Research: Ethnography

UX design begins with UX research. Studying the contexts in which people experience a product or application is pivotal in developing an understanding of how they engage with it, as well as to understanding the many, varied factors that lead them to the moment of engagement.

Ethnographic research is the professional practice of stepping outside of one’s own bubble and into someone else’s reality. Contextual inquiry is a method of practicing being present with users. UX professionals use these methods to understand users and the significance and complexity of their contexts, enabling designers to create nuanced experiences that users not only want, but desperately need. Read More

Who is doing the research work to recruit, observe, and understand the perspectives of users who, while they need mainstream technology solutions, also want to fulfill their basic survival, health, and safety needs? Users that societal systems have marginalized—whose voices have mostly been locked out or remain unrecognized?

Those of us who identify as members of such marginalized groups are more likely to consider the voice of the voiceless in our work. We, the authors of this article, grew up with and live around these voiceless people. In fact, they are our relatives and friends. As Black psychologists and researchers who are working in the field of User Experience, we feel compelled to share our experiences with you. Read More

Increasingly, product teams want speedy UX design processes. Even though launching minimum viable products (MVPs) has led to some very public product-design failures, they are becoming an accepted norm—or even something to celebrate—within some organizations. However, when such failures occur in the marketplace, they can alienate a product’s users and damage business results.

While usability testing and ethnographic user research can prevent such failures, many product teams believe they take too much time. But it’s easy to conduct usability testing and user research rapidly within the context a Lean or agile software-development process, enabling you improve your UX designs and avoid wasted investment and embarrassment. Read More