3 Ways to Conduct User Research When You Can’t Speak to Users

3​ ​Ways​ ​to​ ​Conduct​ ​User​ ​Research​ ​When​ ​You​ ​Can’t​ ​Speak​ ​to​ ​Users By​ ​Jenna​ ​Erickson,​ ​Codal​ ​Inc

____________________________________________________________________________

Most​ ​digital​ ​agencies​ ​that​ ​offer​ ​UX​ ​UI​ ​research​​ ​would​ ​probably​ ​agree​ ​that​ ​the​ ​core​ ​of UX​ ​is​ ​being​ ​able​ ​to​ ​talk​ ​to​ ​users,​ ​gather​ ​useful​ ​data,​ ​and​ ​apply​ ​that​ ​data​ ​to​ ​your design.​ ​Most​ ​UX​ ​research​ ​services​​ ​will​ ​include​ ​user​ ​surveys,​ ​user​ ​interviews,​ ​and focus​ ​groups;​ ​it’s​ ​just​ ​part​ ​of​ ​the​ ​UX​ ​process​ ​for​ ​most​ ​user​ ​experience​ ​design,​ ​or mobile​ ​app​ ​design​ ​companies​.

But​ ​without​ ​any​ ​users​ ​to​ ​speak​ ​to-​ ​how​ ​can​ ​you​ ​conduct​ ​true​ ​user​ ​research,​ ​and gather​ ​just​ ​as​ ​valuable​ ​data​ ​as​ ​if​ ​you​ ​were​ ​talking​ ​to​ ​a​ ​real​ ​user?

Emails​ ​and​ ​Support​ ​Tickets UX​ ​companies​​ ​strive​ ​to​ ​understand​ ​pain​ ​points​ ​for​ ​users.​ ​One​ ​way​ ​to​ ​understand major​ ​pain​ ​points​ ​of​ ​your​ ​customers​ ​is​ ​to​ ​dig​ ​through​ ​the​ ​support​ ​tickets,​ ​or​ ​emails that​ ​come​ ​through​ ​about​ ​the​ ​digital​ ​product.

Emails​ ​can​ ​be​ ​very​ ​rich​ ​with​ ​information​ ​that​ ​is​ ​coming​ ​directly​ ​from​ ​the​ ​users.​ ​If you​ ​find​ ​a​ ​pattern​ ​around​ ​users​ ​not​ ​being​ ​able​ ​to​ ​find​ ​a​ ​certain​ ​page​ ​or​ ​functionality on​ ​the​ ​website,​ ​it​ ​is​ ​obvious​ ​that​ ​this​ ​is​ ​a​ ​pain​ ​point​ ​that​ ​needs​ ​to​ ​be​ ​addressed.

Any​ ​user​ ​experience​ ​design​ ​agency​​ ​should​ ​be​ ​able​ ​to​ ​sort​ ​through​ ​emails​ ​of​ ​support tickets​ ​to​ ​find​ ​the​ ​most​ ​problematic​ ​aspects​ ​of​ ​the​ ​website​ ​or​ ​application.​ ​This​ ​data can​ ​be​ ​heavily​ ​used​ ​to​ ​dictate​ ​the​ ​UX​ ​and​ ​UI​ ​design​ ​down​ ​the​ ​road.

Mobile​ ​App​ ​Reviews Reading​ ​the​ ​reviews​ ​on​ ​a​ ​mobile​ ​app​ ​will​ ​also​ ​give​ ​you​ ​direct​ ​input​ ​from​ ​users​ ​about how​ ​they​ ​feel​ ​about​ ​the​ ​application.​ ​The​ ​App​ ​Store​ ​and​ ​Google​ ​Play​ ​are​ ​full​ ​of​ ​data that​ ​users​ ​are​ ​actually​ ​writing​ ​about​ ​how​ ​they​ ​feel​ ​using​ ​the​ ​app.

Many​ ​app​ ​reviews​ ​have​ ​both​ ​positive​ ​and​ ​negative​ ​feedback;​ ​both​ ​are​ ​useful​ ​for​ ​the overall​ ​design.​ ​Some​ ​things​ ​to​ ​look​ ​for​ ​when​ ​conducting​ ​research​ ​in​ ​an​ ​app​ ​store are: -Potential​ ​missing​ ​features -Aspects​ ​of​ ​the​ ​app​ ​that​ ​are​ ​confusing​ ​to​ ​the​ ​user -Are​ ​there​ ​bugs?​ ​Any​ ​performance​ ​issues?

-Did​ ​users​ ​know​ ​how​ ​to​ ​use​ ​it?​ ​Was​ ​a​ ​tutorial​ ​needed?

Reviews​ ​of​ ​Competitors Any​ ​business​ ​is​ ​always​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​beat​ ​its​ ​competitors​ ​and​ ​launch​ ​the​ ​next life-changing​ ​feature.​ ​Every​ ​business​ ​also​ ​wants​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​users​ ​on​ ​their​ ​app,​ ​and​ ​they want​ ​those​ ​users​ ​to​ ​love​ ​using​ ​their​ ​product.​ ​As​ ​a​ ​mobile​ ​app​ ​development​ ​company​, we​ ​almost​ ​always​ ​do​ ​a​ ​competitive​ ​analysis​ ​during​ ​our​ U ​ X​ ​UI​ ​research​​ ​phase.​ ​By looking​ ​into​ ​competing​ ​apps,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​gather​ ​feedback​ ​based​ ​on​ ​their​ ​app​ ​review.

For​ ​example,​ ​if​ ​you​ ​are​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​launch​ ​a​ ​food-delivery​ ​application,​ ​look​ ​at​ ​what users​ ​have​ ​to​ ​say​ ​about​ ​GrubHub​ ​or​ ​Uber​ ​Eats.​ ​It’s​ ​also​ ​important​ ​to​ ​look​ ​at​ ​apps similar​ ​that​ ​have​ ​failed,​ ​and​ ​figure​ ​out​ ​what​ ​made​ ​the​ ​app​ ​fail.​ ​What​ ​made​ ​certain apps​ ​succeed?​ ​This​ ​can​ ​tell​ ​you​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​about​ ​how​ ​a​ ​user​ ​interacted​ ​with​ ​certain features,​ ​or​ ​certain​ ​design​ ​elements.

While​ ​there​ ​is​ ​never​ ​really​ ​a​ ​complete​ ​substitute​ ​for​ ​doing​ ​a​ ​user​ ​interview​ ​and speaking​ ​with​ ​an​ ​actual​ ​user,​ ​there​ ​is​ ​no​ ​good​ ​excuse​ ​for​ ​not​ ​gathering​ ​feedback from​ ​any​ ​users.​ ​These​ ​3​ ​simple​ ​tasks​ ​can​ ​give​ ​you​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​more​ ​insight​ ​than​ ​not​ ​doing any​ ​research​ ​at​ ​all.

A​ ​solid​ ​user​ ​experience​ ​design​ ​is​ ​always​ ​based​ ​on​ ​some​ ​type​ ​of​ ​data.​ ​UX​ ​is​ ​supposed to​ ​be​ ​data-driven​ ​design​ ​(or​ ​else​ ​it​ ​really​ ​is​ ​not​ ​UX!).