User Research Methods

Methods for understanding user needs, validating designs, and gathering actionable insights.

Research Methods Overview

Method Selection Matrix

Method	When to Use	Sample Size	Time	Output
User Interviews	Early discovery, deep understanding	5-8	2-3 weeks	Qualitative insights
Usability Testing	Validate designs, find issues	5-10	1-2 weeks	Actionable fixes
Surveys	Quantify attitudes, preferences	100+	1-2 weeks	Statistical data
Card Sorting	Information architecture	15-30	1 week	IA recommendations
Diary Studies	Longitudinal behavior	10-15	2-4 weeks	Behavior patterns
A/B Testing	Compare alternatives	1000+	2-4 weeks	Statistical winner

Qualitative vs. Quantitative

Qualitative                              Quantitative
(Why & How)                              (What & How Many)
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────►
Interviews  Focus    Usability  Surveys  Analytics  A/B
            Groups   Testing                        Tests

Small sample                              Large sample
Rich insights                             Statistical confidence
Exploratory                               Validating

User Interviews

Interview Planning

## Interview Plan: [Project Name]

### Research Questions
1. What problem are we trying to understand?
2. What decisions will this research inform?
3. What do we already know/assume?

### Participant Criteria
- Must have: [Required characteristics]
- Nice to have: [Preferred characteristics]
- Exclude: [Disqualifying factors]

### Recruitment
- Target: 6-8 participants
- Incentive: $[X] gift card
- Channels: [How to recruit]

### Interview Guide
- Duration: 45-60 minutes
- Format: Video call / In-person

### Logistics
- Researcher: [Name]
- Note-taker: [Name]
- Recording: [Consent process]

Interview Structure

## Interview Guide

### Warm-up (5 min)
- Introduction and consent
- "Tell me about your role and what you do day-to-day"

### Context Setting (10 min)
- "Walk me through the last time you [relevant activity]"
- "What tools or methods do you currently use?"

### Deep Dive (25 min)
- "What's the hardest part about [task]?"
- "Can you show me how you typically [action]?"
- "What would your ideal solution look like?"

### Concept Testing (optional, 15 min)
- Show prototype/concept
- "What are your initial reactions?"
- "How would this fit into your workflow?"

### Wrap-up (5 min)
- "Is there anything else you'd like to share?"
- "Who else should we talk to?"
- Thank you and incentive

Interview Best Practices

Do	Don't
Ask open-ended questions	Ask leading questions
Listen more than talk	Interrupt or fill silences
Follow interesting threads	Stick rigidly to script
Ask "why" and "how"	Accept surface answers
Take verbatim notes	Paraphrase or interpret

Usability Testing

Test Plan Template

## Usability Test Plan

### Objective
[What we're trying to learn]

### Prototype/Product
- Version: [Link or description]
- Fidelity: Low / Medium / High
- Platform: Desktop / Mobile / Both

### Participants
- Target: 5-10 users
- Criteria: [Who qualifies]
- Recruitment: [Method]

### Tasks
1. [Task 1]: Success criteria
2. [Task 2]: Success criteria
3. [Task 3]: Success criteria

### Metrics
- Task completion rate
- Time on task
- Error rate
- SUS score (post-test)
- Qualitative observations

Task Design

## Task: Find and purchase a specific product

### Scenario
"You're looking for a birthday gift for your friend who loves
coffee. Find a pour-over coffee maker under $50 and complete
the checkout process."

### Success Criteria
- [ ] Found coffee maker category
- [ ] Applied price filter
- [ ] Selected appropriate product
- [ ] Added to cart
- [ ] Reached checkout confirmation

### Observation Points
- Navigation path taken
- Hesitation points
- Questions asked
- Errors made

Thinking Aloud Protocol

Facilitator Script:

"As you work through each task, please think out loud.
Tell me what you're looking at, what you're trying to do,
and what you're thinking. There are no wrong answers—
we're testing the design, not you."

Surveys

Survey Design Principles

Principle	Application
Keep it short	5-10 minutes max
Lead with easy questions	Demographics last
Use clear language	Avoid jargon
Balance question types	Mix scales, multiple choice, open-ended
Test before sending	Pilot with 3-5 people

Question Types

Rating Scales:

How satisfied are you with [product]?
○ Very dissatisfied (1)
○ Dissatisfied (2)
○ Neutral (3)
○ Satisfied (4)
○ Very satisfied (5)

NPS:

How likely are you to recommend [product] to a friend?
0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10
○  ○  ○  ○  ○  ○  ○  ○  ○  ○  ○
Not at all likely         Extremely likely

[Detractors: 0-6] [Passives: 7-8] [Promoters: 9-10]
NPS = % Promoters - % Detractors

System Usability Scale (SUS):

10 questions, 5-point scale (Strongly disagree → Strongly agree)

1. I think I would like to use this system frequently
2. I found the system unnecessarily complex
3. I thought the system was easy to use
...

SUS Score = ((Sum of odd Qs - 5) + (25 - Sum of even Qs)) × 2.5
Range: 0-100, Average: 68

Card Sorting

Types

Type	Description	When to Use
Open	Users create their own categories	Early IA exploration
Closed	Users sort into predefined categories	Validate proposed IA
Hybrid	Users can add categories	Balance of both

Card Sorting Process

## Card Sort: [Project Name]

### Cards (Items to Sort)
1. Account settings
2. Billing history
3. Change password
4. Team members
... [30-50 cards typical]

### Categories (Closed Sort)
- Profile
- Settings
- Team
- Billing
- Help

### Analysis
- Agreement matrix (how often items grouped together)
- Dendrograms (hierarchical clustering)
- Category confusion (items frequently misplaced)

Analyzing Results

Agreement Matrix (% of participants who grouped together)

              Settings  Profile  Billing
Change PW        85%      15%       0%
Team mgmt        10%      20%      70%
Payment info      5%       0%      95%

Research Trends

AI-assisted analysis: NLP for interview transcription and theme extraction
Unmoderated at scale: Remote testing platforms enable larger samples
Continuous research: Embedded research in product development cycles
Mixed methods: Combining qual and quant in single studies
Accessibility focus: Including users with disabilities by default

Research Repository Template

## Research Finding: [Title]

### Study
- Date: [When conducted]
- Method: [Interview/Survey/etc.]
- Participants: [N and description]

### Key Insight
[One sentence summary]

### Evidence
- "[Direct quote from participant]" - P3
- [Observation or data point]
- [Supporting metric]

### Implications
- Product: [What to build/change]
- Design: [UX recommendation]
- Strategy: [Business consideration]

### Related Findings
- [Link to related research]

Related Skills

persona-journey-mapping - Synthesizing research into personas
requirements-engineering - Translating insights to requirements
product-strategy-frameworks - Strategic context for research

References

Version: 1.0.0 (January )

user-research-methods