Imran Hussain University of Management and Technology (UMT) Virtual University Human-Computer Interaction Lecture 19 User Research Imran Hussain University of Management and Technology (UMT) 1

In the Last Lecture Goal directed design process Software development process Detail of design process Types of users 2

In Today’s Lecture Research techniques Qualitative Research techniques 1

Qualitative vs Quantative Research People, associate the word research with science and objectivity and the current notion or prevailing concept of valid research only that yields quantitative data.

Qualitative Research Understand Existing products, and how they are used Technical, business and environmental contexts Constraints, Vocabulary and other social aspects of the domain in question

Help in design projects Helps to identify the patterns of behaviour. Helps the progress of design team Providing credibility and authority to design team Uniting the team with a common understanding of domain issues and user concerns Empowering management to make more informed decisions about product design issues that would otherwise be based on guesswork or personal preference

Other benefits of Qualitative Research Faster Less expensive More flexible

Question that leads to superior design What problems are people encountering with their current was of doing what the product hopes to do? Into what broader context in people’s lives does the product fit and how? What are the basic goals people have in using the product, and what basic tasks help people accomplish them?

Types of qualitative research Stakeholder interviews Subject matter expert (SME) interviews User and customer interviews User observation/ethnographic field studies Literature review Product/ prototype and competitive audits

Stakeholder Interviews Start by understanding the business and technical context Common vocabulary and understanding among the design team, management and engineering teams.

Definition Any one affected by the outcome of the project or actual product itself is known as the stakeholder

Stakeholder Interview Managers Engineers Sales people Marketing people Design people

How to conduct interview? Interviews of stakeholders should be held before user research. Interviews should be one-on-one Optimum duration should be of an hour.

Stakeholder Interviews What is the primary vision of the product from each stakeholder perspective? What is the budget and schedule? What are the technical constraints? What are the business drivers? What are the stakeholders’ perceptions of the user?

Understanding these issues help you to better serve your customer, as well as the user of the product. build consensus internally for decision making, and build credibility for design team.

Subject Matter Expert (SME) Interviews SME are also known as domain experts SMEs are expert users: they have management perspective. SMEs are knowledgeable, but they are not designers You will want access to SMEs throughout the design process

User and Customer Interviews User and customer are two different groups User People who use the product and try to accomplish something with it. Customer Who make the decision to purchase the product.

User and Customer Consumer domain Enterprise/Business domain Customer are same as user Enterprise/Business domain Customer and user represent different groups of people

It’s important to understand customers and their goals in order to make a product viable.

Interviewing customers Their goals in purchasing the product Their frustrations with current solutions Their decision process for purchasing a product of the type you are designing Their role in installation, maintenance, and management of the product Domain-related issues and vocabulary Reasons and problems behind product suggestions and ideas

Interviewing User Different type of users Current users Potential users

Interviewing User Problems and frustrations with the product The context of how the product fits into their lives or workflow Domain knowledge from a user perspective A basic understanding of the users current tasks A clear understanding of user goals

Literature Review Studying documentation which is relevant or pertains to the product or domain Business strategies document Business plans Various policies, processes and procedures Product marketing plans Data coming from market research Technology specification White papers Business and technical journals articles Competitive studies Usability study results Customer support data

Product and Competitive Audits Examine existing products and prototype Examine competitive products Design team gets a feel for things Source of information for question To understand the audit based upon heuristics Expert review of product interfaces and to make comparisons.

Enthographic Interviews

Contextual Inquiry Context Partnership interpretation Focus

Improving contextual inquiry Shortening the interview process Using smaller design teams Identifying goals first Looking beyond business contexts