User Research Methods | Raleigh

About this workshop

Developing a deep understanding of users’ behavior, thoughts, needs, and desires helps design teams solve well-defined problems. Without identifying these core problems and opportunities, launching a product or service is simply a stab in the dark. User research is the means by which we foster this understanding. It focuses on developing direct connections to end users in order to make sense of their everyday lives, learn about their frustrations, and determine potential solutions to improve their experience with just about anything.

This workshop consists of two parts: The first part will concentrate on user research methods. We will go through an overview of different methods, perform an in-class activity on user interviewing, and then interview users in the real world. The second part will focus on making sense of research findings, answering the important question: What can I do with all these insights? Participants will work together to organize their findings, synthesize them into a coherent story, and identify key opportunity and problem areas.

Takeaways

• Introduction to user research methods, including ethnographic methods and customer interviews
• Interviewing exercises to gather observations
• Sense-making activities to understand research findings from multiple angles
• Exercise to isolate key pain points and frame design opportunities

Prereqs & Preparation

None.