Understanding Your Users

This new and completely updated edition is a comprehensive, easy-to-read, "how-to" guide on user research methods. You'll learn about many distinct user research methods and also pre- and post-method considerations such as recruiting, facilitating activities or moderating, negotiating with product developments teams/customers, and getting your results incorporated into the product. For each method, you'll understand how to prepare for and conduct the activity, as well as analyze and present the data - all in a practical and hands-on way. Each method presented provides different information about the users and their requirements (e.g., functional requirements, information architecture). The techniques can be used together to form a complete picture of the users' needs or they can be used separately throughout the product development lifecycle to address specific product questions. These techniques have helped product teams understand the value of user experience research by providing insight into how users behave and what they need to be successful. You will find brand new case studies from leaders in industry and academia that demonstrate each method in action. This book has something to offer whether you are new to user experience or a seasoned UX professional. After reading this book, you'll be able to choose the right user research method for your research question and conduct a user research study. Then, you will be able to apply your findings to your own products.

Kathy Baxter is a Principal User Researcher at Salesforce. Her research focus has spanned web search, privacy, advertising, enterprise applications, mobile, and more. Previously, Kathy managed the UX Infrastructure team, which supports research globally across Google including research ethics, participant recruitment, research labs, and the development of research tools. Prior to Google, she worked as a Senior Researcher at eBay and Oracle. She received her Bachelors of Science in Applied Psychology and Masters of Science in Engineering Psychology from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Part 1: What You Need to Know Before Choosing An Activity 1. Introduction to User Experience 2. Before You Choose an Activity: Learning About Your Product and Users 3. Ethical and Legal Considerations 4. Setting Up Research Facilities 5. Choosing a User Experience Research Activity Part 2: Get Up and Running 6. Preparing For Your User Research Activity 7. During Your User Research Activity Part 3: The Methods 8. Diary Studies 9. Interviews 10. Surveys 11. Card Sorting 12. Focus Groups 13. Field Studies 14. Evaluating Methods Part 4: Wrapping Up 15. Concluding Final Part 5: Appendices Appendix A. Requirements for Creating a Participant Recruitment Database Appendix B. Report Template Appendix C. Glossary Appendix D. References