Crafting a plan to gather meaningful insights

Learn how to create a plan to collect insights.

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About collecting insights

  • Every project requires feedback from the people who will be using the product or service.
  • Those involved with the project's success have various tools and tactics at their disposal.
  • Everything from quantitative data (such as web analytics) to qualitative approaches (usability testing) can inform your strategy and design decisions.
  • It’s difficult to know when and how to use each option, and sometimes, there is no single “right” answer.

 

 

Focus on actions, not just opinions

  • Some methods that collect user feedback, such as focus groups and surveys, capture self-reported data.
    • They capture what people say they like or don't like and whether or not they consider something useful, engaging, or well-designed.
    • Unfortunately, we can’t use self-reported information as our only data source because what people say they do is often different from what they actually do.
  • We have to consider how users may be prompted to respond.
    • How a question is written may bias responses and, therefore, taint the data.
    • A required feedback form during a website experience may yield less useful data since users are focused on completing their tasks and not providing feedback.
  • What’s most useful is observing what users actually do.
  • This can be done using methods that capture behavior:
    • Web analytics can tell us what people do on a website.
    • Usability testing can tell us why they behave that way.
    • These approaches typically generate more meaningful insights than reviewing an average rating from a self-reported online survey.

 

 

Choose the right method for your research questions

  • It’s important to keep in mind the options you have when approaching the questions that require insights from customers.
  • Knowing the questions you need to answer can help you choose the best approach and provide you with the best data. 

Example

  • A customer asked our Professional Services team to run a usability study to test the structure of their site.
  • They wanted to be sure users could find what they were looking for.
  • We suggested that they run a tree test (a method for evaluating the findability of items within a site) with a larger group of participants and a usability test with a smaller number of people.
  • Using both methodologies provided more insight than a standalone usability test would.

 

 

Leverage multiple data sources for deeper insights

  • In an ideal scenario, you’ll have the option to combine more than one method or data source.
  • For example, running a usability test to determine why a specific design performed better in an A/B test is the perfect marriage of methodologies.
  • There is no single best option in your toolbox of methods or data sources.
  • Every method and data source has its own set of strengths and weaknesses.
  • The most successful plans are those that integrate both qualitative and quantitative methods.

 

 

Start small and plan for the future

Ask yourself these questions:

  • What project is happening now?
  • What questions do you need to answer?
  • How can you answer those questions with research?

Plan for your next project

  • What’s coming in the next quarter?
  • What's coming next year?
  • How can you start planning your research approach?

Notes

  • Good research is thoughtful and planned ahead of time.
  • If you spend the time to consider the big questions you’re trying to answer, you’ll be well on your way to a successful research plan.

 

 

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