Introduction
If a study has run, with no one around to hear about it, did it still happen?
WHAT IS THIS BOOK ABOUT, WHY IS THE TOPIC SO IMPORTANT, AND WHAT DOES BUY-IN MEAN?
Jotbot
If you do not care about what you do, it would be very hard to do a good job.
What is this book about?
The study was a brilliant piece of work. At least that’s what I thought. The product manager and lead engineer were happy when I joined the team. When I talked with them about the study I planned, they seemed interested. We agreed on interviewing 40 people for this study that had a goal of identifying user needs and uncovering current product pain points. The product manager wanted to use the results to help develop a detailed specifications document, which will guide the development team. I planned a study that involved four groups of participants – teenagers, students, high-tech employees, and senior citizens. I prepared a detailed discussion guide, then recruited and scheduled all 40 participants. Some of them were held in our offices and some at users’ homes. The product manager and lead engineer did not observe or join any of the interviews. I didn’t care so much. I was so excited about this project. When I was done, I sat down to analyze the huge amounts of data. It took me three weeks to complete, and in the end I proudly published a detailed report complete with screenshots, in-context pictures of users, video highlights, quotes, findings, smart insights, and recommendations.
The results collected dust.
I gave a presentation to the entire team, during which the lead engineer and some other team members argued that my data was flawed and that they thought we should develop things other than what I was suggesting. Someone said something about the users that I interviewed and that they were not the right audience. The product manager just sat there and didn’t say a word. In the following weeks, the product manager published a specification document and the team began developing the product. The document was not based on my study findings and recommendations – far from it. I heard from someone that the product manager interviewed some people, but I had no idea who, how many, or what questions were asked.
I felt really bad. Actually, a more accurate description is that I was very angry. How could they behave like that? How could this happen? Why did they not follow my recommendations? They were acting like typical product managers and engineers, I thought to myself. They just can’t develop empathy toward users. All they care about is what they think.
Did you ever have similar problems? Did you ever work with product managers, engineers, or executives who did not follow your study recommendations?
This book describes a framework, strategies, and techniques for working with stakeholders of user experience (UX) research in a way that ensures their buy-in. The primary motto of this book is that stakeholder buy-in for UX research is attained by making it theirs as much as it is yours. Involving stakeholders throughout the process of planning, execution, analysis, and reporting UX research dramatically increases the chances that they will act upon its results.
Throughout the book, I use the following terms.
User experience research. User experience (UX) research provides insights into the abilities and perspectives of people who use different products and services. It is the discipline that studies people, design, and how they interact with each other to achieve specific goals in different contexts. This book is limited to a rich and comprehensive treatment of user experiences for digital products and services, yet much of the discussion can also be applied to other types of user experiences.
A product. “If you can drop the thing on your leg, it’s a product. If you can’t, it’s a service” (unknown source). I don’t make that distinction. When I use the term “product,” I refer to desktop applications such as Microsoft Word, websites such as CNN.com, web applications such as Gmail, devices such as an iPhone, and apps such as Flipboard for the iPad. Although this book primarily discusses digital services, I also refer to products such as airplane cockpits, command and control centers of nuclear power plants, trauma patient treatment rooms in hospitals, and automobile interiors.
Stakeholders. A stakeholder in the UX world is a code name for the people with whom UX practitioners work. These are our clients, whether internal or external to our organization. These are the ones who need to believe in what we do, to act upon research results, to fund and sponsor future research. We all have a stake in product development. They have a stake in UX research.
Buy-in. “Consumption,” “uptake,” “engagement,” and “buy-in” are words I use throughout this book to indicate that stakeholders use UX research, believe in it, act upon results, support it, champion it, or evangelize it. These words are not synonyms, yet I use them interchangeably because I believe they are useful in describing how stakeholders relate to UX research.
Why was this book written?
