So, what is collaborative user research?

Hopefully, you now understand the value in performing user research and you may be wondering how to begin integrating it into your project process. Happily at the end of this article you will find a list of valuable resources you can use to learn more about it. However, there is one method that our team has begun experimenting with over the last year called “collaborative user research” which has not only proven to be extremely effective but can also be performed very quickly.

Each session involves only our existing project team and approximately one day of everyone’s time. Using simple screen sharing software and a conference line, our entire team (from developers to project stakeholders) remotely observes a user research session where 3–4 participants are individually asked to complete specific tasks or scenarios. As previously mentioned, this can consist of providing feedback on a pencil sketch or attempting to complete a scenario using a clickable prototype.

The facilitators of these sessions are actual people from our project team who use a simple script to walk a participant through each task. While the session is occurring the project team takes notes and records key insights.

Afterwards, our team quickly debriefs and determines the top actionable usability challenges. We try to only identify the most significant issues and not get bogged down in details which can be refined as we iterate. Since our team collectively observes the sessions in real time, it results in a shared understanding and improvements are typically easily determined. As a bonus, the entire process is highly engaging for team members and provokes creative thought and collective problem solving.

Shedding bias and project assumptions

More bias is carried into a project than you may believe. As someone immersed in the digital world, you may carry the bias of known interaction patterns and modern interface symbols. You may believe everyone is “just like you” and perceives the digital world in a similar way. It is easy to forget how Aunt Mildred perceives the digital world and that a hamburger menu symbol may not be a familiar icon to her.

In addition to personal bias there is also project bias. This is where a team can fall victim to the effect of “groupthink” (where creating harmony amongst team members can outweigh more strategic decisions). These types of bias can negatively impact the end user experience.

Collaborative user research can help shed these biases with fresh perspective. When an entire project team witnesses a user struggling with a product, it can rally them together to champion the user’s cause.

What types of issues are determined during these sessions?

One of the most interesting outcomes of user research is the importance of simple content and clear direction. Most of the feedback we receive is around confusing instructions or unclear terminology. This has gone a long way towards incorporating content writers into our design process from a very early stage.

Other usability issues that are commonly discovered include: