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6 Reasons To Hold Off On That Tool (and Hammer)!

michele ronsen

Have you ever heard of Maslow’s Hammer? Or Kaplan’s Law of the Instrument? It’s an idea that goes something like this:

Give a small boy a hammer, and he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding.

I’m reminded of this concept every time an eager beginning researcher asks the question, “What tools or platforms should I focus on learning first?” Understandable, given the ever-changing (and honestly, for a research geek, kind of exciting) list of recruiting and conducting platforms, analysis apps, survey tools, and other tech we use.

But much like our small friend, if you head out into the world of research armed with a few shiny new tools but little idea of how the tools’ use fits into respectable research, you’re not going to be very effective — and you might accidentally smash a few things along the way!

Still think tech-first might be the way to dive in? Here are a few more reasons to think twice before investing your time in the latest tools:

  1. You won’t always have access to the same tools. Your expertise in a specific platform or tool won’t serve you well if your client or employer subscribes to a different service or has invested in different systems. And as you move between clients and employers, those tools will change again.

  2. Sometimes, you won’t need a tool at all. There isn’t always time, money, or a need to use a tool. If you’re married to your favorite tech, you might not see the more efficient solution. Sometimes intercepts, guerrilla testing, interviews and OR analytics are a better choice.

  3. You might need a tool that performs an entirely different function than the tools you know. Don’t compare tools or prioritize learning them until you have a specific research question, or use case, to evaluate them against

  4. Tools continually evolve. A strong methodological foundation will help you determine which approaches are best for the question at hand

  5. Knowing what you NEED a tool to accomplish is more important than knowing what the latest tool does. You can always acquire new tools. The key is to master the underlying methodology IN ORDER to leverage the right tools effectively

  6. Your personal ‘comfort zone’ with favorite tools can keep you from choosing the best tool. People tend to prefer the method and tool learned first — in everything (e.g. Mac users struggle with PCs). When you master a few tools before building a solid UX research foundation, you'll wind up trying to shove every study into the tools you know, because you won’t know any better. (Maslow’s hammer!)

Where to focus instead

So, instead of tools, where SHOULD a beginning researcher focus their energy? On learning how to conduct research WITHOUT the tools. Build that solid research foundation. Master how to interview well, and how to ask concise, non-leading questions. Learn how to ask the right people, the right questions, in the right way.

I recently did a presentation to the QRCA’s Academic Special Interest Group that offers a quick overview of some of these foundational concepts; an introduction to user research. It’s JAM PACKED with information. (It’s geared to instructors, but most definitely information beginning researchers can use!)

This DeltaCX episode about moderated vs unmoderated research offers more of the research study basics you’ll need to know before you pick up your first tech tool.

Check out this UX Rescue session that covers a variety of user research methods and shows you what they look like in action.

And of course, when you’re ready, the Ask Like A Pro® workshop series offers both a great foundation and upskilling experience, and a real-world project opportunity to build your portfolio as well. NOTE: The next cohort starts in March.

Happy foundation-building and upskilling! And step away from that hammer. ;)

Upcoming Events

  • Jan 26th - 9:30 AM PST: DeltaCX Podcast: The Rise of Research Ops. Tune in here. [free]

  • Feb 7th - 9:30 AM PST: CPHUX Event: How to document and present research learnings. Details to come. Register here [free]

  • Feb 8th 4 - 5:30 PM PST: Alumni Mixer/Meet-and-greet with guest speaker Julia DeBari [Alumni only]

  • Feb 16th 11 AM - 12 PM PST: Increase Your Research Efficiency, Product Management Today Event. Register here [free]

  • March 15th - 5 pm PST: Live Info Session about Ask Like A Pro with Alumni. [free] NEW DATE!!

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And that’s a wrap!

We try to alternate between a theme and UX/UXR jobs, events, classes, articles, and other happenings every few weeks. Thank you for all of the feedback. Feedback is a gift and we continue to receive very actionable input on how to make Fuel Your Curiosity more meaningful to you.

What do you think? We're constantly iterating and would love to hear your input.​

Stay curious,
- Michele and the Curiosity Tank team

PS: We’re only offering two public Ask Like A Pro cohorts this year, and the next one starts in March! If you’re ready to register, click here to grab your spot! Need a little more info? Join our live info session with Alumni on March 15th (new date!) at 5 pm PT to learn more.