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Phase: Discovery or Development

Summary: Researchers observe users in their natural environmentconduct one-to-one interviews with individual users

What is a

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User Interview?

A field study is a UX method that allows researchers to observe users in a “natural environment” in which your product might be used (e.g. homes, workplace, neighbourhoods, streets, stores). Researchers travel to the participant to observe them in their environment, rather than asking them to meet the researcher in a lab or office to conduct the study.

When to use a Field Study

Researchers should choose to conduct a field study when they need an objective understanding of what users actually do in their environment (vs. what they tell you they do). Three main reasons for choosing a field study are as follows:

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User interviews are a UX research technique in which researchers conduct one-to-one sessions with individual users, allowing the team to go beyond a surface-level understanding of user behaviour, needs and motivations. User interview questions are centered around topics of interest to the team (e.g. how

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When you need understand users in their own setting to ask good questions and understand their needs

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When you will not get accurate results testing a product in a lab (e.g. onboard ship navigation)

As this method can be time consuming, researchers generally choose this method when other techniques cannot provide similar data. Field studies are often conducted early in the development process to provide contextual overview but can also be used in other stages of the development process to inform adjustment to product details, signal a change in product direction, or add additional product layers.

Benefits and pitfalls

Benefits

• Useful in providing a foundation for future topic and feature-specific (e.g. account for temperature changes when product is in use) research

• Assists researchers in learning the product-specific language used in the field (e.g. technical language

• Understand context in which users are trying to solve a problem (e.g. trying to book an appointment while caring for two children under 5)

• Circumstances users face in their environment (commonalities and differences)

Pitfalls

• Potential high costs involved in conducting a field study (e.g. travel expenses)

• Possible complex analysis of research data (e.g. several hours of analysis may be necessary)

• Cannot conduct field studies in certain scenarios such as:

  • Unpredictable circumstances (e.g. earthquake)

  • Involves places researchers cannot visit (e.g. battlefield)

  • Need to collect sensitive information that is best suited for a lab environment (e.g. personal data)

• Be careful not to design a research plan that requires many observers, as this can destroy the “naturalness” of the setting

Planning

In general, field studies are more open-ended in comparison to other types of UX research methods. As such, a predefined list of research questions is generally not necessary. Instead, researchers should prepare designated topics of study. The level of researcher participation varies depending on the type of data required - from purely observational to direct interaction with participants (e.g. conducting user interviews and product testing).

There are generally considered to be three broad categories of field study research methods, although a single study may involve techniques from multiple categories. Research methods are outlined below.

1. Direct observation - researcher does not interact with participants

• Researchers watch participants (individual users or group of participants) to observe how they behave and why. In an ideal scenario, participants act naturally as though researchers are not watching.

• If observing participants without their direct consent (e.g. watching shoppers in a mall without their knowledge), researchers will need to keep in mind any ethical and practical limitations involving this method.

• Data gathered from this method can stand alone, or it can be used to inform later research phases.

2. Participant observation - observer interacts with individual or group as participant

• Observer joins the individual or group of people being studied and records field notes or diary entries at the end of day (e.g. market researcher who attends barbeques to identify grill design flaws).

• Ethnographic method – combines informal qualitative interviews with direct observation. Observer is no longer a “fly on the wall” and hopes the research subjects will still act normally and consider the observer to be one of their own.

• From an ethical perspective, participant-researchers must let the group know they are researchers, and hope they act naturally.

3. Qualitative interviews - observer interviews the individual or group

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Qualitative interviews can take the form of spontaneous, informal or structured inquiry.

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a system used to perform a task, gain product knowledge, discover insights into user behavior) and support a defined research goal.

When to employ User Interviews

Although it is common for user interviews to take place during the discovery phase before UX designs have been created, the method used during other stages of the development process to enhance product knowledge. Below are a few examples of when user interviews can be conducted to support UX activities:

• During the discovery phase to inform pre-design UX tools such as user personas and user journey maps

• As supplemental tool when conducting field studies to gain insight about user needs, goals, processes, and motivations that are difficult to gather from external observation only

• After a usability test to learn more about a user’s experience with a product to provide details about the user’s observed behaviour during testing

Benefits and limitations

Benefits

• Opportunity to ask user open-ended and follow-up questions

• Observe body language and emotional cues from participants describing their experiences with a product while answering interview questions

Limitations

• Human memory has its limits and may not be completely accurate

• Participants may leave out important details because they feel it is irrelevant

• Not all participants are comfortable sharing details with strangers

Planning

Things to consider when planning a user interviews are listed below.