When I meet people who practice UX research, I always ask them the same question. I ask what the top three challenges are that they face at work. Getting stakeholder buy-in for research is usually the first challenge they mention. If it’s not first, it is in the top three. People have trouble persuading stakeholders to conduct UX research to begin with. They have difficulties in getting sponsorship and budget for fieldwork. They experience hostility when they try to get their stakeholders to act upon research results.
Many UX research practitioners are frustrated.
Use One Word to Describe the Biggest Challenge in UX
Scott Smith, Cofounder and Usability Consultant, neo Insight, Canada
Neo Insight analyzed the most frequent challenges mentioned in a discussion in the User Experience group on LinkedIn. We were interested to see the challenges people like us face.
The discussion started with this question: “Can you use one word to describe the biggest challenge in UX?” Many people responded. It is a very popular discussion on the User Experience group. The group itself is popular, with dozens of thousands of members.
At the time we made our word cloud, 537 replies had been received. We analyzed the most frequent words in people’s responses and removed extraneous comments. Respondents found it difficult to choose just one word to describe their challenge.
The main clusters focus around user, design, understanding, and time. These are like headings in the word cloud. In our analysis of the responses, many frequently used words also summarize overall challenges.
The audience and user are at the center of the challenges. In one corner are challenges related to knowing the needs of users. In other corners are challenges related to design, the business, and time. All challenges relate to understanding the user, so it is at the center. Other challenges revolve around it: buy-in, understanding, input to design, and the like.
User Experience professionals have challenging jobs!
Figure 0.1 The biggest challenges for UX people (printed with permission).
When people ask me how a typical workday looks for me, I always say that 50 percent of my time is devoted to research planning, execution, or analysis, and the other 50 percent involves politics. I constantly look for ways to get better buy-in for research. I walk a fine line between joy and frustration. Joy comes from seeing people around me consume research and its results the way I expected them to. Frustration rears its head when others completely ignore or disregard research. I now work for a company that employs many people who do what I do, which is extremely encouraging. I remember the days when I was working in companies where research was not my full-time job. It was challenging to persuade people to sponsor and fund a research project, let alone get them to act upon its results. In many cases, I was not able to influence people to change their perception about the value of UX research. I even quit a job where they did not let me do it full time. I know many practitioners deal with similar challenges as I write these words. I also know that more and more companies and organizations now have a better understanding and appreciation for design and for research. Monty Python sang, “Always look on the bright side of life” even while being crucified (Life of Brian, 1979). I would also like to look on the bright side. I wrote this book to provide people who practice (or would like to practice) user experience research with strategies and techniques for getting their stakeholders’ buy-in for research. I hope you use this book to get people to better appreciate research and act upon its results.
Figure 0.2 As seen by.(printed with permission from Manu Cornet, www.bonkersworld.net)
Who is this book for?
This book is for UX people who practice usability and UX research, as well as people with other job titles who try to do research as part of another job. It is also for people who try to get others to agree to do any research. The book is written from the perspective of an in-house UX researcher and is also highly relevant for self-employed practitioners and consultants who work in agencies. It is especially directed at UX teams of one and those who face no-time-no-money-for-research situations.
If your job comes with one of the following titles (or a combination thereof), this book is most likely for you:
The structure of this book
This book includes six chapters ordered by the different stages of research projects. Each chapter ends with a useful list of its lessons. These takeaways are practical things you can apply in your workplace today to get better buy-in for UX research.
Chapter 1: If life gives you limes, make mojitos!
(Identifying stakeholders, selling user experience research, and dealing with difficult people and situations)
Chapter 1 describes the different roles of business, engineering, and user experience stakeholders. It looks at their perspective about UX research and identifies ways to deal with difficult people, teams, and organizations. It also discusses strategies for selling the value of UX research and presents the Lean Startup movement, which treats research as the most reasonable thing done by startups.
Chapter 2: Mmm … Interesting; so what exactly is it that you want to learn?
(Implementing your great participant interviewing skills on stakeholders; asking good questions, listening, saying the right things, and identifying research opportunities)
Chapter 2 is all about identifying research opportunities by developing empathy with stakeholders. The chapter introduces the most important questions to ask your stakeholders as well as tactics for handling research requests and delaying early methodology discussions. It also discusses ways to become a better listener and thinker.
