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The UX Research Field Guide > UX Research Fundamentals > The User Research Process

The User Research Process

Whether you’re an experienced UX researcher, a product manager who plays
researcher from time to time, or someone new to the field entirely, we hope this guide
has a little something for everyone. 

In this chapter, we’ll focus on the UX research process as we’ll describe it throughout
the Field Guide. Think of it as a framework for infusing research throughout the
product development cycle. Your product development cycle might look a bit different
—but no matter. Details aren’t critical here and the framework is flexible.

Here it is, the UX research process in 7(ish) steps:

Step 1. Identify your research goals

This is the first and most important step in any user research study. Without clear
goals and objectives, you’re just fumbling in the dark. And that’s no way to conduct
user research.

When launching a research project or sprint, work backwards. Why are we doing this
research? What do the internal stakeholders need to learn to move the product
forward? What information would be actionable? 

To identify your research goals, consider:

What do I want to know? This is the core question, and will be further
refined into  specific, actionable, and practical research questions. 
What don’t I know? Identify knowledge gaps and limitations early, so you
can aim to correct for them.
How will I know when I’ve learned it? What must be true in order for this
research to be considered “done”?
What company goals will this work support? It’s always a good idea to be
familiar with your organization’s business model and key performance
metrics. 
Where am I in the product development process? Your research goals will
look different depending on whether you’re in the discovery, validation and
testing, launch, or ongoing listening phase. 
What decision will this research enable? How will stakeholders act on the
information you learn through your research? 
 What are the anticipated outcomes of this research? What would success x
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look like for you? 

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Pro tip: Once I determine research is, in fact, needed around a particular area,
I’ll involve my team by hosting a brainstorm session where we start to tease
apart facts, opinions & guesses related to the research area. This helps us to
think holistically about any existing research we can use and gives us a chance
to think broadly about the problem space before jumping into a specific
method. – Roberta Dombrowski, VP of User Research at User Interviews

Conduct stakeholder interviews

Your stakeholders are people who have a vested interest in the outcomes of your
research. There are external stakeholders (your users, customers) and internal
stakeholders (your boss, the product design team, clients if you work at agency). 

When we talk about stakeholder research, we’re talking about internal stakeholders.
These are the people within your organization (or client’s organization) who:

Have influence within their company and department

Make decisions about time, money, and resources
Are involved in the UX and product design process
Have information relevant to your project
Will be expected to act on research insights

People don’t have to tick every one of those boxes to be considered a stakeholder—
not at all, in fact. Any one of those criteria makes someone a qualified candidate for
stakeholder interviews (though in many cases you’ll need to narrow the list down to
someone who does, indeed tick multiple boxes on that list).

Once you’ve identified the people you need to talk to, you’re going to want to put
together a plan for interviewing them. This doesn’t need to be intricate. 

Start with your research question. In the case of stakeholder interviews, the key
question to ask yourself will be:

What do I need to learn in order to move forward with this research project?

Your answers to that question—i.e., the things you don’t yet know and need to learn—
can then be spun up into a loose moderator guide. 

Here’s an example of a stakeholder interview moderator guide:

Introductions (state your purpose)

Why is this project important? 
 What does success look like for this project? How does it fit into the broader x
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context of the business?
What is your role in this project? What would you like it to be?
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How will this project impact your day-to-day and your overall job?
What challenges do you foresee this project possibly running into?
What questions do you have for me?
Wrap it up (thank people for their time)

And here's a template for you to adapt!

We use the term ‘guide’ rather than ‘script’ intentionally—remember to leave time for
asking follow-up questions and room in the conversation for it to flow naturally. Refer
back to your guide if things start going off-track, but don’t let sticking to your list of
questions keep you from hearing the really interesting answers!

Develop the right research questions

Your research questions should stem from the goals you identified in the previous
steps. What is it that you’re trying to learn?

Good research questions are:

Specific—so you’ll know when you have found an answer. 

Practical—i.e. they can realistically be answered by your research project 
Actionable—so your team can act on the results.

For example:

Are our customers able to successfully navigate to the support page on our
site?
Which websites do people over the age of 55 use to look up information
about health?
Do people understand our blog categories and what content might belong
in them?
What tools do college students use to keep track of their schedules?
Which CTA has a higher conversion rate?

Each of these questions could be answered through targeted research, and each
would require different kinds of research and scopes of work. 

A note on why we start with a question instead of a statement or hypothesis: Starting

with a question ensures that you are focused on investigating (exploring and
searching for an answer) rather than validating your ideas (working to prove that the
solution you created is the right one). 
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Step 2: Choose your research

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methods
There are a lot of different user research methods out there. If you haven’t already
taken time to familiarize yourself with them, we recommend reading the chapters on
Types of User Research Methods and Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research.

A solid understanding of which methods to use for any given study is one of the most
powerful strategic skills a user researcher can develop. But you don’t have to rely on
your memory alone to figure out which method you choose—that’s what UX research
frameworks are for.

