There is no one right way to conduct user research
A question I’m often asked as an experienced user researcher and educator is, “What’s the one mistake that every researcher makes when they first start out?”
The thing is, there’s not just one big mistake.
I've worked on hundreds of projects in my career. I've taught thousands of people in the past decade. I’ve made A LOT of mistakes and learned from them. I’ve also seen A LOT of mistakes made by others, and common misunderstandings repeated over and over again.
There are so many skills to master as a researcher — planning, screening, stakeholder relationships, moderating sessions, presenting your findings and insights (yes they are different!) — and a more diverse skillset means more ways to make mistakes.
Still, if I had to narrow my list of common mistakes or misunderstandings, it would always include these three:
First, thinking that there’s one right way to do research.
The second mistake is not understanding the importance of the research plan and stakeholder buy-in.
The third mistake is diving into one specific tool, platform, or method before mastering the art of asking great questions in live interviews that yield reliable results.
Today’s Fuel Your Curiosity newsletter expands on the above and adds in a lot of context.
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