Understanding Your Users: A Practical Guide to User Research Methods

by Kathy Baxter, Catherine Courage, Kelly Caine

Overview

This new and completely updated edition is a comprehensive, easy-to-read, "how-to" guide on user research methods. You'll learn about many distinct user research methods and also pre- and post-method considerations such as recruiting, facilitating activities or moderating, negotiating with product developments teams/customers, and getting your results incorporated into the product. For each method, you'll understand how to prepare for and conduct the activity, as well as analyze and present the data - all in a practical and hands-on way.

Each method presented provides different information about the users and their requirements (e.g., functional requirements, information architecture). The techniques can be used together to form a complete picture of the users' needs or they can be used separately throughout the product development lifecycle to address specific product questions. These techniques have helped product teams understand the value of user experience research by providing insight into how users behave and what they need to be successful. You will find brand new case studies from leaders in industry and academia that demonstrate each method in action.

This book has something to offer whether you are new to user experience or a seasoned UX professional. After reading this book, you'll be able to choose the right user research method for your research question and conduct a user research study. Then, you will be able to apply your findings to your own products.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780128002322
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Publication date:	07/14/2015
Series:	Interactive Technologies
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	568
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 9.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Kathy Baxter is a Principal User Researcher at Salesforce. Her research focus has spanned web search, privacy, advertising, enterprise applications, mobile, and more. Previously, Kathy managed the UX Infrastructure team, which supports research globally across Google including research ethics, participant recruitment, research labs, and the development of research tools. Prior to Google, she worked as a Senior Researcher at eBay and Oracle. She received her Bachelors of Science in Applied Psychology and Masters of Science in Engineering Psychology from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Catherine Courage is SVP Customer Experience at Docusign. Her team is focused on driving design thought leadership and execution throughout the company in order to deliver a seamless experience across all products and services. Prior to joining Citrix, Catherine was the Director of User Experience at salesforce.com. She also worked at Oracle as a Principal Usability Engineer and manager of the Customer Design Partners Program. In 2011, she was selected by the Silicon Valley Business Journal as one of Silicon Valley’s "40 Under 40" young tech leaders. She holds a Masters of Applied Sciences specializing in Human Factors from the University of Toronto.

Kelly Caine is the director of the Humans and Technology Lab at Clemson University, where she leads research in human factors, human-centered computing, privacy, usable security, health informatics and human-computer interaction. She is a thought-leader who has been invited to speak around the world, has published dozens peer-reviewed papers and is regularly cited by media such as the AP, Washington Post, NPR, and New York Times. Kelly enjoys teaching students to become scientists, and has designed and taught courses on research methods for understanding people and their relationship with technology at universities and in industry. Prior to joining Clemson, she was Principal Research Scientist in the School of Computing at Indiana University and a UX researcher at Google (where she and Kathy first met!). She holds degrees from the University of South Carolina (B.A.) and the Georgia Institute of Technology (M.S. and Ph.D.).

Table of Contents

Part 1: What You Need to Know Before Choosing An Activity
1. Introduction to User Experience
2. Before You Choose an Activity: Learning About Your Product and Users
3. Ethical and Legal Considerations
4. Setting Up Research Facilities
5. Choosing a User Experience Research Activity

Part 2: Get Up and Running
6. Preparing For Your User Research Activity
7. During Your User Research Activity

Part 3: The Methods
8. Diary Studies
9. Interviews
10. Surveys
11. Card Sorting
12. Focus Groups
13. Field Studies
14. Evaluating Methods

Part 4: Wrapping Up
15. Concluding Final

Part 5: Appendices
Appendix A. Requirements for Creating a Participant Recruitment Database
Appendix B. Report Template
Appendix C. Glossary
Appendix D. References

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

This completely new and revised edition teaches user-centered design with this comprehensive and practical compendium of process, methodology, and cutting-edge thinking

Editorial Reviews

"The first edition became my ‘go-to’ book for mastering user requirements gathering. Ten years later, this second edition is even better. Don’t leave your office without it!" —Joe Dumas, Editor in Chief, Journal of Usability Studies

"Do you believe in driving while blindfolded?  That's what you're doing if you design and market a technological product without studying your target users and tasks.  This book is a comprehensive handbook on the "why" and "how" of user research, illustrated with vivid real-world examples.  Don't drive your design project while blindfolded.  Get this book, read it, and follow its prescriptions.  It will repay its cost many times over." —Jeff Johnson, author of GUI Bloopers 2.0 and Designing with the Mind in Mind

"Very authoritative, this work combines the experience of senior practitioners and an academic, with lots of specific guidelines, tips and examples, and with pointers to other readings for deeper insights.  Useful for students and practitioners alike, this should be on everyone's bookshelf.  The authors do a great job of explaining the importance of business-side stakeholders (C-suite, marketing, sales, development) and how to speak their language." —James D. Foley, Professor, College of Computing, Stephen Fleming Chair in Telecommunications, Georgia Institute of Technology

"Understanding Your Users is a thorough guide to user experience for designers both technical and non-technical. Instructors, students and practitioners will find this book very useful to your success as an user experience expert." —Juan E. Gilbert, Ph.D., Andrew Banks Family Preeminence Endowed Chair, Computer & Information Science & Engineering Department, University of Florida

"Understanding Your Users is handbook of practical wisdom for the serious human centered design practitioner. This second edition includes updated content around emerging best practices. It is a must have in any design team’s library." —Janaki Kumar, Head of Strategic Design Services, America, Design and Co-Innovation Center, SAP Labs Palo Alto

"With the massive expansion of digital products, new processes for faster development cycles, and competition that can appear out of nowhere in days, the product design has become the major differentiator, and key to success. Understanding your end user is more important than it ever has been, how they really work, and how your assumptions match up to their reality. This book takes tried and true methodology and shows how any or all of it can be applied to your products now." —Jeremy Ashley, VP, Oracle Cloud UX

"A great introductory book for anyone wishing to understand and engage in traditional user research methods.  The language is clear and straightforward, allowing the reader to try and use the methods on their own project.  Each method is accompanied with an extensive bibliography allowing the curious mind to further delve into any of the described methods.  Samples of forms, letters and examples enhance the practical nature of the book, making this title a staple for the beginning practitioner." —Joseph Kramer is a Service Design Lead at Fjord - Design and Innovation from Accenture Interactive

"The difference between product success and failure often comes down to the user experience. Baxter, Courage, and Cain share the methods you need to better understand your users so that you can design delightful experiences." —Craig Villamor, Chief Design Architect at Salesforce.com

From the Publisher