Research Process

With each phase or cycle of the research process being flexible and iterant to a project's current stage and needs, the combinations of research methods and steps vary heavily depending on time and resource constraints, goals and top concerns - below is the rough series of steps I follow and/or reiterate, and some methods and activities I might employ with each.

1. Understand the problem space.

Before beginning on a project, communicating with the stakeholders and team members to define the issues they are looking to address and the expected outcomes for the project is important in creating a solid foundation for developing an effective research strategy and framework. Establishing parameters and understanding the problem space early on allows for:

  • determining the best approach and method(s) needed to generate productive insight, or in some cases, whether research is needed at all

  • avoiding risks in researching, building, and implementing the wrong things (e.g. solving issues that don’t address the users’ concerns, designing a project without a clearly defined purpose)

  • involving stakeholders and team members on the development and goals of the research, and investing them in the value and outcomes of the research

Building a strategic and informed approach to the research ensures that the work will result in a clear, targeted impact on the product and users.

2. Create a plan and review with stakeholders.

Once we know the issues we want to address and what the stakeholders want to achieve from research, a plan is created (then shared as a research brief or deck) that sets the expectations and parameters for the research, which:

  • defines the scope of the project and the key questions the research will pursue

  • outline which research methods will be used

  • establish timelines for completing the research (e.g. stages of research, dates and formats of expected deliverables

Reviewing this plan with the stakeholders and team members ensures that everyone is informed and on-board with the research project before beginning on it.

3. Conduct the study.

Research methods and tools used during the study differ depending on the project aims, time constraints, research parameters, and the stage of the project the research is taking place in. With each project being different, the process is dynamic and research may begin and/or iterate in any of these three general phases:

  1. Discovery phase: generating insight into what we don't know and what people need, ideal in the beginning of the project for informing the study design (avoids wasting time and effort on researching and building the wrong things) and unearthing useful research question(s) to pursue.
    Some methods used: field studies (contextual inquiry), interviews with users/stakeholder/team, diary studies.

  2. Exploratory phase: understanding the problem space and design scope in order to address user needs appropriately.
    Some methods used: card sorting, competitive testing, user personas, user journey mapping.

  3. Testing phase: testing and validating designs, identifying bugs or friction points during and beyond the development process.
    Some methods used: qual. usability testing (attitudinal performance indicators), quant. testing (behavioral performance indicators), surveys, monitoring analytics and metrics for trends and anomalies over time.

4. Analyze the data.

Working with the qualitative and quantitative data to generate insight into our research objectives (e.g. coding and transcribing raw data, then carrying out a thematic analysis), we can acquire a holistic look into the behaviors, attitudes, and pain points of the user base, which can then inform and recommend design and business strategy.

5. Share and listen.

Communicating the insights and recommendations gained from research can culminate in the form of:

  • Executive summaries: summarizing the core insights and recommendations concisely to immediate stakeholders and individuals unfamiliar with the research.

  • Detailed presentations: creating a detailed account of the research goals, insights, and recommendations with artifacts (e.g. photos, highlight reels, quotes, etc.) to engage the audience in understanding the research and connecting them to the user.

In order to share the results and impact of the research effectively, it is important to prioritize the problems the team will need to solve by providing clear, actionable recommendations for doing so, as well as bringing up avenues for future feedback on/validation of these recommendations after the research has been completed.