UX Corner Volume 4

Practical UX

“I will check in with Bernard about UX.” I often hear about someone using my name when discussing a web or digital project in a meeting. While it’s great that people associate me with creating a better product, not every project needs to engage a user experience professional to perform user research or usability testing. Budgetary constraints, UX methodologies, and timelines often make this all but impossible anyway.

September 20, 2021

But suppose you decided to do it on your own? Here are two UX activities to incorporate into all of your projects to assure you cover the basics.

User Interviews

A user interview is usually a one-on-one session with a user to collect information on a specific topic, task, or process. When evaluating a particular process or system, It's a cheap and easy way to collect qualitative data on users’:

  • Attitudes
  • Emotions
  • Behaviors
  • Habits

Good interview questions tend to be open-ended, focusing on the "how" or "why." 

Usability Testing

In a usability test session, a facilitator asks a user to perform a series of tasks during a recorded session. The facilitator can then focus on observing the participant's behavior and interactions.

Before scheduling a session with a user, you’ll need to create a usability test plan to outline the process and set expectations. Next, schedule sessions with users. Be sure to get their consent before the session, making sure they understand that the session will be recorded for research purposes. If you are planning to facilitate the session, read these sample scripts for inspiration. 

And as always, contact us if you have questions about how to conduct a usability test or other UX concepts.

Quiz of the Month

Test your knowledge. See how much you know about the aesthetic-usability effect and quantitative research.