UX research

Interviews, usability testing and analytics that show what users need and where they struggle.

Session 4 · booking interview 00:14:32

P4I usually book on my phone on the bus.
P4It made me log in again, so I just called instead.
ModWhat did you expect to happen?
P4I thought it would remember me. It did last time.
P4The times looked free but the clinic said they weren't.
P4A text the day before would really help.

3 highlights

What we build

Research we run

We plan and run research with your users, from interviews and usability tests to surveys and analytics, and turn it into findings your team can act on.

Generative research
Interviews and field studies that uncover needs and opportunities before designing.
Usability testing
Watching people use a product or prototype to find where they get stuck.
Information architecture
Card sorting and tree testing to organize navigation the way users think.
Surveys and benchmarks
Measure satisfaction and usability, such as SUS, across many users and over time.
Diary studies
Participants record their experience over days or weeks, capturing what interviews miss.
Research operations
Recruitment, consent, tools and a research repository set up for your team.

A researcher interviewing a participant at a table

How to get started

Three steps to a plan for UX research

1Tell us what you needUse the project form or book a call. A few sentences about the goal is enough to start.
2Free technical consultationWe go through your goals, users, existing systems and constraints with you.
3Your planA detailed plan covering the right tech stack, architecture, timeline and budget. Then you decide.

Start a project Ask a question first

How it works

Research methods we run

We choose the method for the question: what people say or do, and why or how many. Filter by context and choose a method.

Why and how to fix · qualitativeHow many and how much · quantitativeWhat people sayWhat people do

Scripted

Moderated usability testing

Participants attempt tasks while a researcher observes and asks why.

What people doWhy · qualitative

How many participants?

We plan testing in rounds so each finds as much as possible. Change the numbers to see why we run several small rounds rather than one big one.

Participants in one round5

Problems one user reveals31%

84%

of the problems found by 5 participants

The next participant adds about 5 points. Several small rounds, fixing issues in between, find more than one large round.

Our approach

How the work runs

Frame the questions
The decisions the research should inform, and the questions behind them.
Choose methods
Methods matched to the questions, sample and timeline.
Recruit
Participants who match your users, with screeners and consent.
Run sessions
Moderated or unmoderated sessions, recorded with permission.
Synthesize
Findings, evidence and recommendations the team can act on.

What we'll need from you

Having these ready keeps the work moving.

The decisions at stake
What the team needs to decide, and by when.
Access to users
Customer lists or help with recruitment and consent.
Observers
Team members to watch sessions and join synthesis.
Existing data
Analytics, support tickets and previous research.

Who's on the project

Our team, working with observers from yours.

Lead UX researcher: Plans the research and chooses methods.

Services

UX research services

Research studies
A study planned around one decision, from research plan to findings and recommendations.
Continuous research
A researcher working with your team, running a round of research every sprint.
Participant recruitment
Screeners, scheduling and incentives, from recruitment panels or your own customers.
Research repository
Findings stored and tagged in Dovetail, so your team can find and reuse them.

Deliverables

What you receive

PLResearch plan and discussion guidesPlan
PLRecruitment screener and participant schedulePlan
Session recordings and notesEvidence
FIFindings report with evidence and severityFindings
ARPersonas, journey maps or jobs to be done, where usefulArtefact
FIRecommendations and a presentation to the teamFindings

In your hands

What the documentation looks like

Every project ends with documents your team can run with. Here is an excerpt of one of them.

Research repository — Booking round 2

Booking flow usability test

Round 2 · 6 participants · moderated, remote

Finding	Participants	Severity
Couldn't find how to reschedule	4 of 6	Major
Unsure if booking was confirmed	3 of 6	Major
Missed the time-zone label	2 of 6	Minor

Recommendation

Add “Change or cancel” to the confirmation screen and email, and show a clear confirmation state with the booking reference.

Measuring success

How success is measured

What we report on in UX research projects. Which measures apply, and their targets, are agreed with you at the start.

