It S Our Research

It’s Our Research: Getting Stakeholder Buy-in for User Experience Research Projects discusses frameworks, strategies, and techniques for working with stakeholders of user experience (UX) research in a way that ensures their buy-in. This book consists of six chapters arranged according to the different stages of research projects. Topics discussed include the different roles of business, engineering, and user-experience stakeholders; identification of research opportunities by developing empathy with stakeholders; and planning UX research with stakeholders. The book also offers ways of teaming up with stakeholders; strategies to improve the communication of research results to stakeholders; and the nine signs that indicate that research is making an impact on stakeholders, teams, and organizations. This book is meant for UX people engaged in usability and UX research. Written from the perspective of an in-house UX researcher, it is also relevant for self-employed practitioners and consultants who work in agencies. It is especially directed at UX teams that face no-time-no-money-for-research situations. Named a 2012 Notable Computer Book for Information Systems by Computing Reviews Features a series of video interviews with UX practitioners and researchers Provides dozens of case studies and visuals from international research practitioners Provides a toolset that will help you justify your work to stakeholders, deal with office politics, and hone your client skills Presents tried and tested techniques for working to reach positive, useful, and fruitful outcomes

Want to know what your users are thinking? If you’re a product manager or developer, this book will help you learn the techniques for finding the answers to your most burning questions about your customers. With step-by-step guidance, Validating Product Ideas shows you how to tackle the research to build the best possible product.

Interviewing is easy, right? Anyone can do it… but few do it well enough to unlock the benefits and insights that interviewing users and customers can yield. In this new and updated edition of the acclaimed classic Interviewing Users, Steve Portigal quickly and effectively dispels the myth that interviewing is trivial. He shows how research studies and logistics can be used to determine concrete goals for a business and takes the reader on a detailed journey into the specifics of interviewing techniques, best practices, fieldwork, documentation, and how to make sense of uncovered data. Then Steve takes the process even further―showing the methods and details behind asking questions―from the words themselves to the interviewer’s actions and how they influence an interview. There is even a chapter on making sure that information gleaned from the research study is used by the business in such a way to make it impactful and worthwhile. Oh, and for good measure he throws in information about Research Operations. But, hey, that’s just the nuts and bolts of the book. The truly fun part is Steve’s voice and how he portrays this information through amusing anecdotes about his career, fascinating examples from other practitioners, and tips and tricks that only the most experienced UX researchers, like Steve, could come up with. As a nod to the pandemic, he offers ideas for the best way to interview someone remotely, and he also discusses personal bias―how to identify and deal with it so that it doesn’t affect interviews. Everyone will get something from this book. But beyond the requisite information, it’s simply a good read. And if you want another good read with stories galore, pick up Steve’s other book Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries. "Quite simply the best book on when, why, and how you should conduct user interview studies." —Elizabeth F. Churchill, PhD, Senior Director, Google Who Should Read This Book? Anyone and everyone who is interested in finding out what makes their business tick, i.e., who their users are. Anyone and everyone who wants to learn how to interview and listen to people. Anyone and everyone, including CEOs, user researchers, designers, engineers, marketers, product managers, strategists, interviewers, and you. Takeaways User research is key for companies to include in their design and development process. The best way to do user research is through interviewing users and determining their needs. Interviewing can identify what could be designed or what is actually a problem. Teams who meet their users face-to-face will build better products. Field research takes a lot of preparation to be successful―and a solid plan in advance. There are critical techniques and frameworks for mapping human behavior. A good interviewer always puts their participants at ease. If you ask the right questions, you’ll get the right answers. A smart interviewer checks their worldview at the door. To establish a rapport with your interviewee, listen and don’t be judgmental. Research data is a combination of analysis and synthesis. The importance of research analysis must be continually highlighted and emphasized to the powers that be.

Start doing good research faster than you can plan your next pitch.

