Ux Research best-of cheat sheet guide, 2020

Best is defined here as frequently referenced resources by industry professionals

Best-of resources, templates, and links needed to practice Ux research from basics to beyond. These five areas contain references for many of your Ux Research needs.

1. UX Resources (web, book, podcast)
2. Gathering & Testing Tools (ways collect research, including templates, and resource links)
3. Mapping (Mapping tools and templates, including analytics tools)
4. How-to (sharing research with others)
5. Design tools (wireframe and UI industry favorite tools)

1. UX RESOURCES:

Web — The best in updated real-time digital content

1. Nielsen Norman Group
2. Interactive Design Foundation
3. Ux Collective (from Medium)

*more at bit.ly/12-best

Books — Traditional (and digital version) paper books

1. Rosenfeld Media books
2. O’Reilly Media books
3. Top 12 beginner UX books

Podcasts — Learn Ux with your ears while on the go

1. User Defenders (highlighting those leading the way in their craft)
2. Ux & Growth (Austin Knight, a Product Designer at Google, formerly HubSpot host guests speaking about all things Ux growth-related)
3. Wireframe (Adobe and Gimlet Creative about the stories behind interaction design)

2. GATHERING & TESTING TOOLS:

Research Types — a basic overview of three types

1. Attitudinal (say) vs. Behavioral (do)
2. Qualitative (observed) vs. Quantitative (data/metrics) testing
3. Moderated (present/connected) vs. Unmoderated (no researcher present)
   Moderated collection (how-to remote options)
   Unmoderated Usability Testing

User Interviews — Structured conversations to collect qualitative and quantitative information

1. What are Interviews, How do you do them
2. User Interview beginner guide
3. User Interviews: How, When, and Why to Conduct Them

Card Sorting — How users choose to group your information for your site navigation (menu hierarchy, for example)

Card Sorting Beginner’s Guide: Improving Your Information Architecture

1. Tactile collection — participants lay physically sticky notes/index cards out
2. Optimal Workshop — digital card sort site
3. UserLytics — digital card sort site

Heuristic Evaluation — Trained Ux practitioners or an expert reviewer evaluates an interface based on “best practices.”

10 standards of usability Nielsen Norman Group

Personas — overview w/ templates below

1. Validate/create your persona
2. Xtensio — persona template & how-to
3. Hubspot — persona template

Participatory Design Workshops — Collaborative sessions between users, designers, developers, and business decision-makers

1. Creativity-based research (Co-Designing w/ users)
2. Uxbooth — Co-Creation examples
3. Participatory design in practice

Survey Resources — Data collected by predetermined questions (Google Forms is a free resource option).

Examples of common survey questions here.

1. SurveyMonkey — create and send digital surveys
2. Typeform — people-friendly surveys and forms
3. SurveyPlanet — create and send digital surveys

Diary Studies — Participants record/write their behaviors/thoughts on a given topic at specific points over time

1. Manually — data collected by users taking pictures or writing emails (or using collected survey data)
2. DScout — users provide data throughout the day
3. Evernote — digitally collection method

Usability Testing — Real-time screen recorded audio and video feedback from users using your application

1. UserTesting — Real-time user testing (integrates w/ InVision)
2. UserBrain — continuous user testing
3. Loop11 — usability testing platform

Eye Tracking & Click/Scroll Tracking Testing — See hot spots and eye focus from users using your application/software

Pitfalls to this method: Fails to give the “why”

1. Tobii — eye-tracking with glasses
2. Crazy Egg — eye heatmap testing
3. UserZoom — records user using applications showing faces

Multivariate or A/B Testing — Various layouts of a site are shown to see which elements, colors, or buttons achieve the highest feedback/navigation outcomes (such as highest engagements, sign-ups, purchases, conversions, click-through rates, etc.).

1. Google website optimizer — helps online marketers and webmasters continually test different combinations of website content
2. Optimizely — A/B testing with various website options
3. Visual website optimizer — A/B testing to improve conversion rates

3. MAPPING TOOLS:

The four main mapping types — overview

Empathy mapping, customer journey mapping, experience mapping, service blueprinting. Below templates and sites may overlap their offerings.

Empathy Mapping — A way of capturing four quadrants as to what users think or feel, see, hear, and say or do

1. Creately.com — empathy map blank template
2. Tuzzit.com — empathy map blank template alternate
3. Interaction Design Foundation — article & free downloadable template

Customer Journey Mapping / Experience Mapping — A way of shows the process a person takes to accomplish the end goal

1. Hubspot — resources & free journey template
2. Service Design Tools — free journey map template & more
3. Journey map tool with visuals and Top 20 list

Service Blueprint Mapping — A diagram that shows relationships between processes or customer touchpoints

1. Miro.com — service blueprint template
2. Mural.co — service blueprint template variation
3. Creately.com — service blueprint template variation

Mind Map Resources — A cloud-based ways to map, capture, and share ideas and brainstorm

Ux Planet — Medium.com article on “Ux Design Methods in a Mind Map”
Ux Booth article — “Basics on Mind maps”

1. Bubbl.us — Make mind maps & collaborate online
2. Coogle.it — Share complex info. through a mind map tree
3. MindMeister — visual-based online mind maps

Data Mapping / Analytics tools — Ways to process, identify and interpret patterns in numbered inputs or informational databases

1. Tableau — for data mapping and interactive maps
2. Top 25 — list of Ux analytics tools
3. Large scale quantitative study and online calculators

4. HOW TO (SHARING RESULTS WITH OTHERS):

The way you gather user data will vary for each product according to the project, participants, money, and company resources.

Create a (longer) formal report w/ methodologies and findings using the potential variety of resources as outlined in this post then gather your data and outcomes.

Be sure to have a brief alternate way to share your results w/ other team members.

1. Write an executive summary of key information and findings — include visuals and text, prototypes w/ key interest areas, in-use videos with participants, spreadsheets, high-lighted takeaways, emotional quotes, or screenshots. These emotional responses connect the team to a broader context allowing the team to better understand and empathize with users. You can also reference related plans, research summaries, etc.
2. Share a whole team discussion of takeaway and their implications:
   What you observed
   Why it matters to the team
   What the team should do

5. DESIGN TOOLS:

Ux researchers are not the same as Ux designers although someone could ask you to fill both roles. In this case, you may be responsible for sharing sketches, wireframes, or other visual interfaces.

Below are common industry-specific tools used for User Interface (UI) design

Wireframing UI Tools

1. OmniGraffle — Diagramming and drawing app to create online wireframes and forms (for Mac & iOS)
2. UxPin — prototype and collaborate with fake interaction links
3. Balsamiq — low-fidelity wireframing

User Interface Tools

1. Adobe XD — Collaborative tool to create designs for websites, mobile apps, voice interfaces, games, and more. (Free-$9.99/month)
2. Sketch — Design platform to create, prototype, collaborate, and bring your ideas to life (Free 30 day trial)
3. Figma — Figma helps teams create, test, and ship better designs from start to finish (Free-$12/month)

More Medium.com articles about #Ux, #Design, and #Business
LinkedIn: in/kcandy
Twitter: @UxUiKris