Howt

oCr
eat
eaUs
erRe
sear
chP
lan?

1.
 
Wri
tet
heBac
kgr
oundoft
heRe
sear
ch

Thebackgrounds e
ctionshouldbebrie
f.Tel
lst
akehol
dersandc li
ent
s
aboutther e
centhistor
yoft heproj
ect,whyyou’r
econducti
ngt he
res
earch,andwhatyou’ regoingtoaccompli
sh.I
naf e
ws entences
(nomor ethanfi
velinesoftext)
,ever
yoneshouldunders
tandt he
purpos
eoft hestudy.

Thebac kgr
ounds ect
ionshoul
dalsoincl
udetheprobl
ems tat e
ment.
Afewwayst oidenti
fytheprobl
ems tat
ementinc
ludeinte
r views
withstakehol
ders,adeepanalys
isofthecur
rentdata,orte am
ses
sionstobrains
torm.

2.
WhatAr
etheObj
ect
ive
soft
heRe
sear
ch?

Youmus thaveanobjecti
vebe f
orege t
tinginar oomwithus
ers.
The
res
earchobjec
tivedr
ive
sal lt
her ese
arc hquest
ionsyou’
l
lbeaski
ng
parti
ci
pantsdur i
ngt
he userinter
view proce
ss.

Whyareyouconduct
inguserre
searc
h?Whatpr
oble
msdoyouhope
t
osol
ve?Whatistheendgoalafte
rcompl
eti
ngther
ese
arc
h?

Gett
inganswer
stothes
equest
ionsshoul
dbeac ol
labor
ati
veeff
ort
be
twe e
nstake
holde
rsandte
amme mbersi
nvol
vedintheproj
ect
.

3.
Def
ineSt
ake
hol
der
s

Whoar ethes t
akeholdersthatwil
lbenefi
tfr
omt heres
ult
s?Rese
arch
pr
ojec
ts takeholde
r scoul
dbee mployee
sinsale
s,cus
tomersupport
,
C-
leve
le x
e cuti
ves,or 
productteams.
Whenyou’ velis
tedever
yoneyout hinkshouldbeinvol
ved,se
tupa
meeti
ngtobr ai
nstor
mi de
asandc ollec
tinput.It
’seas
iert
ode l
ive
r
theri
ghtinsightswhenyou’r
einvolvingtherightst
akehol
dersin
yourproj
ec t
.

4.
 
StudyEx
ist
ingSol
uti
ons

Haveanys t
udiesbeendoneonthi
stopici
nthepast
?Perhapsyour
compet
itorsorin-
houseteammateshavepubl
is
hedpre
viousfindi
ngs
thatwi
llwor kasthebasi
sofyourre
searc
h?Theanswer
swi l
lhelp
youdeterminewhe r
etobegi
n.

I
fyourteamus e
s Aur
eli
usasaresear
chreposi
tor
y,you’l
lbeabl
eto
e
as i
lys
earchthr
oughpastres
earchproj
ectst
oquicklyf
ind
i
nformati
onandmakeCr os
s-Pr
oje
ctInsi
ghtsandrecommendati
ons
f
rompas tre
searchwi
thyourcurr
entproje
ct.

5.
 
Rec
rui
tPar
tic
ipant
s

Aft
erde f
iningthepr obl
emandobject
ives
,it
’sti
metocreat
ea
par
tic
ipantpr ofi
le.
Choos i
ngtheri
ghtparti
ci
pantsi
soneofthe
mostcrucialpartsofapr oj
ect
. 

Whe ncr
eatingpar ti
ci
pantprofi
le
sstartwit
hc haracte
ris
tic
ssuchas
occupat
ion,agegr oup,ge
ography,andleve
lofe ngagementwiththe
product
.Nex t,
de t
erminethenumberofpartic
ipantstorecrui
tfor
eachUXr es
e arc
hme t
hod.
 

