For UX Researchers, Zoom has become an indispensable tool for conducting moderated user research online. Its convenience has allowed us to observe respondents from the comfort of their homes, enabling a deeper understanding of their behaviours and preferences as well as reaching users around the country, broadening the scope of potential users we can gain insight from. However, with this convenience comes the inevitable tech challenges that can disrupt the smooth flow of the research session. In this article, we’ll explore some of the most common hurdles encountered during online research sess ..read more

When we talk about usability testing and user research at Experience UX, we are referring to qualitative and moderated user research.  Qualitative because we focus on small numbers of people in a study. Moderated because we sit with our respondents throughout each research session.   Unlike traditional market research, which often relies on large sample sizes, moderated research takes a more intimate stance. Here, our moderators engage directly with participants, observing their interactions with websites, and delving into the nuances of their experiences.  Moderated and qu ..read more

Many people, who are new to usability testing, struggle with the idea of only testing with five, ten, or even fifteen people. It doesn’t seem like there’s enough people to be able to make some decisions on. But this is where usability testing and user research is different to regular research. And the key part of this is that we’re not overly focused on what people think or what their opinions are. The priority of the work that we do is observational. We want to see people engaging with user interfaces, particularly websites or apps. As we watch them using the website, we’ll be talking with th ..read more

Have you ever talked to colleagues about who your website users are and noticed how perfectly aligned to the organisation or current campaign they are? I call this the “Convenient Customer”, the unintentional distortion of user profiles to align more closely with your organisation’s goals or preferences. These can be created with no research whatsoever, but often, sadly, they can evolve from well researched personas. User personas A user persona is a representation of a group of people who have a similar goal or task to complete, which is attained from research. We need to know, not only what ..read more

In a recent conversation I was informed that the Brand & Marketing team were now allowed to use AI to create brand materials, content, and even audit one of their (smaller) websites. This enthusiasm is fuelled by the promise of personal time and budget savings. But what is at stake?  Is relying on machines overlooking humans?  In this age of data and AI, businesses are becoming ever more reliant on assessing the customer landscape based on digital spreadsheets and machine learning thinking.   This is nothing new. The corporate world is ever hungry for faster and cheaper ..read more

No matter how many research sessions you facilitate you are always bound to feel a pang of apprehension the night before. In my five years of running moderated one-to-one research I have come to refine and develop my own ways in which I approach research facilitation. This list is broader than your typical Research Ops tasks e.g. managing recruitment, having a script, setting up Zoom sessions etc., these are just good habits and practices that I do when I get myself into facilitator mode. This allows me to work at my best with minimal stress before I conduct a session. 1/. DEVICE OPTIMISATION ..read more

It is fair to say that since the world switched to remote working it has been slow to revert. Not only are we seeing this in our towns and cities with people continuing to work from home as part of a remote or hybrid working model, but we are also still seeing this in our working lives when we run research sessions. And this continues to have us all thinking as to what the long-term implications are of this shift.  Let’s consider this from a research observation perspective for a minute. Back in an earlier life I would be travelling here and there, darting across the country to run resear ..read more

It wouldn’t take me long to convince you of the benefits of usability testing with Experience UX, if you are not already aware. Just the fact that you will uncover usability issues by observing real users interact with your product, speaks for itself. Whether it is navigation confusion, overwhelming content, unresponsive design or a convoluted form, we gain insights into your users’ behaviour allowing for informed decisions to be made quickly and in the right context. We observe patterns, preferences and expectations. But what are some of the other advantages of regular usability testing for y ..read more

Psychological principles can be applied in UX to help designers and product developers understand user behaviour. This can either be to improve the usability of digital experiences or to encourage desirable interactions when navigating online. Here at Experience UX, usability testing and user research are at the heart of what we do. To uncover the truth and understand the ‘whys’ behind user behaviour, we employ observational methodology. This form of research removes opinion and offers objective, reliable evidence of what happens when users engage with digital interfaces. Whilst we can see the ..read more

It is quite likely that you take what you do for granted. Your experience, your skills, your process, and your personality are likely to offer far more value to the world around you than you realise. And as the world becomes more interconnected and louder, you might even feel that your knowledge and abilities are less unique than you’d hope. This has come to light for me a with regards to what we do, following a round of recruitment we have just undertaken, highlighting the risk of the essence of usability testing being lost in language. Our core work continues to be usability testing and user ..read more