 - Developed to measure intangibles (such as "desire" and "fun") in a usability lab setting
- Consists of two separate methods, the faces questionnaire and product reaction cards

The Microsoft Desirability Toolkit

Users are accompanied one-on-one with a researcher in a lab setting, and are told to complete tasks on a product or service.

Ohio State University, Columbus

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Research methods used by researchers to collect qualitative or quantitative data in studies.

Data collection methods in UX research

Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use. The word "usability" also refers to methods for improving ease-of-use during the design process.

Definition of Utility = whether it provides the features you need.
Definition of Usability = how easy & pleasant these features are to use.
Definition of Useful = usability + utility.

Usability

Nielsen Norman Group. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2022, from https://www.nngroup.com/ 

Nielsen Norman Group

User surveys

- Contextual Inquiry

The study will be conducted in the natural environment of the participants. For example, if the participants are students, the environment would be their classroom instead of an office.

Ethnographic field studies in UX research 

Contextual inquiry is a type of ethnographic field study that involves in-depth observation and interviews of small samples of users to gain a deep understanding of work practices and behaviors. Typically, it is conducted during the early discovery stages for a new feature or product. 
Key definitions:
- Context: The research takes place in the users’ natural environment as they conduct their activities the way they normally would. The context could be in their home, office, or somewhere else entirely
- Inquiry: The researcher watches the user as she performs her task and asks for information to understand how and why users do what they do

Contextual inquiry is useful for many domains, but especially well suited for considering users’ interactions with complex systems and in-depth processes as well as the point of view of expert users.

Contextual inquiry

Usability-Lab Studies

Participants contribute to the study by presenting their ideal experiences with reasons. The necessary design elements and creative materials will be provided by the researchers.

Participatory Design

"Tightly scripted usability studies are performed with several participants, using precise and predetermined measures of performance."

Usability Benchmarking

Researchers conducting usability testings remotely, with tools "such as screen-sharing software and remote control capabilities."

Moderated Remote Usability Studies

Having users install research moderator tool software on their devices and observe their process/thoughts while they complete a task.

Unmoderated Remote Panel Studies

Open and/or close ended information issued by a chosen set of users via a feedback link, button, form, or email.

Customer Feedback

Researchers invite random site visitors to answer questions about their goals of using the website and their feedback. Researchers then observe their subsequent behavior.

True-Intent Studies

Researchers observe user behavior through the recording of screens or pages that users click or see. "It requires the site to be instrumented properly or the application to have telemetry data collection enabled."

Clickstream Analysis

It could be either a quantitative method or a qualitative method. "Participants are offered different visual-design alternatives and are expected to associate each alternative with a set of attributes selected from a closed list."



Desirability Studies

User's Experience Measurements

Qualitative Data

A research method where a researcher in a structured setting asks an individual questions about any given topic for the purpose of collecting data about that topic.  From a UX perspective, interviews are valued insofar as they solicit the real opinions and experiences that users have when interacting with any given site or system, and the information collected can help improve that system. 

User Interviews

Tree testing focuses on evaluating category labels. This type of study is called "tree" testing because it is assessing hierarchical menus. It is often implemented remotely and unmoderated, and primarily used to follow up card sorting. It also identifies if Information Architecture (IA) structure, labels, and placements align with users’ expectations.

Tree Testing 

A Card Sort is used to understand how people think information within a website should be organized and named. It is often used to create or design an information architecture. 

- In a typical card sorting session, participants group the given topics into categories that make sense to them. 
- Users may also make changes to the cards you provided them by: removing a card they find unnecessary, creating a new card, renaming a card, changing the definition of a given card, and/or placing cards they feel belong that to multiple categories. 
- This can be carried out using sticky notes, paper cards, or a card sorting software.


Card Sorting in UX Research

A qualitative research method where participants log interactions and information related to a specific context over a period of time. Researchers give participants a device to record their lives related to the studied products. 




Diary/Camera Studies in UX Research

Conducted after figuring out your target users. It uses a prototype to explore how a user will use a product. You can use a real user or someone on the design team can act as the user. There will be another colleague that will record any difficulties or concerns raised by the team. A guideline for the walk-through can also be created. This is different from usability testing as it is not used to test hypotheses or part of the rigorous iterative design process.

Walk-throughs in UX Research

A questionnaire is a form designed to collect information from respondents through a series of questions. A variety of question types can be included such as open-ended, multiple choice, or a scale (e.g. On a scale of 1-5, rate your satisfaction with this product).

Questionnaires in UX Research

A focus group is a qualitative data collection method that involves small groups of people participating together in an interview focused on a specific issue or topic. The dynamic interaction among group members can often elicit richer, more detailed information than what might be uncovered in a traditional one-on-one interview. For example, this approach has become a standard technique in business and industry for understanding consumer tastes and preferences. Because these group discussions yield extensive qualitative data, the sessions are typically recorded and transcribed to facilitate thorough later analysis.

Focus Group

- Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter the design?
- Efficiency: Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they perform tasks?
- Memorability: When users return to the design after a period of not using it, how easily can they reestablish proficiency?
- Errors: How many errors do users make, how severe are these errors, and how easily can they recover from the errors?
- Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to use the design?

Components of Usability

10 general principles for interaction design outlined by Jakob Nielson. Called "heuristics" because they are broad rules of thumb and not specific guidelines.

Nielson's 10 Usability Heuristics

- Usability-Lab Studies: participants are brought into a lab, one-on-one with a researcher, and given a set of scenarios that lead to tasks and usage of specific interest within a product or service.

- Eye tracking: an eye tracking device is configured to precisely measure where participants look as they perform tasks or interact naturally with websites, applications, physical products, or environments.

- Usability Benchmarking: tightly scripted usability studies are performed with several participants, using precise and predetermined measures of performance.

- Unmoderated Remote Panel Studies: a panel of trained participants who have video recording and data collection software installed on their own personal devices uses a website or product while thinking aloud, having their experience recorded for immediate playback and analysis by the researcher or company.

- Moderated Remote Usability Studies: usability studies conducted remotely with the use of tools such as screen-sharing software and remote-control capabilities.

- Desirability Studies: participants are offered different visual-design alternatives and are expected to associate each alternative with a set of attributes selected from a closed list; these studies can be both qualitative and quantitative.

- Card Sorting: a quantitative or qualitative method that asks users to organize items into groups and assign categories to each group. This method helps create or refine the information architecture of a site by exposing users’ mental models.

- A/B Testing (related to “multivariate testing,” “live testing,” or “bucket testing”): a method of scientifically testing different designs on a site by randomly assigning groups of users to interact with each of the different designs and measuring the effect of these assignments on user behavior.


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