Learn about the basics of UXR, a use case around Usability testing, and Tells & Smells that things are going well or badly, and resources to learn more!

1. Engineers need
to learn UXR
Neha Batra
@nerdneha

2. OH HI!
I am Neha Batra
Engineering Manager @ GitHub
User Research Enthusiast
2
@nerdneha

3. OH HI!
I am Neha Batra
Engineering Manager @ GitHub
User Research Enthusiast
Not a UX Researcher
Not a great User Interviewer
3
@nerdneha

4. OH HI!
I am Neha Batra
Engineering Manager @ GitHub
User Research Enthusiast
Not a UX Researcher
Not a great User Interviewer
Aware of this
4
@nerdneha

5. OH HI!
I am Neha Batra
Engineering Manager @ GitHub
User Research Enthusiast
Not a UX Researcher
Not a great User Interviewer
Aware of this
5
You can still follow me, though!
@nerdneha
@nerdneha

6. Anti-Goals
▹ Require you to learn UXR
▹ Replace what experts do
▹ Tell you all the methods
▹ Help you do the wrong things
6
@nerdneha

7. Anti-Goals
▹ Require you to learn UXR
▹ Replace what experts do
▹ Tell you all the methods
▹ Help you do the wrong things
7
Basically my talk title is a trick.
@nerdneha

8. Anti-Goals
▹ Require you to learn UXR
▹ Replace what experts do
▹ Tell you all the methods
▹ Help you do the wrong things
8
Basically my talk title is a trick.
sorry not sorry
@nerdneha

9. Anti-Goals
▹ Require you to learn UXR
▹ Replace what experts do
▹ Tell you all the methods
▹ Help you do the wrong things
9
Basically my talk title is a trick.
sorry not sorry
@nerdneha

10. Goals
▹ Basics of UXR
▹ Usability Testing
▹ Tells and Smells
▹ How to learn more
10
@nerdneha

11. What/Why/When/Who
is UXR
Let’s talk basics

12. “
Supposing is good, finding
out is better
- Mark Twain
12 @nerdneha

13. What is UXR
User Experience Research
▹ Research techniques
▹ Understand our user
▹ Assumption validation
▹ Improve product/user fit
▹ 100+ techniques
13
Photo from #WOCinTech Chat @nerdneha

14. Why UXR
▹ Save a ton of $$ avoiding
features/products users
don’t want
▹ Mitigate risk in a big release
or feature launch
▹ Find underlying problems
14
Photo from #WOCinTech Chat @nerdneha

15. Why UXR
▹ Save a ton of $$ avoiding
features/products users
don’t want
▹ Mitigate risk in a big release
or feature launch
▹ Find underlying problems
▹ Figure out you’re wrong
earlier and faster
▹ Sleep at night
▹ Embarrassment
contained
15
Photo from #WOCinTech Chat @nerdneha

16. Why UXR
▹ Save a ton of $$ avoiding
features/products users
don’t want
▹ Mitigate risk in a big release
or feature launch
▹ Find underlying problems
▹ Figure out you’re wrong
earlier and faster
▹ Sleep at night
▹ Embarrassment
contained
16
Photo from #WOCinTech Chat
Because you’re a badass Engineer and
this is a tool just like any other
@nerdneha

17. When to do UXR
▹ NOW
▹ Early & Often
▹ It depends
▹ 5 stages
￭ Discover
￭ Explore
￭ Prototype
￭ Launch
￭ Monitor
17
Photo from #WOCinTech Chat @nerdneha

18. 18https://www.nngroup.com/articles/which-ux-research-methods/ @nerdneha

19. 19https://www.nngroup.com/articles/which-ux-research-methods/ @nerdneha
I’ll go into Usability Testing!!

20. Who does UXR
▹ Legit UX Researchers
▹ Designers?
▹ Engineers?
▹ You?
▹ Team Effort!
￭ Work with PM,
Designer, Teammates
￭ Find local UXR expert
20
Photo from #WOCinTech Chat @nerdneha

21. UXR Job Description
▹ Conduct independent research
▹ Collect and analyze user behavior
through [many techniques]
▹ Work with Designers, Product Managers,
Engineers, and other UXRs to prioritize
research opportunities
▹ Understand and incorporate complex
technical and business requirements into
research
▹ Advocate research findings to diverse
audiences through written reports and
in-person presentations
21
Photo from #WOCinTech Chat @nerdneha

22. UXR Job Description
▹ Conduct independent research
▹ Collect and analyze user behavior
through [many techniques]
▹ Work with Designers, Product Managers,
Engineers, and other UXRs to prioritize
research opportunities
▹ Understand and incorporate complex
technical and business requirements into
research
▹ Advocate research findings to diverse
audiences through written reports and
in-person presentations
22
Photo from #WOCinTech Chat
So legit.
Reach out to your group! Or..
Hire one
@nerdneha

23. UXR Summary
What
Set of research
techniques to learn
about your users
● Influence design
● Validate
assumptions
● Avoid
product/user fit
issues
When
● Now
● Forever
● Early
● Often
● 5 stages
Discover
Explore
Prototype
Launch
Monitor
Who
● Legit UX
Researchers
● Designers?
● Engineers
● You?
● Team Effort!
23
@nerdneha

