What is User Research?
- A bridge between users and research to know that your prod will work in the real world
- Empathize with the user is the most important aspect
- Aims to improve usability of the product by including experimental and observational methods
- It can be qualitative and quantitative
- The idea is to find out the needs of the user and not the wants of the user
Why is it important?
- Validates assumptions and hypotheses
- Helps in identifying the users needs and requirements
- Provides a great iterative process for product refinement - this is done through continuous user interaction
Examples
- Google Waves
- CocaCola - New Coke in the 1980s
How is it done?
It’s a five step process.
- Hypothesis - People would switch from the traditional touch and feel process to online buying if you could provide cash on delivery, or they will switch if you offer refunds
- Objectives - Clarity on how people will use this product
- User research methods - validate by surverys interveiws
- Conduct research
- Synthesize - analyze and convert into actionable items
The examples of Google Wave and New Coke provide you with an idea of how user research when conducted improperly could lead to catastrophe.
In the case of New Coke, you might wonder why despite seeing success in the blind taste tests, New Coke failed as a product. What Coca-Cola failed to understand about its users is the connection that users had to the original Coke. Therefore, when such an iconic product that was part of theirs was changed for something new, it did not sit down well with the users. Unfortunately, Coca-Cola didn’t think of this part when performing its user research.
To ensure that you as a product manager do not get trapped in the cycle of New Coke, you can follow the steps mentioned below for conducting user research.
- State the hypothesis you want to validate
- Define the objectives you hope to achieve through the research
- Select the most suitable user research method depending on the type of product, the platform, and the nature of the information you want to collect
- Conduct the research and gather data
- Analyse the collected data and draw actionable insights