Last week I took you through notetaking frameworks. Several people asked for my Frameworks tool. Download it here! This week, we'll go a step further and share how analysis and synthesis is used for sense-making and spotting patterns.

Analysis and synthesis is where we make sense of the information we’ve collected in order to summarize, share, and act upon what we’ve studied and learned. Analysis is the process of breaking your notes, artifacts, and observations down into smaller parts. Synthesis is combining those parts to create and find meaning from the collected data.

Using any of the frameworks and tools I share below, you can truly right-size the data you’ve collected and expedite this portion of the UXR process. Remember, analysis and synthesis are closely intertwined.

The end goal of analysis and synthesis is to move your team to take action quickly and with confidence. Below are a number of resources for you to explore and really start to understand how critical planning and organizing is to not just your data, but also your team and stakeholders during the UXR process.

Notetaking strategies are directly related to analysis and synthesis.

Be sure to set yourself up for success at the onset. Plan with your team and stakeholders how you are going to take notes AND analyze and synthesize.

Discuss and agree on what the team will take notes about before your sessions begin
Choose how and where you'll take the notes (e.g., spreadsheets, from recordings or transcriptions, etc…)
Craft a note-taking template for the team and to ensure a consistent approach
Determine how you'll analyze the data before sessions begin (e.g., thematic analysis, affinity mapping, 2x2s, etc…)
Schedule analysis and synthesis meeting time on your (and others’) calendars before the sessions begin
Pilot the note-taking approach with your team and clarify…
Gather all the data collected, including artifacts, and make it visible

Establish a Shared Vocabulary

Make sure that your team are speaking the same language. The UX Lex is a great glossary resource to share and discuss vocabulary and key terms.

Some terms to consider when it comes to analysis and synthesis are:

Selecting Frameworks to Analyze and Synthesize

This frameworks tool will get you started thinking about which frameworks or strategies would work best for your specific research goals. These frameworks can also live on a spectrum!

Frameworks are helpful whether you take analog notes (via post-it notes, index cards, organize in ziplock bags, leverage transcription and delimiting, and color-coding), or use digital tools for your analysis such as Miro, MURAL, Airtable, Trello, Dovetail, or custom spreadsheets.

It All Comes Back to Planning!

Research plans guide us to find the specific patterns to help us achieve our research goals. Remember, all of your team and stakeholders have to be on board for how you are going to take notes and analyze and synthesize the collected data. It’s important to decide together because you want your data collecting and interpreting to be consistent and easy to understand for everyone involved.

The more diverse stakeholders you have while conducting analysis and synthesis, the more diverse patterns we can recognize, uncover, and turn into actionable, concrete steps. Different people see different patterns. They have what I refer to as “beautiful minds”!

I really want to drive this point home: It’s crucial to understand sense-making from different perspectives. You and your team will need to ask yourselves what perspectives, or lenses, the data should be viewed from and these lenses should relate directly to your study’s goals. You should be looking at the data from multiple lenses or frameworks. For example, how would a new user interpret this? An existing user? A prospect? What's effort versus impact? New requests versus repeated requests? The lenses should relate to your study goals.

Pro tips for planning:

Gather all data and make it visible, accessible, and moveable
Don’t hold onto your favorites, preferences, or assumptions
Don’t cherry-pick the data. Present and review it all, equally
Check your expectations and biases at the door
Never use research as a weapon

If you want to really dig into more examples of how to analyze your data, I invite you to watch the replay of my UXRS Alternative Analysis presentation from June 2022. It’s full of ideas and instruction on how to not only analyze but synthesize for greater findings and tie them to business goals that drive decision-making with confidence.

Speak up, get involved, and share the love!

Connect with Michele on LinkedIn for more UXR tips and UX discussions
Read about Curiosity Tank workshops. The next Ask Like A Pro series begins in late September!
Participate as an On-Demand, or as an Observer, for less!
Dive into a different UX Research term every week! Sign up for UX Lex weekly emails here.
Forward this email to someone who you think might enjoy it. Better yet, sign them up here. It will be the gift that keeps on giving.

And that’s a wrap!

We typically 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? Lmk. We're constantly iterating and love to hear your input.

Stay curious,
- Michele and the Curiosity Tank team

PS. Samantha: Our Ask Like A Pro cohort will begin in late February/Early March! Set up a personal call or Zoom with Michele to learn more!

The 3 Ps of UXR: Planning, Processing, and Patterns