Methods over tools

Don't focus on tools or platforms at the beginning of your UXR journey. First, learn how to conduct user research without them. Master how to ask solid non-leading questions & interview. Then practice!!!

Here are 7 reasons why this is critical:

1. ACCESS: You won’t always have access to the same tools. Access varies depending on subscriptions & changes regularly

2. APPROPRIATENESS: There isn’t always time, $$, or a need for a tool. Sometimes intercepts, guerrilla testing, interviews & or data analytics are a better choice

3. SUITABILITY: Tools have separate functions. Don’t compare them, or prioritize learning them, until you have a specific question set, or use case, to evaluate it against

4. FAMILIARITY: 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)

5. EVOLUTION: Tech evolves. A strong methodological foundation will help you determine which approaches are best for the question at hand

6. PREFERENCE: People tend to prefer the method learned first — in everything (e.g. Mac users struggle with PCs). The first tool you learn will likely become your default platform, and it's also likely not to be the best tool long term

7. LEARNABILITY: You can always acquire new tools. The key is to master the underlying methodology in order to leverage the right tools effectively