Interviewing people who have a interest in the success of the project, to understand the current context, ambitions and challanges. These interviews can help create a shared vision and earn trust and buy-in, but most importantly will uncover what is known and unknown within your work area.
Further reading: Stakeholder Interview Guide ↗
A guide to one-on-one conversations with people who have a vested interest in the success of the product you’re working on.
Stakeholder Analysis Template ↗Identify stakeholders and map them to the right communication plan.
Stakeholder Map Template ↗Explore the people and roles which would have influence or interest in the project.
Stakeholder Interview Question Template ↗A boilerplate structure for introductions, question categories and wrap-up for stakeholder interviews.
User research aligns the designers world-view with that of the user, enabling us to make better design decisions and as a result; better experiences, products and services.
Full details: UX Research Methods
Types of research methods, best practise examples and advice on when to use.
We want archetypes, not stereotypes
When created and used correctly, archetypes and user personas can be great guides to the expectations of users. When used incorrectly they can be distracting and misleading by containing information not important to creation of an interface or experience.
Focus on identifying and empathising with groups of people with similar needs, pain points, and behaviours – avoiding demographics or interests unless specificly designing for one of those niches. User personas typically have a single
Further reading: Fixing User Personas ↗
What to do and avoid when creating user personas.
Further reading: Personas vs. Archetypes ↗
Similar insights, but differing presentation
MIRO User Persona Template ↗Create user profiles to better understand their needs and motivations.
WIP - Update to match best practise
Listening to music is a great example of a job-to-be-done. It has been disrupted regularly as technology has evolved – from listening to live music, to records, to CDs, to Walkmans, to iPods, and now streaming services – but the core job has always remained the same.
Jobs-to-be-Done is a framework for observing markets, customers, needs and competitors. It aims to uncover the core task the user wishes to achieve, one they would be willing to 'buy' from the product or service you are creating.
Full details: Jobs-to-be-Done Introduction
What is a job-to-be-done? A desired outcome? It’s all explained in this article.
A 3 hour audiobook version of Tony Ulwick's Jobs-to-be-Done book.
Summary ArticleUX Collective's Jobs-to-be-Done overview written by Zbignev Gecis.
Jobs-to-be-Done Template ↗Understand when, how, and why customers buy your product.
The aim of a journey map is to capture steps in a users journey to complete a task, along with insights into each steps' positive and negative elements. Typicaly the horizontal axis are steps in a linear or branching journey, and the vertical axis is for themes and analysis.
Journey maps provide value by visually collecting and summarising a range of complex and numerious steps that can be easily shared with team members and stakeholders who need insights into a process but didn't not complete first-hand research.
Further reading: Beginners Guide to Journey Mapping ↗
User journey map is a visualization of an individual’s relationships with a product/brand over time and across different channels.
MIRO Journey Map Template ↗See your business from your customer’s point of view – and design the best experience for them.
Competitor analysis is best when it goes deeper than look, feel, and features – to analysising if the competitor's product's features meet their user's needs and Jobs-to-be-Done.
Using user needs, found via User Research or Journey Mapping, you can accurately review in-market competitors and see how well they help customers to complete their task/s.
What your analysis of competitors reveals might hint to how you should best launch your product service:
Further reading: A Guide to Competitor Research ↗
Tips for Successful Research, Analysis, and Presentation.
MIRO Market Positioning Template ↗Map your competitor's product market positioning.