Learning UX Research: Analyzing Data and Sharing Results
Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.
The data that gets collected from user research activities is only as valuable as how well it is understood by you and your team. One of the common mistakes design teams make when conducting research is not taking the time to analyze their research data and present it in the appropriate format. This is because analysis is hard and confusing at times.
This course is meant to demystify the complexity around analyzing user research data and finding the right way to present it to your stakeholders. As part of this course, you’ll be given discrete activities to practice, which will help you gather your research data, discover the findings that will lead to an improved product, and present those findings to your team and stakeholders.
What you’ll learn and how you can apply it
And you’ll be able to:
- Communicate with colleagues and managers the results of research and clearly lay out recommended next steps.
- Craft clear work products which create a shared understanding of your users across your team and stakeholders.
This live event is for you because...
- This training is for product managers who want to better utilize research findings to inform scope, budget, and align to project goals.
- This training is for you if you work on digital products and need to understand how your products could be improved.
- This training is for business analysts working on enterprise-level applications who need to make products more efficient and effective.
Prerequisites
Being in a role to present and persuade stakeholders of the value of research.
An awareness of human centered design and its purpose within product development. While not required, it is strongly encouraged that participants also enroll in Learning UX Research: Understanding Methods and Techniques
**Course materials should be downloaded in advance of the course to expedite facilitation.Activity 1: 1 copy of Candy List (pdf)
- Print a minimum of one copy of the Candy List
- Please follow the instructions on the Candy List document copying the items to Post-it notes in preparation for the guided activity.
- Please ensure you have watched the recommended videos, provided in the video list available on the Google Drive resources page
Basic office supplies should be prepared for use with the course including:
- Post-it notes (at least 2 packs)
- Pen or pencil
- Blank printer paper (20 sheets)
Recommended Preparation:
Quantifying the User Experience
A Project Guide to UX Design: For user experience designers in the field or in the making
The User Is Always Right: A Practical Guide to Creating and Using Personas for the Web
Videos to View:
Further Learning:
Schedule
The time frames are only estimates and may vary according to how the class is progressing.
(50) Making Sense of the Mess
(15)Lecture
(5) Why bother with analysis and what does it look like
(10) Methods of analysis
- Gathering data points
- Affinity diagramming
- Quadrant mapping
- Spectrum analysis
(5) Activity Introduction
(5) Introduce Candyland Analysis
(20) First Round Activity
- Present the class with a large list of different types of candy, which they will organize into different groupings.
- Ask the class to think about how you can organize the candy in the list. On a whiteboard, Post-it notes, or other tool, take 5-10 minutes and organize the candy list.
- Look back to how you organized the candy. Was it by size? Satisfaction? Fruity or chocolaty
- Personal preference
- Now choose another lens to review the data points from and, in another 5-10 minutes, reorganize the data. How has your new insights changed between the first and second round of organization
(10) Discuss activity
- Answer any questions that come up on how to apply this technique to projects.
(10) Break
(50) Communicating Insights
(15) Lecture
(5) Modes of presentation and their importance
(10) Structure of reports
- Executive summary
- Long form
- Tome
(5) Activity Introduction
- Overview the sample research findings, which the class will be provided.
- Discuss
(30) Activity & Discussion
- Review the sample research findings that have been provided for the activity. Write down what you want to communicate, and define the main audience. These statements should answer why your audience should care about your report, what insights were gained, and why it matters in the first place.
- Write down all the content you could include in the report on sticky notes or note cards. Be as broad as possible, including written, visual, and audio.
- Sort the content types and group them, similar to an affinity diagram. Don’t worry about naming clusters until completed. Take note of outliers and, unless offering earth-shattering insights, don’t include them in your report. Craft a label that represents each cluster. These labels become section headers for your report.
- Review each cluster and determine what content types don’t carry enough weight to be included in the report. These can be pieces of content that don’t have enough evidence to defend or content that represents something the team is already aware of and doesn’t bare repeating.
- Determine what the best medium for your report is and start writing. Use the clusters to guide your report and locate supporting evidence that will create a solid research report.
(10) Break
(40) Getting the Most out of Research
(10) Lecture
(10) Research is ongoing (and starts with questions)
(30) Activity & Discussion
- Based on the previous research findings from the second activity, prepare to determine what additional research activities should be conducted.
- Identify future research activities that you think the team should focus on, thinking of both qualitative and quantitative methods.
- Create a rationale for activities and timeline for when these methods should be done.
- Define constraints around research and risks if the research isn’t conducted.
(20) Q&A
Your Instructors
David Farkas
David is a User Experience Designer in Philadelphia, PA. David started his career in-house, has worked in consultancies of all sizes, has had opportunities to craft the design process within an organization, and has also adopted and evolved existing paradigms. His experience includes a range of financial services systems, business systems, and e-commerce and cross-channel platforms.
Brad Nunnally
Brad Nunnally is a User Experience Designer out of St. Louis, MO. He regularly speaks on research methods, design techniques, and strategy. For the last decade, his work has included research, modeling, design, and testing. Over the course of his career, he has helped clients in the financial, healthcare management, public utilities, and pharmaceutical management industries identify user needs and develop engaging experiences based on those needs.