Week 2: User Research

Alex Williamson
Feb 4, 2022
5 min read

Updated: May 18, 2022

Reflections

This week we explored the realms of User Research, focussing on its application, contextual inquiry and data synthesis. I’ve previously spoken about my interest in working directly with users to better understand their habits through observations, and I’m glad to have explored this through the lens of contextual inquiry.

This week’s Challenge Activity encouraged us to think about what we’d like to focus on for our assignment. First, we had to gather data by conducting user interviews; then, we wrote a problem statement and hypothesis using data synthesis techniques.

Initially, I jumped straight into “solution mode” and started designing an add-on for Google Maps whereby users would record their car’s fuel data in the app to calculate the cost of a car journey. My thinking was that if people knew how much more polluting it was to use a car than public transport, perhaps they would make the switch and start using their car less, therefore encouraging eco-friendly travel.

I hadn’t grasped that with UX; it’s not what I want; it’s what the user wants (Barnum 2010). I’d not even interviewed anyone but was already coming up with solutions to a problem that I assumed everyone had. I was doing everything I could to avoid interacting with my potential users as I was anxious about wasting time by asking the wrong questions, thus wasting other people’s time and then somehow looking like a fool. However, it quickly dawned on me that I would make no meaningful progress without understanding the needs and wants of the user. So, I wrote various open-ended questions to discover how people plan their journeys and what hurdles they come up against in the process.

My first few interviews helped with further iterations of my interview questions to gather data relevant to my assumptions. My interviewees were happy to help, and although the interviews took slightly longer than I’d anticipated (20 minutes each), I gathered lots of insightful qualitative data. From this, I used Miro to create virtual sticky notes of the main ideas and concerns discovered throughout.

During the synthesis stage, I categorised these insights and began to see patterns emerging. Although my initial assumptions were only partly validated, I deduced common concerns among my participants and found various new paths to explore. By creating “I” statements from the data, I felt closer to the users’ perspectives, allowing me to experiment with multiple “how might we” statements. I was then able to formulate my problem statement and hypothesis to clarify the direction of my project.

Once I got past the initial stage of dismay at not knowing what I was doing, synthesising my data was pivotal in regaining my confidence in the process. I’m new to the concept of Design Thinking and, in retrospect, can see why I was uncomfortable about the initial exploratory data-gathering stage. Going forward, I know this will be less of a hurdle. My main takeaway from this week is to get user interviews done early!

Weekly Tasks

Spark Forum

Think about a time when you used a product or service that did not seem to be solving the right problem. Why do you think that was? What problem was it trying to solve? How would doing more user research have helped?

Late last year, a new train operator entered the UK market with a mission to provide a greener and cheaper alternative to flying across the country. Lumo (by First Group) was met with fanfare and was a highly anticipated addition to the country’s East Coast Mainline. A smartphone app was created as one of the many channels from which sales could be generated.

What problem was it trying to solve?

Living in Edinburgh, I was excited that I could now travel to London for less than £20 as opposed to the £50+ it cost previously. The Lumo app was available around a month before the launch, allowing cheaper than normal tickets to be bought as part of a promotion. Having entered the desired start and finish stations, a list of train times and prices were populated. The new Lumo services were identifiable by the company’s logo on the bottom left of each record. Strangely though, the list also included times and prices for all the other train operators running the same or similar routes. I may as well have been looking on any other train comparison site!

Why was the wrong problem being solved?

In my opinion, Lumo was trying to demonstrate how low their prices are in comparison to other operators. Although it makes logical sense for Lumo to do this, their pricing strategy means they have tighter margins than their competitors. As such, it’s in their interest to immediately show the customer what they have to offer, thus encouraging sales. However, the UX leading up to the point of sale meant it was difficult to find the new low-cost services amongst the other services available. In the filter menu, there was the option to whittle the list down to Lumo-only trains, but if I recall correctly, this didn’t work very well. The app has now been altered to only show Lumo services, but it’s taken around 3 months for this to happen since the initial launch.

How would doing more user research have helped?

If more user research had been carried out, I think they would have discovered there was no need to list the other services alongside there’s. Good marketing practices would successfully convey the lower prices on offer thus allowing users to seamlessly choose from the available Lumo services. Further research may have allowed a better understanding of how the intended user would use the app and may have uncovered more detail about their motivations for choosing the service.

Below are some screenshots of the app from last year and this month. I couldn’t find a better screenshot of the initial app that showed more of what I spoke about above, but I hope it effectively illustrates my point.

Challenge Activity

1. User Research: Brainstorm some interview questions based on your assignment proposal, create a discussion guide and interview 3-5 people.

2. Synthesis: ‘Affinity map’ the insights from your interviews

3. Create a Problem Statement: Use the affinity map of your interview insights to create a problem statement for the UX Prototype assignment

Context

I travel either by car or public transport and find that I don’t always have all the information I want or need to make quick, easy and informed decisions. I tested this assumption with five users and found that people can face difficulties with planning across numerous platforms, encounter multiple stressors throughout, and experience general feelings of uncertainty for travelling both long and short distances.

User Interview Questions

Think of a journey you could take anywhere in the UK. How would you go about planning to get there?
Why would you plan your journey in that way?
Thinking about the steps you’d go through to plan the journey, what could be made easier for you?
If there were multiple ways you could get to a location, how would you decide between them? Comfort? Price? Weather?
Tell me about the most common issues you face when using public transport or taxis.
How does the time of day affect how you travel somewhere?
Can you tell me about the most environmentally-friendly mode of transport you know? Are you ever swayed towards using it because of its green credentials?
When travelling and in general terms, what steps do you take towards being environmentally friendly?
If there was a platform where you could plan and book all the types of travel we’ve spoken about, what benefits would that bring to you?

Problem Statement

How might we manage users’ expectations and reduce potential stressors when making short- and long-distance journeys by public transport?

Hypothesis

I believe that by creating an application that guides users through every step of planning and accomplishing a journey, stress could be alleviated and the experience could be more enjoyable, thus promoting the use of public transport as opposed to highly polluting private vehicles.

Affinity Map

References

BARNUM, Carol. 2010. Usability Testing Essentials. Morgan Kaufmann. Available at: http://www.123library.org/book_details/?id=32693 [accessed 25 Jan 2022].

SCHNOBRICH, John. 2018. Together Now. Available at: https://unsplash.com/photos/2FPjlAyMQTA [accessed 26 Jan 2022].