Weadviseinternalcoll
aborat
ionwit
hallstake
hol der
ssuchass
ale
s,
marketi
ng,andc us
tome rs
upportte
amst obrainstormahypot
hesi
s
onwhoyouri de aluseri
s.Analyz
eyourcompetitorstose
ewhat
typeofuse
r sthe yhaveinthei
raudi
ence.

Ifyouhaveadat
abase,
consi
derl
ooki
nginwardstoc
us t
ome r
swho
alr
eadyknowyourpr
oduct.
Ifyoudon’
t,useares
earchrec
ruitme
nt
pl
atf
ormt
ofi
ndpar
tic
ipant
s. 

Whenr ecrui
tingexter
nall
y, us
eas cr
eenertohoneinonyourideal
part
icipant.
Ist he
reapar t
icularbehavioryou’
relooki
ngfor?A
qual
ifyingactiontheymus thavet akenwithi
nas peci
fi
cti
me f
rame?
Dothe yneedt obeac er
tainage ?Scree
nersensur
eyou’rebri
ngingi
n
theri
ghtus ersforyourresearch.

6.
 
Est
abl
is
hKP
IsandMe
tri
csofSuc
ces
s

Howwi l
lsuc
cessbede
termine
d? Whatcr
ite
r i
awil
lyouuset
oche
ck
mil
est
oneachie
vements?Ex
amplesofs
uccessmet
ricsi
ncl
ude
:

 Timeont ask
 Speci
ficinformati
onabouttheuser
 
 Deci
sionst hatthecol
le
cte
ddat awil
lhe
lpyoumake
 
 Stat
istic
syoui ntendtocr
eate

7.
 
Out
li
neSc
opeandFoc
usofRe
sear
ch

Outli
ningthefocusar
easleadstoef
fi
ci
entresear
chplanning.
The
dee
pe ryou’r
eabletohoneinonthespeci
fi
cinf
ormationyouwant
tocol
lectfr
omt heres
earch,themor
eclari
tyyou’l
lhave.
 

8.
 
Wri
teRe
sear
chQue
sti
ons

Thisi
sthesecti
onwhe reyou’
llwrit
edownt her
esearchquest
ionsto
askduringuserint
ervi
ews.Star
tbye xami
ningwhatyoual r
eady
knowaboutt heproble
ms uchas i
nsightsf
rompr e
viousres
earch.
Fi
ndt heknowledgegapsandc re
ateque st
ionstoanswerthem.

Whenbrainst
ormingre
sear
chquest
ions
,it
’si
mport
anttodeter
mine
i
fthegoalistocr
eateanewdesi
gnortofixane
xis
tingde
sign.
 

I
fyourobj
ect
iveist
obuil
dtherightde
sign,thenyourquest
ionswi
ll
f
ocusonobse
rvinguse
rbehavi
orandleveragingmentalmodel
s.
Ifthegoali
stofi
xanexis
tingdesi
gn,the
nyou’l
las
kquest
ions
aboutusabi
li
tytoimpr
ovet hecur
rentdesi
gn.
Whateve
rthegoali
s,
aimforopen-e
ndedquest
ions.

Here
’sacompre
hens
ivel
is
tofque
sti
onst
oas
kwhe
nconduc
tingUX
re
searc
hinte
rvi
ews

9.
 
Det
ermi
neYourBudge
t 

Budgetplaysaroleint
heamountofdat ayougat he
randhowyou
conductrese
arch.Morebudgetequal
sflex
ibi
li
tytooutsourc
etoa
dedic
atedrecrui
tmentservi
ce,
runpaidcampaignstoattrac
tmore
people,
orevenincre
asetheinc
enti
vesforpart
ici
pants.

Moremone yals
omake site asi
ertoc hoosetheri
ght UXr esear
ch
methods thattranslateintoqual i
tyinsi
ght.Conver
s el
y,wi t
has mall
budget,youhavet ot hinkofwayst ostretc
hyourf undss uchas
usi
ngzoomove rin-personme et
ings,l
imit
ingthenumbe rofresear
ch
part
ici
pant s,
orc hoosingine x
pensiveresear
chtechniques.