The truth is, few people know the first thing about clinical research. The public reads about a medical research project that announces unbelievable results for a miraculous drug. Some years later, another investigation completely wipes out those initial favorable findings. Hormones Cut Women’s Risk of Heart Disease (San Francisco Chronicle, 1994) Hormones Don’t Protect Women from Heart Disease, Study Says (Washington Post, 2001) The people are confused because we do not understand the process behind these conflicting results. Our health, and in fact, our very lives are dependent on clinical trials, but we know little about them. This book explains the issues the public needs to be aware of when it comes to clinical research. It uncovers the problems in medical investigations that can not be overcome no matter how much care and diligence medical researchers bring to a research project. The basic premise that drives the writing is that it is impossible for medical researchers to guarantee that they can get all the right answers from a single study. No matter how good the investigators are, no matter how well a study is planned, no matter how carefully the plans are executed and no matter how conscientiously the results are analyzed and interpreted – the answer may still be wrong. The deck is stacked against medical researchers and the public – you – should be skeptical of the results no matter how impressive they seem on the surface.

Quantifying the User Experience: Practical Statistics for User Research, Second Edition, provides practitioners and researchers with the information they need to confidently quantify, qualify, and justify their data. The book presents a practical guide on how to use statistics to solve common quantitative problems that arise in user research. It addresses questions users face every day, including, Is the current product more usable than our competition? Can we be sure at least 70% of users can complete the task on their first attempt? How long will it take users to purchase products on the website? This book provides a foundation for statistical theories and the best practices needed to apply them. The authors draw on decades of statistical literature from human factors, industrial engineering, and psychology, as well as their own published research, providing both concrete solutions (Excel formulas and links to their own web-calculators), along with an engaging discussion on the statistical reasons why tests work and how to effectively communicate results. Throughout this new edition, users will find updates on standardized usability questionnaires, a new chapter on general linear modeling (correlation, regression, and analysis of variance), with updated examples and case studies throughout. Completely updated to provide practical guidance on solving usability testing problems with statistics for any project, including those using Six Sigma practices Includes new and revised information on standardized usability questionnaires Includes a completely new chapter introducing correlation, regression, and analysis of variance Shows practitioners which test to use, why they work, and best practices for application, along with easy-to-use Excel formulas and web-calculators for analyzing data Recommends ways for researchers and practitioners to communicate results to stakeholders in plain English

It’s Our School, It’s Our Time outlines a whole-school approach to teacher–pupil collaboration, illustrating how aspects of social inequality can be addressed by involvement in the school community and active participation in decision-making from an early age. The book presents insights into the psychological processes that are at work when pupils and teachers share decision-making, and how this can harness and increase motivation for teachers and their pupils. Combining both theory and examples of practice, this book provides clarity about the impact of collaborative decision-making and how it can help pupils to take ownership of their classrooms and promote greater cooperation and productivity. This book: draws on 25 stories from Dr Rowe’s own study and experiences as an educational psychologist, and the accounts of other educators and researchers. shows how teachers and school leaders have overcome some common hurdles that those in conventional schools might encounter. provides research-evidence and practical examples from real-life classrooms that will inspire teachers, teaching assistants and school leaders. Written by a highly experienced educational psychologist, this companion guide will help teachers, head teachers, teacher educators and student teachers to transform achievement, behaviour and motivation through greater collaboration with their pupils.

Digital Customer Service is the new standard for creating a 5-star customer experience As much as technology has improved our lives, for many people customer service experiences remain unnecessarily frustrating. But the advent of Digital Customer Service (DCS) promises to make these interactions seamless and effortless by creating experiences that occur entirely on a customer's own screen, even in situations where it is preferable to speak to an agent. Digital Customer Service: Transforming Customer Experience for an On-Screen World traces the evolution of customer service—as well as the evolution of customer expectations and the underlying psychology that drives customer behavior - from the days of the first call centers in the 1980s all the way to today's digital world. Written for Customer Service and Customer Experience leaders as well as C-suite executives (CEOs, CFOs, CIOs), Digital Customer Service helps business leaders balance three critical priorities: Creating an excellent experience for customers that increases customer loyalty and profitability Driving down the cost of Customer Service/Support interactions, while increasing revenue through Sales interactions Moving quickly toward the goal of "digital transformation" We have discovered—in our research and our first-hand experience—that when companies commit to achieving true Digital Customer Service, they can make significant progress toward all three of these goals at once. Digital Customer Service provides the roadmap for how your company can get there. And when you do, who wins? EVERYONE.