Nightmare of the UX Researcher and working process which helps to prevent it

Each of the researchers faced with at least one of these problems below.

Thanks to my 5 y.o. daughter for this illustration

A researcher doesn’t understand what priority the company has at the moment, so he/she tests what doesn’t need to be tested.
Together with the team, we conducted an extensive study with market segmentation. In the beginning, everything was fine. But the study lasted two months, and we almost did not communicate with top management in the process. When we finished, the research was useless, because the high manager has decided that the company would not deal with this direction.

A researcher doesn’t take into account which metrics are essential for the company. So after the testing, he/she couldn’t explain the usefulness of the study.
I have observed situations in which the researcher focused only on the problems and tasks of the user, forgetting that businesses need to earn and grow. As a result, such a researcher recommends that the firm provide the user all services for free, conveniently, at the right time and without advertising, so as not to irritate.

A researcher doesn’t study the information that has already been accumulated in the company. So he/she often occur with a reaction – «we already know it» after testing.

A researcher doesn’t involve the whole team in testing, and then offend that the report is not used because team don’t trust it.
This situation is most typical for the UX agency, but it often happens in companies too. If researcher didn’t involve the team throughout the research process, the results would be alien to them. It often happens that the results of the research are sorted into pieces: “Yes, my sister does it, it’s so coolly, that you found it. But this, I think, is a complete nonsense!”

A researcher doesn’t study the research subjects comprehensively, so he/she couldn’t draw up a good research scenario.
Most often this happens in agencies. The manager has already agreed to the terms; the tests begin two days later. But for the researcher the topic is new. As a result, the researcher starts to invent custom tasks.

A researcher sent a report by email and resent that no one answered.
Researchers who work in UX agencies often complain that they send a report, the hell they worked for a long time, and in response — silence. For researchers who work within the company, things are simpler. Even the busiest person can be caught at dinner and conveyed information.

A researcher identified problems in the interface, designers made changes and it became worse.
A typical problem. It usually arises from a lack of understanding of how the tests work. Managers think that the usability test is enough — we need to do it and fix everything. It’s great, but if you do not check the new version, then it’s more likely to be even worse. So I like the RITE method, using it you can polish the interface.

To avoid these troubles follow this 8 steps.

1. Working with stakeholders. Stakeholders see the big picture from the business perspective. Gather that information and translate it into metrics for the product.
2. Analyzing the existing information. Statistics, previous research, assumptions and hypothesis from the team, issues and user complaints.
3. Working with the team. Build the process to achieve the goals of the project and help the team grow. Investigate the team — their development processes, what motivates the team and each person, what fears they have, what temporal and technological limitations they have. This approach helps to bring maximum benefit to the team.
4. Gathering knowledge about the field. Lit review, competitive analysis, case studies, market research, etc. A lot of information is available online for free.
5. Creating a research plan. Goals we want to achieve, research methodology we use, hypothesis and research questions, recruitment criteria, timescale, people involved.
6. Conducting the study. Involving the team and conducting the study. Adjusting the plan on the fly and constantly discussing results with the team.
7. Presenting results. Presenting and discussing results with the team, stakeholders, teams working on related projects. Saving report for future reference.
8. Following up. Deciding on the next steps, gathering long-term usage metrics, keeping in touch with the team and stakeholders.

Welcome to comments to discuss this topic. You could PM me if you have any question.

And I’d be happy to get your 👏