10.
Est
abl
is
hPr
oje
ctTi
mel
ine

Havi
ngat i
me l
ineforexecuti
ngt heres
ear
chplanle
tss t
ake hol
der
s
andcli
ent
sknowhowl ongt heresear
chwil
ltake
.Theremi ghtbe
di
ffe
rentexpe
ct ati
onsbetwe e
nwhatyout hinkt
het i
me l
ineshoul
d
bevers
ustheclient
’sexpe
c t
ation. 

Whe
nes
tabl
is
hingat
ime
li
nec
ons
ide
rthef
oll
owi
ng:

 Thescaleoftheprojec
t
 Theti
mene e
dedt o 
collectdataforresear
chanalys
is
 Ti
mef orrecrui
tingresearchparti
cipants
 Numbe rofteammat est oengageinr e
searchact
ivi
ti
es
 Unfor
e see
nc i
rcumstanc essuc
haspar tici
pantss
howingup
l
ateorne edi
ngt orescheduleforanotherday
11.
 
Deve
lopRe
sear
chP
rot
ocol
s

Theres
earchprot
ocolisali
stofques
tionsandtas
ksyou’
llc
over
duri
ngin-
personses
sions
.Ital
soinc
ludesalis
tofres
ear
chme t
hods
you’
vechosen.
 

Ac ommonpr ac
ticeistowrit
edownt heopeni
ngandc losi
ng
st
at ementofyourUXi nt
ervi
e w.Itbegi
nswithanexplanati
onofthe
produc t
,rese
archobj e
cti
ves,andhowl ongeachint
e r
viewsess
ion
willtake.I
nthee nd,youthankt heparti
ci
pantforthei
rtimeand
ans weranyque s
t i
onstheymi ghthave.

Makesur
eyougetfe
e dbac
kf r
oms take
hol
der
sont
her
ese
arc
h
que
sti
onsaswe
llasthefol
lowing:

 Thedur ati
onofeachses
sion
 Taskseachr e
sear
chparti
c i
pantwil
lcompl
eteduri
ngusabi
li
ty
tes
ting
 Asc r
ipttoguideeachse
ssion
 Howt or e
cordint
ervi
ewsandpr ot
ectpart
ici
pantdat
a

12.
Det
ermi
net
heRe
sear
chMe
thods

Int
hiss
e c
tion,
you’l
ldi
scusstheUXrese
ar c
hme thodsyou’
l
lus e
dur
ingtheresear
chande x
plainwhyyou’vechos
e nthe
setechni
que
s.

Whilet her earedozensofr e

searchme thodstochoosefrom,your
choic
e ss houldbeinforme dbyyourr esearc
hque s
t i
ons.
Some ,l
ike
A/Btest sands urveys,aresuit
edf orquantit
ati
ver es
earchwhil
e
otherslikeus eri
ntervi
e wsandc ontext
ualinqui
riesworkbest
for 
qual itati
veresearch. 

LearnmoreabouthowtochooseaUXr
ese
arc
hme
thodpl
usopt
ions
tochoos
efromduringus
errese
arch
13.
Choos
eUXRe
sear
chTool
s 

Si
mil
artor
ese
archprot
oc ol
s,t
herese
archtool
syouchoos
eshoul
d
bebase
donyourre
searchobje
cti
vesandquest
ions
.

Whe
nchoos
ingUXr
ese
arc
htool
s,c
ons
ide
rthef
oll
owi
ng:

 Areyoure c
r ui
tingpar t
ici
pantsinte
rnall
yfromyourdat abas
e
orext
ernall
y?
 Isi
tgoingtobeaus abili
tytest?
 Wil
lyouc onduc ti
nte r
viewsvi
avi deoconfer
enci
ng?
 Howwi l
lyou  s
toreandanal yzeresear
chdat a?
 Areyougoi ngtoA/ Btestcert
aine l
ementsforconve
rsi
on?
 Wil
lyouc onduc tsurveystocoll
ectmas sfe
edback?

