
A review of
Think Like a UX Researcher: How to Observe Users, Influence Design, and Shape Business Strategy
by David Travis and Philip Hodgson
Publisher: CRC Press 306 pages, 6 chaptersAbout this book
A good reference for Methods/How-To Primary audience: Researchers, designers, and technical roles who are new or have some experience with the topic. Writing style: Humorous/Light, Matter of fact Text density: Mostly text Learn more about our book review guidelines [/greybox] Have you ever had an issue at work that you thought was unique to your company, only to discover that the issue was widespread and had been around for years? Think Like a UX Researcher sets out to assist those of us who could benefit from the decades of knowledge and wisdom that Travis and Hodgson possess. I cannot recommend this book highly enough; it is succinct, comprehensive, and authoritative on the subject of integrating user experience research into the modern business environment. The book covers important topics in corporate user experience research methods: key perspectives that are critical for UX researchers to have, the essentials for getting a UX study up and running as well as analyzing and reporting data, and a discussion on both technical and soft skills that UXers need to have to succeed in their work. This book is recommended for those beginning in the field, but I suspect that individuals who are mid-career will also find useful information, especially if they received on-the-job training rather than in a classroom. After reading the book, an individual should have a good understanding of the skills, tools, and knowledge that are needed to begin or advance in a UX career. They should also come away with an understanding that UX research is as much a science (as Travis and Hodgson point out—it is the science of observing behavior) as it is an art. This career path takes training, rigor, and skill to advance in the field. The first chapter of the book covers what can go wrong with UX research. One of my favorite themes of this book is the insistence that behavior is what matters when making design decisions. Travis and Hodgson discuss what happens when researchers don’t take that edict seriously (bad research and results that cannot be trusted). Rather than fall into these traps, the goal is to employ as much of the scientific method as possible. The remainder of the chapter covers ways to improve the research process, broadly conceived. The second chapter dives deeper into the first phase of user research: planning what sort of research to conduct. This chapter provides the following process to uncover the optimal focus of the research: (1) meet with stakeholders, (2) unpack the root issue, (3) pick the best tool to assess the issue, and (4) start with a pilot study to ensure that you are on the right track. Other topics include the importance of conducting background research on the topic, getting stakeholder buy-in at the start of the project, and recruiting the right kind of participants. Travis and Hodgson also discuss how to properly engage with stakeholders in the early phases of a project, how to write a participant screener, and how to have an early success when starting UX research. The third chapter covers the nuts and bolts of running a user experience study, with an overview of different types of studies, such as ethnography, usability studies, and expert reviews. The fourth chapter discusses how to analyze the results of the study(s), including prompts for enhancing critical thinking when evaluating and analyzing data from studies. It also explores the value of personas, clear usability metrics, and how to construct compelling arguments for making changes when other team members are reluctant. The fifth chapter completes the overview of how to use UX researcher thinking at work, with its focus on how to convince stakeholders that research results should lead to changes. This chapter reviews the importance of thinking of the UX researcher as one member of a larger team with one goal: to improve the product offering. The authors discuss tools such as user journey maps, photo ethnography, affinity diagramming, and SCAMPER. (SCAMPER is an aid in devising solutions and to stimulate creativity; the acronym stands for substitute; combine; adapt; modify, magnify, or minify; put to use; eliminate; and reverse or rearrange.)
Jennifer Hunsecker is a Senior Data Scientist at Nielsen Global Media. She's a user advocate, qualitative researcher, and anthropologist. She loves rapid data collection and designing with privacy in mind. Twitter: @jhunsecker