding out that you don't know what you thought you did has never been fashionable and it can be down-right painful. I'm not entirely certain if the old cliché "ignorance is bliss" is entirely applicable, but what I can say, is that I've seen a lot of personal confidence derived from this approach. Secondly, and equally as important, is the fact that what people say they do, and what they actually do, can be quite divergent. This is reality.
This conundrum does not just effect people, it also impacts the organisations they work for and the products and services they are delivering (or hope to). That’s exactly what goal directed applied research is for. Understanding the reality of real human behaviour.
User research is the investigation of how people actually use your products and services, where it intersects with their lives, including the gap between what people do and what you would like them to do. Research is the process of asking questions that attempt to close that gap.
Applied research has many benefits, but before that, let's first start by describing what it is not.
Applied research is not the type of scientific experiments and observations that enhance the credibility of conclusions through academic peer review. That is pure research, or new human research, and it's expensive, time consuming, and laborious. It is also rarely useful in guiding decision making to address the more immediate problems many businesses face. Ok, let's move on.
In contrast to academic research stands applied research. This is research that is applied towards a specific goal and is the primary method for developing a better understanding of user and customer experiences. Forward thinking companies realise the value of this form of research because it is an excellent tool for removing isolationist thinking. It examines the reality of the values, preferences and behaviours of your customers.
The types of research I can help with are listed below:
Many companies have the creative and technical expertise to create amazing digital products, but how can they be sure they are making the right amazing digital products? The kind that people actually want to use? UX research is an invaluable approach for truly understanding your users and audiences.
UX research ensures development efforts incorporate the realities of your users and business priorities.
Your customers’ preferences may be changing, but are you sure you know why and how? Have you considered how our increasingly digital lifestyles could impacting your brand? What might this mean to your business in an era of rising customer expectations and seemingly endless choice? What are the opportunities for improved engagement across your company’s customer touchpoints?
Customer Experience research can help tackle these questions and provide valuable inputs that can help improve processes to better support your goals.
What does your target audience think about your brand as opposed to your competitors? How have they reacted to changing industry drivers and market needs? What do changing regulations mean to your business? What strategies are your competitors pursuing to differentiate themselves in the marketplace? What is their digital strategy? What key partnerships are they forming and why?
Develop objective, factual studies that identify the current and likely future factors that can impact their organisations' ability to grow, develop partnerships, and enhance their competitiveness.
Research is a relatively inexpensive way to determine whether you are gambling with assumptions. Research can inform your assumptions and give you more confidence in your decisions.
Research reduces the risks of the unknown through data collection, sharing, and analysis. Uncover the underlying patterns and leverage this understanding to positive effect.
This type of research doesn't require a lab coats, can energise teams and lead to new opportunities for creative problem solving, introduces new ways of thinking and doing, and it can be fun.
We are all limited by our environments. Without research, things that make complete sense to designers and developers can easily fall apart when these creations meet the unpredictably of the real world.
It is unwise to waste time, money or effort on untested assumptions. Do the research!
User interviews (structure/unstructured), contextual inquiry & analysis, persona development, surveys, storyboards, environmental diagnostics, industry research, customer journey maps, business case development, and others.
If your company is interested in user experience or customer experience research that can aid in solving problems and creating things of lasting value, I'm here to help. Together, we'll improve the types of questions your company asks and improve the context, utility and the value of things that you are producing.