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What do you already know? (About the user(s). About best practice. About the current service)
Who does it affect?
When & where is it a problem?
Why is it important to solve?
! If you don’t know your problem, it may be that you need more information to define it, this is called prep research. This is the most important stage so if you still don’t know your problem talk to the UX team to help you frame this.
2 - Write a research goal
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Is your research goal about user behaviour (what people do) or attitude (what people think)? Do you want to know why or how often?
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Never be tempted to start here - 'what and why' (steps 1 & 2) are the most important steps |
User behaviour | Users attitudes | |
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Why? (Qualitative) |
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How often? (Quantitative) |
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How can you reach them?
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Read the guide to recruiting and inviting users to take part in research activities |
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Are you incentivising the research?
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If you are, read and observe Shelter's User Research incentive paying standards |
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How will you collect their informed consent?
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See Guide to recruiting and inviting users to take part in research activities for consent templates |
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Ensure any observers are briefed on the goal so understand what is happening. Participate in note taking, feedback & analysis sessions.
! Check in with a user researcher to check this is the best method for your budget and time
5 - Analyse and share
For every 2 hours of research, plan 1 hour of analysis.
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Get all observers involved in the analysis. A group is faster, and the insight will be shared and realised far more effectively.
! If you’ve not ran an analysis session before, invite a user researcher to help facilitate and provide feedback. They can help guide how to move onto next stage.
Further considerations / recommendations:
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