1. Establish clear research goals and scope

At the beginning of your interview prep, it is important to clearly define research goals and scope for the interview. To help you define research goals, you can ask stakeholders and the team what they need to learn from users to inform the development process (e.g. learn more about user needs, goals, behaviours, motivations).

Researchers will also need to decide on how broad or narrow interview goals and scope should be set. If the goal is too broad, it’s possible your interview may not be successful because the questions are not relevant to the design team’s needs. Asking wrong questions can also invalidate the interview session and mislead product development.

Listed below are a few good interview goal examples:

• How do nurses feel about logging medical data, and what processes do they believe they use?

• Learn how architects share CAD drawings with engineers, and where they feel there are challenges and opportunities.

• Find out how bicycle couriers get the best route directions, and what they feel works well, where they think there are issues, and how they think things could be improved.

2. Select an interview method

User interviews can be completed in-person, by phone or virtually. In person is preferable because you can observe body language and verbal cues (tone, inflection, etc.).

3. Prepare a discussion guide

The discussion guide is generally divided into four sections: intro, topic (or product), product opportunity and product reaction questions. If users are visual communicators, interviews can be adapted to allow participants to draw what they are trying to communicate.

When preparing the interview guide, be sure to keep the script short. A good rule of thumb is to read the script out loud and see how long it takes. If it’s longer than 10 minutes, the script is too long, and needs to be adjusted. Other things to keep in mind include:

• Keep questions short (under twenty words)

• Avoid jargon or unfamiliar terms

• Remember questions about the past or future are error-prone and try to avoid if possible

• Treat script as a guide only and adapt questions during interview based on answers provided by the user to explore points of interest as they occur

• Continue to iterate the interview guide as necessary based on interview success and areas of improvement

Listed below are short descriptions of the discussion guide sections and example questions.

Intro questions

These questions are intended to provide insight into a user’s typical day-to-day activities. You may want to start off with 3-5 intro questions before jumping into topic specific questions.

Examples include:

• Tell me about your job / role within the company?

• What does your typical day look like?

• What are some of the apps and websites you use regularly?

• Any lifestyle questions related to your topic / product that will help to provide insight

Topic or product-specific questions

These questions help researchers uncover problems users experience with the topic or provide insight into how the user might aim to solve their problem with the product.

• How do you currently go about [problem / task]?

• Could you describe to me how you / your experience with [problem / task / product]?

• Walk me through how you complete [task]?

• What’s the difference between [task 1] and [task 2]?

• How much time do you typically spend on [problem / task]?

• How does this [problem / task] impact you?

• How often do you… [problem / task /product]?

• Tell me about the last time you tried to [problem / task]?

• What is the biggest pain point related to [problem / task]?

• What are you currently doing to make this [problem / task] easier?

• What do you use to solve/complete [problem / task]? Why do you use it?

• Could you describe your ideal product experience?

Product opportunity questions

These are used when researchers want to gather feedback from a demo or prototype to validate a solution. Examples include:

• What do you think of this product?

• How do you think this product is going to help you?

• Can you see yourself ever using this product?

• What might keep people from using this product?

Product reaction questions

These questions are used after the user has seen a demo or completed a few product tasks with the research team. Examples include:

• What is most appealing about this product?

• What is the hardest part about using this product?

• What could be done to improve this product?

• Was there anything missing from this product that you expected?

Follow-up questions

Researchers can use follow-up questions to dig deeper into a topic or clarify a comment. Below are a few examples of follow-up questions that can be adapted during an interview:

• You mentioned [X], can you tell me more about this?

• What do you mean by [X]?

• Why do you say [X]?

• You mentioned [X], what is the reason for that?

• Can you give me an example of [X]?

• Can you show me how you did [X]?

• Is there anything else you would like to add?

• Are there any questions you would like to ask me about the project?

Another good tool to consult is the User Interview Launch Kit https://www.userinterviews.com/launch-kit/user-interview.