For now, what you need to know is that some UX research methods are better suited
than others to the:

Stage of product development you’re at (discovery, concept validation and

testing, launch, and post-launch)
Research questions you’re trying to answer (what?, why?, how?)
Type of data you need to round out your inquiry (qualitative or quantitative,
attitudinal or behavioral)
Decisions you want to enable (how are people going to act on your
findings?)

We’ll go over all that in depth in the UX Research Methodologies module, by the end
of which you’ll feel like a seasoned pro when it comes to choosing the right method
for any research study.

📖 Read more about UX Research Methodologies

Assemble your research toolkit
Once you’ve figured out your methodology, you can start assembling your toolkit.  

You will need a way to recruit good participants, talk with them and/or conduct tests,
record and take notes, run your analysis, and present your research at the end of it
all. 

Our most recommended toolset for most people starting out is: User Interviews +
Zoom + Google Docs + Google Sheets (or the Microsoft Office equivalent) + Google
Drive or your internal wiki. 

That toolkit will enable you to conduct interviews and other moderated studies
effectively, cheaply, and without the need to adopt new software. Because chances
are, you already use most of these in your day to day.
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From there, you can layer in tools made especially for user testing, surveys, card
sorting, and so on as you need them.
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There are a lot (like, a lot a lot) of user research tools out there, so once again, we
won’t be covering the full list in this chapter. You can read more about user research
tools in the Appendix. And do check out the UX Research Tools Map for a visual
overview of the current UXR tools landscape.

Step 3. Create a user research plan

A research plan creates alignments, prevents careless slip ups, and helps keep your
research focused on its goals.

Title (descriptive, clear)

Team (author/research runner, other stakeholders)
Goals (that whole start with why thing)
Methodology (which research method and evaluation criteria will you use?)
Participants (who do you need to survey, test, talk to to reach your research
goals?)
Schedule (the when and where).
Budget (how tight are those purse strings?)
Next steps (what happens when this study is over)

Put it all together in a document (feel free to borrow our UX research plan template)
and share with your stakeholders and other members of your team.
 you want to connect
with? x
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How (and how much)
will you be
compensating
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Length
How long will your
sessions be?
Stimuli
Describe everything
that will be tested
(concept/images, link
to prototype or live
site).

Overall approach & timeline

Date Action items

APPENDIX

Relevant resources
- Add links to any relevant resources here

Step 4. Recruit participants 

Research recruiting is something we know a lot about here at User Interviews. We
exist to help user researchers find, recruit, and manage participants for their studies.

The module on recruiting for UX research includes everything you need to know
about:

Identifying your ideal participants

Crafting screener surveys 
Sampling for different research methods
Finding prospective participants
Calculating research incentives
Scheduling and communicating with participants
And doing it all like a pro.

As you can tell from that list, there’s a lot to teach and a lot to learn about this critical
step in the research process! 

Here’s what you need to know about UX research recruiting in the smallest of
nutshells:
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Be crystal
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Think about the person(s) who would be able to answer the specific, practical, and
actionable research questions you defined in step 1. Write down a list of criteria that
come to mind. 

Be critical of any demographic or geographic criteria you’ve listed out. Unless

someone’s gender, race, religion, marital status, or zip code are truly relevant to your
inquiry, don’t include those details in your ideal participant profile—you’ll only end up
biasing your research and limiting the number of people you can recruit. 

Create a screener survey

A screener survey is a brief questionnaire that people take to determine whether or
not they qualify for your study.

Take your list of participant criteria and reverse engineer it into a series of questions.
Looking to recruit people who have purchased olive oil in the last 6 months? Ask
questions that will allow you to filter out anyone who hasn’t made that kind of
purchase—without hinting at the correct answer. 

For example, don’t come straight out and ask: “Have you purchased olive oil in the
last 6 months?” 

Instead, offer survey takers a list of options. For example:

Which of these pantry items have you purchased in the last 6 months:

Balsamic vinegar - reject

Soy sauce - reject
Fish sauce - reject
Olive oil - accept
Canola oil - reject
None of the above  - reject

Choose the right incentives for your audience

Now that you know who you’re going to recruit, ask yourself what kind of reward
these participants would consider fair compensation for their time. 

Consumers typically go in for cash-equivalent or gift card incentives. Government

employees, meanwhile, can’t touch those with a ten-foot pole. Diehard fans of your
product (your happiest customers) might be thrilled to receive swag in exchange for
their time. Or you might offer account credits or product discounts instead.
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The right incentive depends on the nature of your study, the type of users you’re
recruiting, and (of course) your budget. You can read more about our incentive
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Research Incentives. (Clever title, we know.)

Find and attract participants 

Okay, so this is where we come in. 

User Interviews is a one-stop shop for participant recruitment—whether you want to

recruit from your current customer list or from our audience of over 700,000 ready,
willing, and vetted research participants.

(You can also target over 140 different industries, job titles, demographics, and
custom screener criteria. If you incentivize your participants with Amazon gift cards,
we’ll manage the incentives for you.)