Therearedif
ferenttoolsthatf
ul f
il
leachoft heseobjecti
ves.
For
example
, youcanr e
c r
uitparti
cipantsfrompl atf
ormsl i
ke User
Inte
rvi
ews  
and Userbrai
n.Youc anbuildar esear
chr eposi
toryto
stor
edat aandge tinsi
ghtswith Aureli
us.Tools
l
ike 
Optimizel
y and 
Craz yEgg 
ar egreatforA/ Btes
ting.

Getacompre
hens
ivel
is
tofUXrese
archt
ool
stoc
ompl
etee
achs
tage
ofther
ese
archpr
oces
sinthi
sar
ticl
e

14.
 
DrawI
nsi
ght
sandP
res
entyourRe
sear
chFi
ndi
ngs

Thisisthefinalstagewhe ncreat
ingaUXr esearchpl
an.Theins
ight
s
willbede t
ermine dbyt hegoal
soft her
esear
ch. I
sthegoalto
i
mpr oveane xi
stingproductorcreateanewpr oduct
?Which
stakeholderswillneedac c
esst
ot heres
ult
?

Makesureyoudoc umentyourproc
essandincludedetai
lsabout
se
tbacksyouf ac
edalongtheway,me t
hodologiesuse
d,andsess
ion
mater
ials
.Thisway,yourteamcanhaveanove r
viewtolookback
onwhe nconducti
ngthenextre
searchproj
ect.

Toge
tins
ightf
romyourr
ese
arc
hdat
a,us
eAur
eli
ust
oanal
yze
doz
ensofnot
es,
audi
o/vi
deor
ecor
dingsaswe
llass
pre
ads
hee
ts.

Creat
eane wpr oj
ectinAureli
us, i
mportyourdat afr
omanywhe r
e,
fi
ndinformati
onquicklywithTags ,s
earc
hf orpatte
rnswith
Keywords,hi
ghli
ghtmaj orfi
ndingswith 
KeyInsight
s andmake
sugges
t i
onswithRecomme ndations.

Aurel
iusturnsyourre
comme ndationsandkeyins
ight
sinto
share
ablereport
sthatyouc anc ustomizeasyouli
ke.
Youc anshar
e
or 
presentyourres
earchf
indings viaemail
,aPDF,orali
velinkt
o
yourreport.

Lear
nMoreAboutHowAur
eli
usCanHe
lpYouI
mpr
ovet
heRe
sear
ch
Pr
ocess
 

15.
Ethi
cs

Asi
desf
romhavi
ngaplanofact
ionforr
esearchi
ssue
s,youmus
t
haveapl
anf
orworki
ngwithre
searc
hpar t
ici
pants
. 

Afewt hi
ngstododuri
ngt
hef
irs
tint
erac
tionwi
thr
ese
arc
h
par
tic
ipantsi
ncl
ude:

 Inf
ormus e
rsaboutt hebac kgroundoft herese
archandwhat
they’
resi
gningupf or
 Tel
lthemhowyoupl ant ostoret hei
rdata
 Askforpermiss
iont orecor
dt hepr oces
s
 Askforpermiss
iont ousethe i
rdat aforrese
archpurpos
esonl
y
 Sharedet
ailsaboutt heUXr esearchprocess
 Tel
lthemtheme thodsyou’r eusingtoc ol
le
ctdata 

I
fyoufee
lli
keit’
stoomuchi
nfor
mat i
on,remembert
hati
t’
sbe
tte
r
t
oover
sharethantonotgi
vesuf
fic
ienti
nformati
on.
MOREINFO:fil
e:
//
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C: /
Users
/USER/
Deskt
op/
ux/
fi
rst
%20s
tep/
how-
to-
wr
ite
-a-
user
-re
search-pl
an-ee4f
bd27dd4.
htm

ht
tps:
/
/medium.
com/
prot
otypr
/tool
s-i
-us
e-as
-a-
ux-
res
ear
che
r-
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