User Research Fundamentals for Designers

Video description

In this User Research Fundamentals for Designers training course, expert author Christine Perfetti will teach you practical methods and techniques for gathering user feedback and conducting your own user research projects. This course is designed for the absolute beginner, meaning no experience with user research is required.

You will start with an overview of UX research methods, then jump into learning how to plan a usability study. From there, Christine will teach you about user recruitment, task design, and how to build the prototype. This video tutorial also covers how to moderate a usability study, analyze the data, and communicate the study results. You will also learn about user interviews, including the logistics and interviewing tips, topics to cover, and data to collect. Finally, you will cover personas, expert reviews, diary studies, and Lean UX research techniques.

Once you have completed this computer based training course, you will be fully capable of gathering your own user feedback and conducting usability tests, user interviews, expert reviews, and diary studies. Working files are included, allowing you to follow along with the author throughout the lessons.

Table of contents

  1. Introduction
    1. Introduction And About The Author
    2. The Value Of UX Research
    3. Course Overview
  2. Overview Of UX Research Methods
    1. Usability Testing Overview
    2. Overview Of User Interviews
    3. Personas
    4. Expert Reviews
    5. Diary Studies
    6. Lean Research Techniques
  3. Planning A Usability Study
    1. Overview Of The Study Plan
    2. Running The Planning Meeting With Stakeholders
    3. Determine The Number Of Users To Test
  4. User Recruitment
    1. User Recruitment Overview
    2. Determine Recruitment Criteria
    3. Finding And Screening Participants
  5. Task Design
    1. Overview Of Task Design
    2. Verb-Based Tasks
    3. Scavenger Hunt Tasks
    4. Best Practices For Task Design
    5. Interview Based Tasks
    6. Exercise - Creating Your Own Tasks
  6. Building The Prototype
    1. Low Fidelity Versus High Fidelity
    2. Building Paper Mockups
  7. Moderating A Usability Study
    1. Overview And The Roles Of A Test Moderator
    2. Overview Of A Usability Test Session
    3. Pre-Test Briefing With Users And Observers
    4. Running The Usability Test Session
    5. Exercise - Practice Your Moderation Skills
  8. Analyzing The Data
    1. Performance Metrics
    2. Observation Versus Inferences
    3. Rolling List Of Observations
    4. The KJ Technique - Prioritizing Data Findings
    5. Exercise - Running A KJ Exercise
  9. Communicating The Study Results
    1. Success Factors For Communicating Results
    2. Informal Methods - Email, Dashboard, Working Meetings And Integration With Bug Tracking System
    3. Formal Methods - Workshop, Highlight Videos And Report
  10. User Interviews
    1. User Interviews - Overview And Benefits
    2. Logistics And Interviewing Tips
    3. Topics To Cover And Questions To Ask
    4. Data To Collect
    5. Exercise - Practice Your Interviewing Skills
  11. Personas
    1. Overview Of Personas
    2. Analyzing The Data
    3. Writing Persona Descriptions
    4. Integrating Personas Into The Development Process
  12. Expert Reviews
    1. Expert Reviews Overview
    2. Heuristic Evaluations
    3. Expert Reviews Based On Design Principles And Patterns
    4. Task Based Expert Reviews
    5. Exercise - Conduct A Task-Based Expert Review
  13. Diary Studies
    1. Diary Studies Overview
    2. Types Of Diary Studies - Unstructured Diaries, Survey Diaries And Usability Test Diaries
  14. Lean UX Research Techniques
    1. Lean UX Research Techniques Overview
    2. 5-Second Tests
    3. First Click Tests
    4. Comprehension Tests
    5. Task Cataloging Questionnaire
    6. Catalog Test
  15. Summary
    1. Resources And Wrap Up

Product information

  • Title: User Research Fundamentals for Designers
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: May 2015
  • Publisher(s): Infinite Skills
  • ISBN: 9781771373982