Conducting the

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In many cases, when arriving on site, researchers will need to introduce themselves and get participants comfortable with the situation. Introduce yourself to participants (if necessary) and explain what you are doing. Try to get the participants comfortable with you. At the end of the study, be sure to say goodbye and follow-up with them as needed over the next few weeks. Always be sure to give something back, whether it be a simple “thank you”, or a material (e.g. product, food) or monetary gesture.

Analysis

At this stage, researchers organize their results into data, highlighting key observations and looking for patterns. After completing your initial round of research, you may decide to complete another topic-specific field study or use a different research method. Additional information on analyzing qualitative data can be found in the “User Interview” guide.

References

“Field Studies.” User Interviews, https://www.userinterviews.com/ux-research-field-guide-chapter/field-studies. Retrieved 8 Nov. 2021.

Additional Resources

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interview

Below is a list of helpful steps to take to conduct a successful user interview.

Beginning of interview

When you first meet the participant, be sure to provide a warm welcome and greet them by name. If the interview is in person, be sure to offer a drink and engage in friendly small talk to put them at ease. Be sure to explain the goals of the interview and let them know there are no right or wrong answers.

During interview

Use the interview guide to conduct interviews with participants. Be sure to keep in mind the following when conducting interviews:

• Dig deeper by asking follow-up questions as appropriate.

• Use the “Five Whys” technique. Keep asking why after the initial question is asked to get the whole story.

• Silence is golden. Remain silent after asking questions even though it may be uncomfortable. Allow the participant time to reflect and come up with an answer.

• Ask for extremes: sometimes users present an idealized situation, so you can ask them to describe an extreme situation to help uncover user pain points. For example, “What did you like / dislike most about [product / task]?” or “Tell me a time when you were really frustrated with [product / task]?

• If in doubt, ask for clarification in the moment rather than waiting until the end of the interview. You can ask “When you said [X], did you mean [X]?

• Can ask participant to show how they use product to complete task instead of discussing issue.

• Keep an eye on the time and move between topics / questions as necessary.

• Watch for non-verbal cues (e.g. eye roll, laugh, frown) to provide more insight into the participant’s user experience.

End of interview

Finish the interview with a wrap-up summary of key conversational points. Ask if they have anything else to add, and thank the participant for their time.

Things to avoid when interviewing participants

Avoid leading questions

This often happens when the interviewer’s question contains part of the answer you are expecting from the user. Interviewers also need to be careful they are not subconsciously inserting their own opinions into the questions.

Avoid filling silence even though it is uncomfortable

Participants will find it hard to resist filling the silence gap. Let the silence hang. You can also give the participants a curious expression (e.g. eyebrow lift) to initiate a conversation.

Avoid focusing on specific issues

This can lead to participants discussing issues that are not relevant to research goals (e.g. asking about the colour of a “Submit” button may cause them to notice it throughout the interview process more than they would have if it was not brought up). This is especially prevalent in user interface design discussions.

Avoid asking if users would purchase the product

Don’t ask participants about the future. Instead ask questions to reveal their intent to use or purchase the product.

Avoid answering participant’s questions

Do not answer questions related to your product or business model. Rather reframe and answer questions with questions? “Why do you think this feature is important” “How do you see it working?”

Avoid educating participants

Your goal is to get as much information from them as possible rather than educate users.

Avoid expressing your own opinion

Participants will find fault with your product. This is part of the process. Do not give them a sense of defensiveness about it or they will stop giving honest answers - which you need.

Analysis

As qualitative data can be captured in diverse formats and is subjective by nature, there are many ways to analyze the data. However, there are certain methods that can help to simplify the process and provide value.

A few key questions to keep in mind while analyzing qualitative data:

• What are the major patterns and common themes?

• Are there any findings that surprised you, the team, or the client?

• Where did users express the greatest emotional response?

• What interesting user stories emerged from responses?

• What functions are most important to users?

• What did they like most about the product? Why?

• What did they like least about the product? Why?

• What values are most important to users?

There are generally considered to be two ways to organize qualitative data: thematic analysis and content analysis. In a thematic analysis, researchers group data into different themes. Themes can be predetermined in advance during the interview planning stage or can naturally emerge from the data collected after the study is complete. A content analysis takes more of a mathematical approach and involves coding data with specific words to identify patterns.

