UX design & research

Expert interviews

The group has a general discussion and we note any problems we can identify as being of interest to the project. The task requires re-thinking these problems and framing them as a solution, or “How might we question” and noting them on a post-it. These are then placed on the board and voted on by the group to help define our core problems or focus areas

Long-term goal and “can we” questions

We now look 2 years ahead and frame it in an optimistic light, with a single post-it looking at “in two years time…”. These are read to the group, then voted on again. We then construct “can we” questions that frame potential barriers that stop us getting to that two year goal – again, voting on the key issues

Map and target

We then look at mapping out the overall journey that our users may experience – not just the website, but any other factor that may be relevant to their overall experience of discovery, learning and using the product. Once the map is filled in, we look to place our post-its from the previous tasks on the map to see where we can solve these problems best.

Lightning demos

Now considering our focus areas on the map, we look to bring up and discuss examples of competitors and non-competitor websites that have solved these issues in a way that we can look to for inspiration.

We’re implementing human-centred design, so what can we learn about these humans?

Throughout our initial workshopping phase, we will have determined who our users are. Data may already exist, but now is an opportunity to gain a deeper level of understanding by actually speaking to them directly. 

What are some forms of user research we can facillitate?

• Moderated (with a member of a team) or unmoderated (done in isolation)
• Direct interviews
• Focus groups
• User surveys
• User and ecosystem mapping
• Empathy mapping

Within our research, we will look to determine things like:

• What are some likely user stories?
• What may drive them to use the website?
• What might encourage them to commit to certain goals?
• What common behaviour patterns can we identify?
• What can we do to optimise their onsite experience?
• Where are they coming from? Where do they go after using the website/product?
• Do we have any educated assumptions we may want to confirm or deny
• Are there any gaps in their general persona profile we would like to fill

We’ve made informed decisions to structure our early prototype, at this stage we will look to gather user insights.

Whilst direct moderated user interaction is recommended for testing, unmoderated user testing can be performed through online web tools like Useberry.

What user research can look like

• Recruiting a sample of customers that fit the required users defined throughout our initial research 
• Defining what questions we want to answer in our testing
• Setting up short testing sessions for users to take part interacting with a prototype. 
• We observe behaviour and analyse testing responses
• We may now see patterns emerge across our sample that indicate some of our initial thinking needs review and changes made to the wireframe prototype

Moderated sessions

• Users are taken through various tasks in person, being asked predefined questions, with additional prompting encouraged.
• The benefit of moderated being that we can see exactly what a user is doing and ask them exactly why

Unmoderated sessions

• Tasks are set up within a tool like Useberry where the screen is recorded and survey questions are filled out
• Users are able to take part in isolation, in their own time and anonymously 

Let’s look to your competitors (and the rest of the web) for insights and inspiration.

Your competitors have likely already spent time and budget on making improvements to their brand and website in general. This gives us the opportunity to learn from their findings and apply them to our own project, picking apart the best bits and seeing how we can improve on them – as well as sometimes determining what we don’t want to do. 

Going into a project with this info is a fantastic basis for the design team to work from, with all parties aligned on the direction we’ll be taking.

Within the analysis we look at

• Comparative user audience
• Website functionality and general UX
• User journey and content structure
• Look and feel
• Typography
• Photography/graphics

Important to note that not all websites compared will be direct competitors and may be websites that solve similar issues in a creative and user friendly way

Formulating a clear and logical information architecture is a vital step in any large content-based website.

Using a combination of methods, IA refinement involves pulling your website structure apart and putting it back together in a format that’s better catered to your direct users.

Some methods we use to define this

• Top task analysis – engaging users to rank a list of important website tasks (usually 30-50) to help determine how we will prioritise the delivery of content 
• Card sorting – helps to formulate logical groupings of large sections of information – eg. categorisation of a large number of resources
• Analytics insights – looking to gauge (always with a grain of salt) which pages see high traffic, as well as scrutinising why this may be – whilst also comparing this data to other areas of research we have already compiled.
• Usability testing – the process of testing your website designs with real users before it goes to development

Taking all the incredible data and insights we’ve collected in our research phase, a low fidelity wireframe is developed to visually highlight the structure and flow of the soon-to-be developed website.

UX design generally involves

• Sitemap development
• User journey mapping
• Wireframing and creation of low fidelity prototypes
• Analysis and synthesis of research and testing data
• Annotation and record of specific development requirements

A UX site audit is a comprehensive evaluation of a website’s user experience to identify areas of improvement and provide recommendations for enhancing the overall user experience. The audit typically involves a detailed analysis of various elements of the website, including its navigation, content, functionality, usability, visual design, performance and accessibility.

After completing the audit, a comprehensive report is prepared that includes recommendations and action items for improving the website’s user experience. These recommendations can help enhance your website’s usability, functionality, and overall user engagement, ultimately leading to a more streamlined and enjoyable experience for your users.