Prefer to go the DIY route? The chapter on how to recruit participants for user
research studies includes advice on recruiting people via social media, forums, Slack,
email, and in-app messaging.

📖 Read more about Recruiting for UX Research‍

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Step 5. Conduct some research!  

This is the really fun part.

A good rule of thumb is to research as early and as often as possible. (This will save
you from wasting time going in the wrong directions, building prototypes for solutions
no one needs.) That means there’ll be plenty of opportunities for you to practice and
hone your moderating skills. And it does take some practice! 

If you’re new to research or are here to dust off your skills, we recommend warming
up your moderating muscles with a few members of your team first.

Here are some rules of thumb for conducting moderated user research:
 Be authentic, be kind. You’re a human, they’re a human. Treat participants x
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with warmth, respect, and sensitivity (especially if you’re asking about
personal topics).
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comfortable with the awkward silences. Listen, let people pause forSign Up
thought, give them space to expand on their responses. And watch what
people do—observe behaviors and non-verbal cues.
Give context and set expectations about the outcomes of your research.
But don’t share your assumptions or hypotheses—that’s a surefire way to
bias participant responses.
Take notes. Ask a colleague to be a notetaker and/or use a transcription
tool to transcribe your sessions. This will allow you to be really present and
attentive to all the interesting micro-moments that might occur.

Step 6. Analyze and synthesize

results 
Raw research data is no use to anyone. 

User research analysis and synthesis are the processes by which data is transformed
into insights. This is the step that gives meaning to all the steps before it.

How you analyze your data will depend on the methods you used to collect it. The
biggest variable here is whether the data is qualitative or quantitative.

Quantitative data analysis is about crunching numbers to identify patterns.

Qualitative data analysis is equal part art and science—it requires interpretation by
the researcher. 

When analyzing qualitative data, ask questions like:

1. What are the major patterns and common themes in users’ responses?
2. In what context did users express the greatest emotional response to questions?
3. What interesting user stories emerged from the responses?
4. What features were most important to these users?
5. How are these users different from other users?
6. Are there any use-cases not adequately supported by the current interface?

Remember: You don’t have to wait until a study is over to start analyzing the
data—doing periodic analysis can save you loads of time at the end of a
project. Roberta Dombrowski, our VP of User Research, recommends analyzing,
synthesizing, and sharing highlights of each session as you go. 
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Step 7. Share your research findings

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Hopefully you don’t need any encouragement to share your research findings—if all
went well, you’re probably feeling excited about the insights you uncovered and are
eager to share them with your team.

But you may be wondering: How? What’s the best way to communicate user research
THE UX RESEARCH FIELD GUIDE
results to stakeholders?
Introduction

01. UX Research Fundamentals First of all, you should know that there is no single best way to report on user
i. What Is User Research? research. The best format for sharing UX research is the format that is most relevant,
ii. The User Research Process useful, and interesting to your audience.

02. Planning for UX Research

Unlike academic researchers who are expected to write up formal research reports,
03. Research Recruiting UX researchers have a lot of options when it comes to reporting on their findings. 
04. UXR Methodologies
UX research reports can be communicated as:
05. Discovery Methods

06. Evaluative Methods Written reports or summaries (here’s a copy of the UX research summary
template we use at User Interviews)
07. Continuous Research Methods
Slideshows (here’s another template for ya)—these can be presented live in
08. Analysis and Synthesis a meeting, or asynchronously as a video recording or slide deck.
09. Reports and Deliverables Interactive workshops 
Appendix Emails and/or Slack messages
Internal wiki articles 
Atomic research nuggets
Case studies

It’s also a good idea to include research artifacts and deliverables like:

Customer journey maps

User personas
Mental models
Storyboards
Affinity diagrams
Prototypes
Audio and video clips
Co-designed materials

Once again, the right one for any given study depends on your stakeholders, as well
as the type of data you’ve collected.
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And the truth is most people only need a high-level summary that highlights key
insights and takeaways (luckily, you should have a good sense of which insights
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stakeholders will care about from the stakeholder interviews you conducted inSign
stepUp1).

📖 Read more about UX Research Reports and Deliverables

Finally, a word on demonstrating

value
And that’s it! The UX research process in 7(ish) steps.

Of course, knowing what to do and how to technically do it is a huge part of the user
research battle. But actually making things happen in a real organization can yield a
whole new set of challenges. 

Your job here is to continually sell and prove the idea that research is indispensable to
the product development process at every stage. Begin by finding someone willing to
listen to you, start small, do your homework, share your insights widely.

In addition to highlighting the value research has added—creating or tweaking the

perfect prototype, building the right product in the first place—make sure to highlight
the mistakes that would have been made without research. 

Without this step, research can be ignored, be taken as unseen and hence an
unimportant aspect of product development. Often its value is in avoiding disaster (or
at least unnecessary missteps). Share these moments too. 

Once you start building the story that research is imperative within and outside
product teams, start doing more of it, sharing it more widely, perhaps even training
other teams to do it.

You’ve got this!

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