A well-structured website or product experience doesn’t happen by chance - it requires a comprehensive understanding of what your users want and need.
In today's competitive digital landscape, User Research is crucial for connecting with your audience and making business decisions that improve their experience. Thanks to advancements in technology, research is now faster and more effective, shifting from occasional studies to a continuous, customer-first mindset across entire organisations.
In this article, we will explore some of the most common User Research methods and how they can help you reach your business goals.
Card Sorting
Over time, websites become disorganised. New pages are added, offerings change, and clutter sets in. The result is often a lack of agreement on how website content should be structured.
Card Sorting is a simple but powerful technique for understanding how people naturally categorise and group information.
During Card Sorting, participants are given a selection of pre-defined cards representing the pages on a website. They are then asked to sort the cards into categories. They may also be asked to come up with a name for each category, e.g., “Services”, and rank the importance of each category. The results of this sorting are then analysed to identify trends across participant responses.
Whether obtained from internal stakeholders or website end-users, the insights gained from Card Sorting can play a vital role in creating intuitive and user-friendly websites that are simple to navigate.
Tree Testing
When users can’t find the information they need from your website, one of two things tends to happen:
1. They call and send emails to ask questions, putting strain on your administrative resources
2. They abandon you for a competitor with an easier-to-use website
Tree Testing is a User Research method for evaluating the findability and understandability of information on a website. It helps identify potential usability issues and provides a basis for optimising a website’s layout.
The “Tree” in Tree Testing refers to the appearance of a website’s site map - everything starts from the home page and then branches out into different content categories. In Tree Testing, participants are given scenarios and asked to find relevant information by navigating through the site’s “branches”.
By analysing the results, you can ascertain how long participants need to complete tasks (if they succeed) and identify any common errors they make. This data helps highlight areas of confusion on the website, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement. For example, if participants consistently end up on the wrong page when tasked with finding specific information, page titles will likely need to change.
Usability Testing
Site usability refers to the ease with which users can interact with a website and find the information they’re looking for without difficulty. Even if a website's content is laid out in a clear, easy-to-follow format, poor site usability can severely compromise User Experience (UX).
Usability Testing is a research method that evaluates how effectively participants can complete tasks on a website. The findings of Usability Testing can help organisations understand how usable their site is and inform decisions to improve it.
For example, Usability Testing might be employed at the beginning of a website rejuvenation project to assess what works and what doesn’t about the organisation’s existing site. These findings can then be used to inform the design and development of the new site. By the same token, Usability Testing can be employed at different stages of a website project to validate whether users can engage with the site as expected or whether adjustments need to be made.
Qualitative Interviews and Surveys
To effectively reach and resonate with your audience, it's crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of your target market, including their demographics, behaviours, and pain points. Qualitative interviews and surveys are valuable tools for gaining this understanding, as they gather in-depth information directly from the source - your target audience.
- Interviews enable you to ask open-ended questions and probe for more detailed responses, uncovering nuanced insights that other methods might not capture.
- Surveys can reach a larger audience and collect quantitative data alongside qualitative feedback, allowing for broader analysis and identification of trends.
By using these methods, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of your target market, which can inform data-driven product development, marketing strategies, and overall business decisions.
Make data-driven business decisions with User Research
Selecting an appropriate User Research method is key to gaining the right information and making better-informed decisions. By incorporating User Research into your design and development decisions, you can create digital experiences that truly resonate with your audience and drive business success.
Ready to supercharge your next digital project? Get in touch with the ALYKA team today to find out how User Research can unlock vital audience insights.
