Breaking UX Research Myths
Photo by David Travis on Unsplash
User Experience Research has gained a lot of traction over the last few years, but it’s still a field that a lot of people don’t know about. There are many questions I get and misconceptions that I hear, so I’m here to break those myths!
Myth #1: UX Researchers ARE THE SAME AS UX DESIGNERS
When people hear the term UX Research, people assume it’s the same as UX Design since they both have UX in the title. While they both focus on improving the overall user experience, they play different roles. Design focuses on the navigation and user flow of the website, while Research focuses on understanding user needs and identifying product opportunities. I got more in depth about this in one of my past blog posts What is UX Research?
Myth #2: UX Researchers just make surveys, do interviews, and usability test
These are some of the most common research methods used, but there are so many more research methods or frameworks you can apply to these common methods to discover impactful insights. There are also a lot of powerful quantitative methods that helps organizations predict feature adoption, identify common behaviors of user groups, and more. The UXR industry is evolving and many researchers are becoming mixed-methods, so they can unlock more insights about users and help teams understand what should be prioritized as well as influence the direction of future product enhancements.
Myth #3: UX Researchers AREN’T STRATEGIC
This relates to the myth above. People think that researchers are brought in to check a box and validate an idea, but researchers have the ability to answer a lot more questions like: What are the strongest drivers for closed-lost deals? What do customers find the most valuable? Is our platform UX meeting industry standards? Allowing researchers to go beyond just targeted + tactical research and giving them space to work on strategic projects is a key differentiator for companies that have a mature research team. As researchers, it’s also important for us to learn methodologies that allow us to answer more strategic questions, so we’re indispensable.
Myth #4: UX Researchers ask users what they want
Users don’t always know what they want or know the scope of what’s possible, so rather than asking people what they want, it’s important to understand challenges they face and identify new areas of opportunities. A great example that my manager once shared is about Uber. If Uber researchers asked users if they would want to ride with strangers, most people would say no. Though, through research, they were able to identify an opportunity and show the public a new way of transportation.
Myth #5: UX RESEARCH IS TOO EXPENSIVE + TIME CONSUMING AND IS A BLOCKER
Often times, people see research as a cost, but a McKinsey report actually points out that UX-driven organizations provide higher returns to shareholders. By involving research in the development process, teams are able to preemptively identify user experience issues, ensure that concepts are moving in the right direction, and can help measure impact + provide recommendations for future iterations. By catching problems earlier, organizations will save time + money in the long run and decrease the risk of creating a poor experience after launch. Researchers should not be seen as blockers, but are partners to departments across the organization (design, product, engineering, services, product marketing). Our goal is to help inform team members of user behaviors, so they can make deliberate decisions.
I hope this gives you a better understanding of what UX Researchers do and why it’s important for organizations to invest in a UX Research team. If you have any questions about UX Research, I’d be happy to connect and chat!
xo Kerstin