After the analysis is complete, write a set of recommendations with actionable steps the team can implement during product development.

Common traps that may skew data

During the analyzation process, it’s also important to be aware of common traps that may skew your data:

• Present a large volume of data without completing an analysis in an attempt to remain objective

• Failing to acknowledge initial biases or assumptions about the study

• Reducing user responses to “yes” or “no” answers

Data organization

Listed below are a few tools and techniques to organize and analyze user interview data.

Spreadsheet

Create an excel spreadsheet to help highlight patterns and themes uncovered during your study.

Affinity Mapping

A diagram is created to assemble qualitative data points into meaningful groups and themes on a physical or digital board. Steps to create an affinity map are as follows:

• Write qualitative data points on post-it notes (expect to have several dozen).

• Post all the Post-its on a wall, whiteboard or digital space.

• Organize the data into themes based on what each data point suggests or problem they are trying to solve. This should take about 20-30 minutes.

• Arrange thematic data points into meaningful categories until everyone is in agreement. If there is disagreement after the timer ends, discuss with all participants and make sure everyone has their say.

Software to code qualitative data

Programs (e.g. Delve, MAXQDA, and Dedoose) can be used to “code” data with keywords to help with data organization, pattern recognition, and team collaboration.

References

Doody, Sarah. “Starter Questions for User Research.”
https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/harvarduxgroup/files/ux-research-guide-sample-questions-for-user-interviews.pdf. Retrieved 8 Nov. 2021.

Dzekman, Rick. “4 Methods for Analyzing User Interviews.” Rick Dzekman, 30 Sept. 2019,
https://rickdzekman.com/thoughts/4-methods-for-analysing-user-interviews/.

Pernice, Kara. “User Interviews: How, When, and Why to Conduct Them.” Nielsen Norman Group, 7 Oct. 2018,
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/fielduser-studiesinterviews/.

“Field Research“Research Analysis.” UX Design TemplatesUser Interviews,
https://uxdesigntemplateswww.userinterviews.com/evidence/method/ux-research-field-guide-chapter/research-analysis. Retrieved 8 Nov. 2021.“Field Studies vs. Ethnographic Studies vs. Contextual Inquiry.” YouTube, uploaded by NNgroup, 1 Jan. 2021,

Walter, Stephanie. “A Cheatsheet for User Interview and Follow Up Questions.” Stephanie Walter,

Additional Resources

“How to analyse user interviews?” UX Planet, 24 Sept, 2019,
https://wwwuxplanet.youtube.com/watch?v=ULrHIFkwDqM.Laubheimer, Page. “Doing Field Studies Remotely.” Nielsen Norman Group,
org/how-to-analyze-user-interviews-250fddb1e8d7.

Margolis, Michael. “Get better data from user studies: 16 interviewing tips.” GV Library, 7 Mar. 2012, https://wwwlibrary.nngroupgv.com/videos/remote-field-studies/. Retrieved 8 Nov. 2021.Pasia, Tania. “How to prepare for a (last minute) field user research.” UX Collective, 12 May 2018get-better-data-from-user-studies-16-interviewing-tips-328d305c3e37.

Margolis, Michael. “How to build better rapport for better research interviews.” GV Library, 2 Nov. 2017,
https://uxdesignlibrary.gv.cccom/how-to-build-preparebetter-rapport-for-a-last-minute-field-user-research-38006654ddaa-better-research-interviews-869952b6a71d.

Margolis, Michael. “User research, quick and dirty.” GV Library, 19 Feb. 2013,
https://library.gv.com/user-research-quick-and-dirty-1fcfa54c91c4.

Rosala, Maria. “How to analyse qualitative data from UX research: thematic analysis.” Nielsen Norman Group, 29 Sept. 2019,
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/thematic-analysis/.

“User Interview Launch Kit.” User Interviews,
https://www.userinterviews.com/launch-kit/user-interview. Retrieved 8 Nov. 2021.

“Writing effective reports and presentations.” User Interviews,
https://www.userinterviews.com/ux-research-field-guide-chapter/how-to-write-effective-reports-and-presentations. Retrieved 8 Nov. 2021.