24. Usability Testing
A dive into ONE research method
...that I used...yesterday….

25. Usability Testing
Usability Testing = quick validator before release
When: Feature done-ish, “Test” phase, pre-launch (or post)
What: Give user app/feature with a few tasks and observe
Why: Identify frustration/confusion points, validate
assumptions, understand you vs. user’s app usage, gain
confidence
Steps:
1. Design script & app environment
2. Recruit & Schedule
3. Test
4. Reflect & Prioritize bugs + enhancements
25
@nerdneha

26. 26
@nerdneha

27. 27
Agree on target user
Structure
Worries ->
assumptions
Focus
@nerdneha

28. Step 1: Design
Make a plan. Choose a scenario. Write a script.
▹ Who: Users who don’t code
▹ Assumptions: Intuitive to compare branches
▹ Warmup: who’s in room, no wrong answer
▹ Qualitative: Workflow
▹ Scenario: Update README with spelling errors
1. Basic task - commit change + check it
2. (2nd person add code to master)
3. Have user see changes
4. Ask questions
28
@nerdneha

29. Step 1: Design
Assumption Table
29
@nerdneha

30. Find people. Prevent biases. Schedule them.
▹ Base on target persona
￭ Years experience
￭ Familiarity with domain
￭ Past behavior similar
▹ Pre-vet to make sure you’re targeting expected users
￭ Send survey/google form
￭ Screen phone call
▹ Communication channels
￭ Bias in twitter and GitHub repositories (OSS)
￭ Bias in whoever responds usually
▹ Minimum 5 scheduled
￭ Same day / week
￭ Gap in between to write notes
Step 2: Recruit
30
https://medium.com/@mitchelseaman/the-right-number-of-user-interviews-de11c7815d9
@nerdneha

31. Step 3: Test
Stress about the details so you can relax day-of
▹ Practice first
▹ Test A/V day-of a few times
▹ Backup x3
▹ Get a Notetaker
▹ Record your sessions
31
@nerdneha

32. Step 3: Test
Stress about the details so you can relax day-of
▹ Practice first
▹ Test A/V day-of a few times
▹ Backup x3
▹ Get a Notetaker
▹ Record your sessions
▹ It’s exhausting
▹ Go with the flow
▹ Alternate shifts
32
@nerdneha

33. Step 4: Reflect
Share your knowledge. Celebrate. Prioritize
▹ Dump and Sort
▹ Observation session
▹ Document write-up
￭ People love quotes
▹ Did you validate your assumptions?
33
@nerdneha

34. Step 4: Reflect
Share your knowledge. Celebrate. Prioritize
▹ Dump and Sort
▹ Observation session
▹ Document write-up
￭ People love quotes
▹ Did you validate your assumptions?
▹ Conclusions != 100% users
▹ Bugs
￭ Are they show stopping?
￭ Magnitude of Pain
￭ Number of users affected
34
@nerdneha

35. 35
@nerdneha

36. Usability Testing Summary
Step 1: Design
● Who
● Assumptions
Table
● Qual questions
● Demo Setup
● Situation-based
Step 2: Recruit
● Target persona
● Pre-vet users
● Look for bias
● Minimum 5
scheduled
● Same day /
week
Step 3: Test
● Practice
● Have backups
● Notetaker
● Record
● Breaks/shifts
36
Step 4: Reflect
● Dump and sort
● View session
● Write-up
● Prioritize Bugs
@nerdneha

37. Usability Testing Summary
Step 1: Design
● Who
● Assumptions
Table
● Qual questions
● Demo Setup
● Situation-based
Step 2: Recruit
● Target persona
● Pre-vet users
● Look for bias
● Minimum 5
scheduled
● Same day /
week
Step 3: Test
● Practice
● Have backups
● Notetaker
● Record
● Breaks/shifts
37
Step 4: Reflect
● Dump and sort
● View session
● Write-up
● Prioritize Bugs
Homework:
● take your feature to a user
● ask them “suppose you wanted to do
X”
● see what they do!
@nerdneha

38. Tells & Smells
Behaviors and phrases to look out for

39. Tells
▹ Ask for specifics
▹ Past experiences
▹ Workarounds
▹ Shortcuts/”Hacks”
▹ Surprise
▹ Delight
▹ Suggestions
Tells & Smells
39
@nerdneha

40. Tells
▹ Ask for specifics
▹ Past experiences
▹ Workarounds
▹ Shortcuts/”Hacks”
▹ Surprise
▹ Delight
▹ Suggestions
Tells & Smells
Smells
▹ Task takes too long
▹ Accomplishes
different task than
asked
▹ Gives up
▹ Frustration,
confusion
▹ “Feels stupid”
40
@nerdneha

41. Learn More!
Books, Blogs, and Sites!

42. Books
Universal Methods of Design
Just Enough Research
Shout Outs@ampinsk @leedohm @notdetails @annthurium @billyroh
@vanessayuenn @mvenetucci @donokuda (Brian Bloniarz)
Sites/Blogs 42
https://medium.com/@mitchelseaman/the-right-number-of-user-intervie
ws-de11c7815d9
https://uxdesign.cc/a-crash-course-in-ux-design-research-ea00c3307c82
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ux-research-cheat-sheet/
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/which-ux-research-methods/
http://guidetouxr.com/p/index.html?User_Research_Basics
(photos: https://www.wocintechchat.com)

43. THANKS!
Any questions?
Neha Batra
@nerdneha
43