Chapter 3: If you pick a methodology first, something must be wrong
(Strategies for planning studies with stakeholders and techniques for developing the right research questions)
Chapter 3 calls for detailed planning of UX research with stakeholders. It discusses research plans and how to write ones that stakeholders appreciate, focusing on the most important part of planning studies: defining goals and research questions. The chapter ends with a discussion about selecting and describing methodologies in ways to which stakeholders relate and about the power of injecting quantitative aspects into qualitative studies.
Chapter 4: What’s gonna work? teamwork!
(Hands-on techniques for collaborating with and involving stakeholders in research planning, execution, analysis, and reporting)
Chapter 4 introduces ways for teaming up with stakeholders. It describes the different stages in which UX research practitioners collaborate with stakeholders for better buy-in for research results. Collaboration with stakeholders happens when planning studies, recruiting participants, interacting with study participants, and coanalyzing the data collected and when results are reported to others.
Chapter 5: The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place
(Strategies and tools to effectively communicate research results by using reports, presentations, and more cool stuff)
Chapter 5 discusses strategies and tactics for better communication of research results to stakeholders. The chapter goes deeply into writing reports and discusses other forms of communicating results such as presentations, videos, posters, and so on. The chapter ends with a discussion about soft communication skills, such as ways to bring bad news to your team.
Chapter 6: You can’t manage what you don’t measure
(Signals that indicate research is engaging stakeholders and how you can systematically track success or failure)
Chapter 6 identifies nine signs that research is making an impact on stakeholders, teams, and organizations and describes ways to determine whether it is being used well. It also suggests techniques to track and monitor the impact of research.
Case studies and interviews
The book is supplemented by 45 short case studies contributed by UX research practitioners from all over the world. These case studies demonstrate how these practitioners got buy-in for research they conducted, including helpful insights. In addition, the book is accompanied by 30 videos that are available on the companion website (www.itsourresear.ch). Most of the videos are interviews with UX thought leaders and others who have interesting things to say about getting stakeholder buy-in for research. I interviewed in-house practitioners, consultants, people from the Lean Startup world and from academia, and even a negotiation expert and a complaint psychologist. When an interview is relevant to a certain idea, I included a reference to it. Case studies and videos come from all corners of the world, including Australia, Japan, Israel, Denmark, The Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and the United States. The list of interviewees consists of UX industry greats such as Jared Spool, Kim Goodwin, Cennydd Bowles, Caroline Jarrett, Rolf Molich, Donna Spencer, Giles Colborne, Whitney Hess, and Jeff Sauro. I am confident you’ll find these interviews insightful.
QR codes
References to book-related websites and to the videos are provided through QR (Quick Response) codes. A QR code is a two-dimensional barcode that includes information that can be read by some camera-equipped mobile devices. You can scan a code with your mobile device and be delivered straight to a specific web page.
To use a QR code, download and install a QR code reader on your smartphone or tablet computer. It will take you a minute to find an app, download, and install it. After launching the app, point your device’s camera to the code and scan it. The code will take you straight to the web page you wanted. For example, this QR code points you to the home page of the companion site for this book.
The companion website
The companion website for the book has several goals:
I’d like to start a conversation
Getting stakeholder buy-in for UX research is a moving target. Stakeholders come and go, situations change, you change. Many times, when I thought stakeholders really got it, there came a time when the same people showed that they really didn’t. This sort of thing made me want to become a lifelong learner of this topic. And I’d love for you to join the ride. What is working well for you? What do you need help with?
I hope that this book starts a conversation among UX research practitioners. I have started the conversation before and continued it while I was writing this book. I invite you to join me and continue the dialog on the companion website (www.itsourresear.ch), Twitter (@itsourresearch), Google+, and Facebook (Search for the “It’s Our Research” page).
You are also more than welcome to contact me directly at [email protected].