User Experience Research Discover What Customers Really Want

The Fuzzy Front End Gets Demystified in This Next-Generation User Research Guide

The first phase of the design thinking process is arguably the most crucial, as this is when human insights are leveraged to define value for customers.  Yet this so-called "empathize" phase is often deemed optional or is executed poorly. This degrades the entire innovation process that follows by permitting preexisting biases and guesswork that make value creation a precarious bet.

In User Experience Research: Discover What Customers Really Want, a human factors psychologist and an industrial designer have devised a foolproof first phase that addresses the shortcomings of the design thinking process. Based on their forty years of generative research experience in multiple industries, this is the definitive guide to user experience research. This repeatable approach is grounded in six key principles that connects users’ desired emotional states to an actionable articulation of an experience. It also provides guidance on creating ideal experience frameworks that communicate clearly with all stakeholders, from business leaders to design practitioners.

User Experience Research: Discover What Customers Really Want  is an indispensable, fully illustrated, step-by-step manual for anyone seeking a more predictable pathway to the design of new or improved experiences that users truly desire and would find valuable.

MARTY GAGE & SPENCER MURRELL: Marty, a human factors psychologist and Spencer, an industrial designer, have partnered together over the last thirty years to develop a method to understand people’s dreams for the future and translate those insights into actionable and inspirational design criteria. The Ideal Experience method has proven success with Fortune 500 clients in medical products, consumer packaged goods, automotive, consumer electronics, retail, financial services, and business products and services. This book is their legacy to the profession.

Introduction

The Design Thinking Process 10

The Six Key Principles for Successful User Research 12

How to Use This Book 14

1 Making Experiences Actionable

A User-Driven Perspective on Design Thinking 18

Defining Value: What People Really Want 20

Ideal Experience Research 22

2 Choosing a Research Approach

Define Your Research Objectives 40

Select a Research Approach 44

Consider the End Deliverable 52

3 Finding Your Target User

Identify Participation Criteria 62

Create a Screener 64

Find Your Participants 68

4 Having Effective Conversations

Formulate Your Questions 76

Create a Discussion Guide 80

Conduct Interviews 84

5 Capturing Clear Data

Structure Your Data 98

Use a Spreadsheet Tool 104

Take Good Notes 106

6 Describing Experiences With Stimuli

Understand the Applications of Collaging 114

Prepare Collage Exercises 118

Conduct Collage Exercises 142

7 Understanding the Situations Of Use

Approaches to Contextual Inquiry 160

Know Your Documentation Options 164

Conduct an Efficient & Effective Inquiry 170

8 Conducting Research

Prepare for the Study 182

Finalize Your Setup 184

Solidify the Approach 188

9 Finding the Big Ideas

Code the Data 196

Identify Themes 206

Synthesize Themes 216

10 Telling the Story of the Future

Model Experiences 228

Design Sourcebooks 236

Create Storyboards 244

Appendix 252

Index 260

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.