Research: Interviewing Users

Who is doing the research work to recruit, observe, and understand the perspectives of users who, while they need mainstream technology solutions, also want to fulfill their basic survival, health, and safety needs? Users that societal systems have marginalized—whose voices have mostly been locked out or remain unrecognized?

Those of us who identify as members of such marginalized groups are more likely to consider the voice of the voiceless in our work. We, the authors of this article, grew up with and live around these voiceless people. In fact, they are our relatives and friends. As Black psychologists and researchers who are working in the field of User Experience, we feel compelled to share our experiences with you. Read More

A funny thing happens when you interview people—they answer your questions even if they don’t really know the answer. That’s why it’s so important to know what types of questions people can and cannot answer correctly.

There’s a good reason why UX research focuses more on observing people’s behavior in their natural context than on interviews, surveys, and focus groups. Although all of these techniques can be useful, what people say doesn’t always match what they actually do. Observing and interviewing people in the context of their tasks gives you a much more accurate understanding of their characteristics, their tasks, the tools they use, and their environment.

Of course, talking with people is helpful because observation alone often isn’t enough. So almost every user-research method includes some kind of interview or discussion. While observing user-research participants shows you what they do, it also raises questions. Unless you interview participants, too, you’ll have to make assumptions to understand the motivations behind their actions. Talking with people is essential for you to understand their behavior. Read More

UX design focuses on creating products that offer excellent, meaningful experiences for users. Therefore, UX designers must keep the user in mind when working on all aspects of product design, including branding, usability, and functionality. Another UX design concern is creating products that give users everything they need, from efficiency to fun and pleasure. However, there is no single way to define a good user experience because a design’s success depends on how well it meets the needs of the particular consumers who are using a product.

To meet the needs of your actual users, it is vital that you do UX research to understand your target market. In this article, I’ll provide some useful tips for conducting user interviews. Read More