How to Combine Multiple Research Methods: Practical Triangulation

All research methods have their pros and cons, the problem comes when you rely on just one method. I’m often disappointed when UX and IxD practitioners describe the research they do, and it’s obviously very one dimensional. This is where the concept of “triangulation” comes into its own. Also known as “mixed method” research, triangulation is the act of combining several research methods to study one thing. They overlap each other somewhat, being complimentary at times, contrary at others. This has the effect of balancing each method out and giving a richer and hopefully truer account.

Kennedy, Patrick. Johnny Holland (2009). Articles>Research>Methods

Six-Step Process for Planning a User Test

Preparing for usability testing requires a surprisingly large amount of planning. Here are the 6 key steps you should go through to get ready.

Warsi, Abid. Webcredible (2009). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods

Manipulating Data: Analysis Techniques, Part 3

One of the key characteristics of a manipulation technique versus related techniques like transformation is that the underlying data remains unchanged. The main thing we’re doing is changing the relationship - logical or physical - that one piece of data has with another. Reorganizing the data helps us to identify patterns that may otherwise not be apparent. In fact, it is almost certain that most patterns won’t be visible at first glance. Let’s start by taking a more detailed look at some of the processes that contribute to the manipulation of data.

Baty, Steve. Johnny Holland (2009). Articles>Research>Methods>User Centered Design

Deconstructing Analysis Techniques

On a recent project I needed to collect and analyze the content management templates in use across a large enterprise Intranet. We were looking to inventory the diversity of templates in use; whether they existed outside or within the enterprise content management system; what changes might be made to the ‘official’ template set to reduce the overall number of templates, and to prepare for the migration of all content to a new design a few months down the track. I looked around at the literature for information architecture and Web design generally and found quite a few references to content inventories and content analysis, but nothing on analyzing templates.

Baty, Steve. Johnny Holland (2009). Articles>Research>Methods>Web Design

Discount Usability: 20 Years

Simple user testing with 5 participants, paper prototyping, and heuristic evaluation offer a cheap, fast, and early focus on usability, as well as many rounds of iterative design.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2009). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods

Moderating with Multiple Personalities: Three Roles for Facilitating Usability Tests

Usability tests are a core design tool and, when done well, they deliver tremendous insights to the team. However, when a usability test is done poorly, it can be a disaster for everyone involved. An important key to their success is the work of a great moderator.

Spool, Jared M. User Interface Engineering (2009). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods

Integrating Prototyping Into Your Design Process

Prototyping is a big deal right now. We get wrapped up in mailing list threads, new tools are released at an astonishing pace, books are being published, and articles show up on Boxes & Arrows. Clients are even asking for prototypes. But here’s the thing… prototyping is not a silver bullet. There is no one right way to do it. However, prototyping is a high silver content bullet. When aimed well, a prototype can answer design questions and communicate design ideas. In this article, I talk about the dimensions of prototype fidelity and how you can use them to choose the most effective prototyping method for the questions you need answered.

Beecher, Frederick. Boxes and Arrows (2009). Articles>User Experience>Prototyping>Methods

How to Understand Your Users with Personas

Personas are a powerful tool for helping you to better understand the needs of your users. In this comic, drawn exclusively for Think Vitamin, you’ll learn more about Personas and how they’ll revolutionize the way you design and build web sites.

Colbow, Brad. Carsonified (2009). Articles>User Centered Design>Methods>Personas

Getting from Research to Personas: Harnessing the Power of Data

The usefulness of personas in defining and designing interactive products has become more widely accepted in the last few years, but a lack of published information has, unfortunately, left room for a lot of misconceptions about how personas are created, and about what information actually comprises a persona. Although space does not permit a full treatment of persona creation in this article, I hope to highlight a few essential points.

Goodwin, Kim. Cooper Journal (2002). Articles>User Centered Design>Methods>Personas

What's Your Customer's Persona?

Using "personas" forces us to think carefully about who our customer is for each product — what they need and want and how they'll use it. We've come up with a few personas, and each one has a name and personality. Even for a book on business planning, for instance, "Sally Startup" has different needs than does "Vic Venture."

Abrams, Rhonda. USA Today (2005). Articles>User Centered Design>Methods>Personas

Usability Over Time: Longitudinal Research Studies

User research focused on single experiences with a feature or workflow uncovers different problems and issues than longitudinal research.

Sy, Desirée. Designing the User Experience at Autodesk (2009). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods