Computer systems shouldn't make us feel bad. But they often do. Contextual usability methods can help discover social defects in user experience.| Nielsen Norman Group
Need numerical data about your product’s UX, but not sure where to start? Check out this list of the most popular quantitative methods to help you pick a tool.| Nielsen Norman Group
Digital products are competing for users’ limited attention. The modern economy increasingly revolves around the human attention span and how products capture that attention.| Nielsen Norman Group
20 user-research methods: where they fit in the design process, whether they are attitudinal or behavioral, qualitative or quantitative, and their context of use.| Nielsen Norman Group
Usability studies of corporate content distributed through Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn: users like the simplicity of messages that pass into oblivion over time, but were frequently frustrated by unscannable writing, overly frequent postings, and their inability to locate companies on social networks.| Nielsen Norman Group
In a study of people interacting with systems using machine-learning algorithms for recommendations and personalization, users had weak mental models and difficulties making the UI do what they want.| Nielsen Norman Group
Field research is conducted in the user’s natural setting. Learn the unexpected by leaving the office and observing people in their normal environments.| Nielsen Norman Group
Diary studies involve a series of tradeoffs as researchers must capture participants’ natural behaviors, but the method to do so can be intrusive and reward producing more entries.| Nielsen Norman Group
Companies must support painless transitions across channels in order to create a usable omnichannel experience.| Nielsen Norman Group
Pilot testing (a session or two before the real test) helps fine-tune usability studies, leading to more reliable results.| Nielsen Norman Group
Identifying the main themes in data from user studies — such as: interviews, focus groups, diary studies, and field studies — is often done through thematic analysis.| Nielsen Norman Group
User research can be done at any point in the design cycle. This list of methods and activities can help you decide which to use when.| Nielsen Norman Group
People tend to prefer information that confirms their existing beliefs and to undervalue information that contradicts their beliefs. With the appropriate research methods, the confirmation bias can be recognized and avoided in UX design.| Nielsen Norman Group
Visualizing user attitudes and behaviors in an empathy map helps UX teams align on a deep understanding of end users.| Nielsen Norman Group