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User Research Best Practice

User Research Best Practice

Owned by Helen Devine (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Feb 13, 2023 by Sophie Mullen (Unlicensed)
4 min read

These documents show our current thinking on user research best practice at Shelter. Please do contact Louise Roddan if you would like to discuss any of this content.

Look out for yellow boxes like this highlighting things we must do in order to meet our minimum standards.

A methodical and reusable 5 step approach to user research. Following this framework will help to identify your goal & plan your research. 

  1. Define the problem 

  2. Write a research goal 

  3. Select a method 

  4. Plan & prepare 

  5. Analyse & share 

 

 1 - Define the problem 

What problem are you trying to solve? / What is your goal? Explain how you know it’s a real problem, these questions will help… 

  • 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

In user research you're filling in gaps where there is a lack of information to solve your problem statement. Review the problem and then think about what questions can help you fill in gaps of knowledge. Keep your goal/s actionable and to the point. 

 

3 - Select a method 

Having defined ‘what’ you want to find out you can now move on to ‘how’.​ 

Is your research goal about user behaviour (what people do) or attitude (what people think)? Do you want to know why or how often? 

Never be tempted to start here - 'what and why' (steps 1 & 2) are the most important steps 

 

User behaviour 
(what people do)

Users attitudes 
(what people say)

 

User behaviour 
(what people do)

Users attitudes 
(what people say)

Why? (Qualitative) 

  • Small group workshops / focus groups 

  • Interviews 

  • Card sorting 

  • Diary studies 

 

How often? (Quantitative) 

  • Surveys 

  • Feedback 

  • Preference tests 

 

_________________________________   

What research method/s are you using? 

_________________________________ 

What is the cost?   

_________________________________ 

Have you secured this with the budget holder? (Who?) 

_________________________________ 

 

4 - Plan & Prepare 

 

Who is your audience? 

________________________________ 

How can you reach them?

Read the guide to recruiting and inviting users to take part in research activities

________________________________ 

Are you incentivising the research? 

If you are, read and observe Shelter's User Research incentive paying standards

________________________________ 

What tools, equipment, location, collaboration do you need? 

 

What tools will you be using to conduct the research?https://shelteruk.atlassian.net/l/cp/R79Pw2t0

_________________________________

Will you record the sessions? And how? 

_________________________________ 

Where will you be conducting the research?  

_________________________________ 

IF you are conducting research in the field have you been briefed on the safeguarding procedure? (Eg. Within a hub) 

If doing research “in person”, familiarise yourself with Shelter's Safeguarding Guidance

_________________________________ 

IF you are conducting research alone – what is your plan to safeguard yourself?

Read Safeguarding when conducting user research

 _________________________________ 

Do you need any support from subject matter experts?  (Are you working with vulnerable people, do you need any extra support?) 

_________________________________ 

What data do you need to collect about the user? 

 

What data will you be storing? 

_________________________________ 

Where will you store the data? 

_________________________________ 

How will you collect their informed consent? 

See Guide to recruiting and inviting users to take part in research activities for consent templates

_________________________________ 

What data do you need to collect to answer the research goal? 

 

Does this answer your research goal? 

  • Yes 

  • No 

_________________________________ 

Who will be facilitating/hosting the sessions? 

A facilitator is responsible for greeting the participants, explaining the task, agreeing consent and running the research session. 

Before conducting any user research please observe our guidance on ethics

_________________________________ 

Who will be observing? And how? 

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. 

Look for meaningful patterns, these patterns will be your valuable insights. ​ 

Refer to your problem statement, do these insights provide answers? ​ 

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: 

  • We recommend running a dress rehearsal to ensure all your tech and timings are working as expected. 

  • We recommend a channel for observers to feedback and ask questions of the facilitator during the task.  Some tools have inbuilt channels, alternatively you could try Slack – be strict with it’s purpose as it can be distracting for you and therefore disruptive for the user) 

 

For a more visual presentation of this information please see this https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVPFGRJIA=/?share_link_id=21006314891 .

 

 

 

 

 

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