A · MeasureB · What it tells you

Score usability in ten questions

We score usability after each round with the System Usability Scale (SUS). Answer the ten statements to see the score and its rating.

1.I think that I would like to use this system frequently.
2.I found the system unnecessarily complex.
3.I thought the system was easy to use.
4.I think that I would need the support of a technical person to be able to use this system.
5.I found the various functions in this system were well integrated.
6.I thought there was too much inconsistency in this system.
7.I would imagine that most people would learn to use this system very quickly.
8.I found the system very cumbersome to use.
9.I felt very confident using the system.
10.I needed to learn a lot of things before I could get going with this system.

SUS score

Average 68

1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree. Collected after usability tasks, SUS tracks usability release to release.

Readiness check

Are you ready for
UX research?

Five questions, about a minute. You'll see what to settle first and a sensible starting point.

Screener · UX researchQuestion 1 of 5

Is there a decision the research needs to inform?

Result

Answer each question. Your result, and anything to settle first, appears here. Nothing is sent until you choose to.

How to start

From first call to production

Start where you are. Each step ends with a decision, so you commit to the next one only when it makes sense.

Prototype · How an engagement runs

Free technical consultation

One or two sessions

Talk through the goal, the users, the systems involved and any deadlines.

Layers you receive

# A clear view of scope and priorities
# A recommended next step
# A plan covering stack, architecture, timeline and budget

Book the consultation

Estimate the value

What it could be worth to you

Enter your own figures. The formula is shown, and the estimate can go with your enquiry.

Estimate — UX research

Cost of building the wrong thing, avoided

Build cost protected

$25,000

for the project

Build budget × share at risk × share research catches

↔ Build budget for the feature or product$250,000

↔ Share at risk of being reworked or unused25%

↔ Share of that research would catch40%

Add to my enquiry

Drag a field's label left or right to change it.

Inputs

↔ Build budget for the feature or product$250,000

↔ Share at risk of being reworked or unused25%

↔ Share of that research would catch40%

Build or buy

When you don't need
a custom build

Part of the free technical consultation: when an existing product covers the need, we recommend it instead of a custom build. These are the options we weigh, alongside the tools you already have.

In your industry

Where it applies

What this work delivers in the industries we serve.

HealthcarePatient portals and appsSelf-scheduling, digital intake, secure messaging, results and bill pay, designed for accessibility and every age group.

Technologies and standards

Chosen for your project

Research platforms, chosen by the job. Choose what you need to do to see the tools that do it.

I need to…

Lookback

Live, recorded sessions with timestamped notes

UserTesting

Live conversations with recruited participants

Research platforms

Maze
Lookback
UserTesting
Optimal Workshop

Recruitment

User Interviews
Respondent
Your customer lists

Analytics

Google Analytics 4
Hotjar
Microsoft Clarity

Synthesis

Dovetail
FigJam
Miro

Next chapter

03 · Design

Turn what was learned into tested, accessible screens and a design system.

Previous: Discovery

Chapter 03

UI/UX design

Develop phase

Questions

Common questions
about UX research

How many users do you test with?

We plan it per study: several small rounds of usability testing, around five participants per user group each, with fixes in between; surveys and benchmarks use larger samples.

Can you recruit participants for us?

Yes, through recruitment panels or your own customers, with screeners so participants match your users and incentives handled for you.

Remote or in person?

Remote sessions are faster and reach more people. In-person or field research suits physical contexts, such as clinics, warehouses or stores.

How is a project priced?

Well-defined scopes, such as an audit or a set number of screens, are delivered as fixed-price engagements; ongoing product design is provided by a dedicated team. The free consultation ends with a plan covering scope, timeline and budget.

UX research

Research we run

Generative research

Usability testing

Information architecture

Surveys and benchmarks

Diary studies

Research operations

Three steps to a plan for UX research

Research methods we run

How many participants?

How the work runs

Frame the questions

Choose methods

Recruit

Run sessions

Synthesize

What we'll need from you

Who's on the project

UX research services

Research studies

Continuous research

Participant recruitment

Research repository