Today was the start of the next round of webinars from UserTesting covering a range of UX/CS topics.
The first of these was a conversation with Dr Nick Fine, UX Researcher, Consultant, and CX Evangelist.
Little and often
That was the biggest point that was made.
That’s the second time that such a simple point has been illustrated so well to me in the last week or so.
Taking that approach to user testing means that you can do it every sprint!
There isn’t always the need for the big, upfront waterfall approach to user research that can take an age to complete.
It has it’s place, but more often, bitesize pieces of research can be done to create a targeted impact.
Moving the needle
Socialising the information that’s being captured in these regular research sessions has allowed Dr Nick the chance to shift the mindset of the higher levels of organisations.
The penny drops when people see users trying, and failing, to use your thing
Having these kind of sessions more regularly, as a result of doing the research/testing more regularly, allows for the impact of work to be visisble more often.
Advice for designers with a visual design background
Another participant asked what corses/resources would be useful to those of us that come from a more visual design background, rather than Psychology or HCI.
The initial response was – Get a Psychology degree. Though Dr Nick quickly highlighted that that’s pretty unrealistic for most of us.
The next best option was to find a good mentor and work with them to develop your skills on the job.
There is no clear guidebook that can be used, because we’re all working on different things – we are all catering to different user needs/pain points.
But, in working with a more senior colleague that has the ‘right’ background, you stand more chance of being able to gain the right kind of experience for the work that you’re doing.
Equally, this means that those that are in more senior or lead roles, should be sharing their experience back down the line.
This webinar was certainly a motivational start to the day!
User Research should be BAU (Business as Usual) Activity