What is user research?
Studying users’ needs, behaviors, and expectations to understand and build empathy for them in order to make better decisions, build better product experiences, and create solutions people actually want.
Misconceptions
It is an exact science
There are two humans in a room together, talking about what is difficult. There will be biases, confusions, and incorrectly assumed insights.
It will give us concrete answers
It provides us with an understanding of our users so we can make informed decisions.
It is statistically significant
We are usually talking to 7-10 participants for usability tests, and around 15 for a generative study. This is not statistically significant because qualitative data is words, not numbers.
It can efficiently test minutia
We don't need to check every single change or small component on a website. User research does not need to be used to find which button placement users prefer, but rather the holistic usability of a product.
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