Insights and findings are different. It drives me nuts when people use the term insights in place of findings. Here’s the difference:

Findings include articulated observations of things you saw and heard, including body language, tone of voice, and facial expression. 

• They represent key behaviors or attitudes that are seen or observed

• Findings are our data points. Our quotes, descriptions of who, what, how often, how many, and when, artifacts we collect, etc.

• You report on the findings that relate to the research goals directly 

• Findings come before insights - always.

We analyze and synthesize our data to uncover themes and patterns. Insights often result. Insights are interpretations of findings. They:

• Often answer the question “what does this mean?” or “why does this matter to customers?” 

• May conflict with earlier pieces of data in or outside of the study 

• Provide a fresh perspective and reveal hidden truths. They are unarticulated, a-ha’ moments!

• Speak to our audience and are memorable

Not every study will yield insights and that’s A-OK! Especially in evaluative/usability work. The results may just be extremely straightforward and that's A-OK!

If you can answer YES to AT LEAST FIVE of the questions in this checklist, you MAY have an insight. If you cannot answer YES to AT LEAST FIVE, you have a FINDING.

I can tell immediately how savvy someone is by the way they use terms like insights and findings. This is part of why I started the UX Lexicon and the original Term Tuesday email series. I'm passionate about words. User research terms are often misunderstood and this leads to confusion, rework, and other negative results. Words matter.

Please make it one of your new year's resolutions to use the right terms and discuss your definitions with your team and clients to ensure alignment.

PLOT TWIST: Findings can be just as good, or better, than insights! :)