UX Researcher

Expert-level user experience research for product decisions.

Core Competencies

• Qualitative research methods

• Quantitative research methods

• Usability testing

• Survey design

• Data synthesis

• Research operations

• Stakeholder communication

• Research ethics

Research Methods

Method Selection Matrix

Method Type Sample Time Best For

Interviews Qual 5-15 2-4 weeks Deep understanding

Surveys Quant 100+ 1-2 weeks Validation at scale

Usability Tests Qual 5-8 1-2 weeks Design validation

Card Sorting Qual 15-30 1 week Information arch

A/B Testing Quant 1000+ 2-4 weeks Feature optimization

Diary Studies Qual 10-20 2-4 weeks Behavior over time

Analytics Quant All Ongoing Behavioral patterns

Ethnography Qual 5-10 4-8 weeks Contextual understanding

When to Use What

DISCOVERY PHASE ├── Stakeholder interviews ├── Competitive analysis ├── User interviews └── Contextual inquiry

DEFINITION PHASE ├── Surveys (quantitative validation) ├── Card sorting └── Persona development

DEVELOPMENT PHASE ├── Concept testing ├── Usability testing ├── A/B testing └── Preference testing

LAUNCH PHASE ├── Beta testing ├── Launch surveys └── Analytics monitoring

POST-LAUNCH ├── Customer feedback ├── NPS surveys ├── Behavioral analytics └── Support ticket analysis

User Interviews

Interview Planning

Research Plan: [Study Name]

Research Questions

1. [What are we trying to learn?]
2. [What are we trying to learn?]

Hypotheses

• [What we think we'll find]

Methodology

• 60-minute semi-structured interviews
• Remote via Zoom
• Recording with consent

Participant Criteria

Include:

• [Criterion 1]
• [Criterion 2]

Exclude:

• [Criterion 1]

Sample Size

• 8-12 participants
• Segment distribution: [breakdown]

Timeline

• Recruiting: [dates]
• Sessions: [dates]
• Analysis: [dates]
• Presentation: [date]

Team

• Lead researcher: [name]
• Note-taker: [name]
• Observers: [names]

Interview Guide

Interview Guide

Introduction (5 min)

"Thank you for joining. I'm [name], a researcher at [company]. We're talking to people about [topic]. There are no right or wrong answers. We'll record this session. Is that okay?"

Background (5 min)

• Tell me about your role at [company].
• How long have you been doing [activity]?

Current Behavior (15 min)

• Walk me through how you currently [task].
  • Probe: What tools do you use?
  • Probe: Who else is involved?
• What's the hardest part about [task]?
• Tell me about a recent time when [problem].

Pain Points (10 min)

• What frustrates you most about [process]?
• If you could change one thing, what would it be?
• What workarounds have you developed?

Concept Testing (15 min) [if applicable]

• [Show concept] What's your first impression?
• How would you expect this to work?
• What questions do you have?
• Would this solve your problem? Why/why not?

Wrap-up (5 min)

• Is there anything else you'd like to share?
• Any questions for me?
• May we follow up if we have more questions?

Post-Interview

• Thank you email
• Compensation processing
• Note consolidation

Note-Taking Template

Interview Notes

Participant: P[#] Date: [date] Researcher: [name] Duration: [time]

Key Quotes

"[Quote about pain point]" "[Quote about behavior]"

Observations

• [Body language, hesitations]
• [Emotional reactions]

Pain Points Identified

1. [Pain point]
2. [Pain point]

Needs Identified

1. [Need]
2. [Need]

Surprises

• [Unexpected finding]

Follow-up Questions

• [Question for next interview]

Usability Testing

Test Plan

Usability Test Plan

Objectives

• Measure task completion for [feature]
• Identify usability issues
• Validate design decisions

Methodology

• Moderated usability testing
• Think-aloud protocol
• 45-minute sessions

Participants

• 5-8 participants
• [Criteria]

Tasks

Task 1: [Task Name]

Scenario: "Imagine you need to [context]..." Task: "[Specific action to complete]" Success Criteria:

• [Criterion 1]
• [Criterion 2]

Task 2: [Task Name]

Scenario: "[Context]" Task: "[Action]" Success Criteria:

• [Criterion 1]

Metrics

• Task completion rate (target: 80%+)
• Time on task (baseline: X seconds)
• Error rate
• SUS score (target: 70+)
• Task-level satisfaction (1-5)

Materials

• Prototype link
• Task script
• Recording consent
• Pre-test questionnaire
• Post-test questionnaire (SUS)

Severity Rating Scale

Severity Description Action

0 Not a problem None

1 Cosmetic Fix if time

2 Minor Low priority fix

3 Major High priority fix

4 Catastrophic Must fix before launch

Findings Template

Finding: [Title]

Severity: [0-4] Frequency: [X/N participants]

Description: [What happened during testing]

Evidence:

• P1: "[Quote]"
• P3: "[Quote]"

Screenshot/Video: [Link]

Impact: [Effect on user experience]

Recommendation: [Suggested fix]

Survey Design

Survey Structure

1. SCREENER (2-3 questions)

   • Qualification criteria
   • Segment identification

2. CORE QUESTIONS (10-15 questions)

   • Topic 1: [3-4 questions]
   • Topic 2: [3-4 questions]
   • Topic 3: [3-4 questions]

3. DEMOGRAPHICS (3-5 questions)

   • Role/industry
   • Company size
   • Experience level

4. OPEN-ENDED (1-2 questions)

   • "Anything else to share?"

Question Types

Rating Scales:

Likert (Agreement): Strongly disagree → Strongly agree Satisfaction: Very dissatisfied → Very satisfied Frequency: Never → Always Importance: Not important → Very important NPS: 0-10 likelihood to recommend

Best Practices:

• Use consistent scale direction

• Include "Not applicable" option

• Randomize option order where appropriate

• Limit matrix questions

• Test on mobile

Sample Size Calculator

For 95% confidence, 5% margin of error:

Population → Sample Needed 100 → 80 500 → 217 1,000 → 278 5,000 → 357 10,000 → 370 100,000 → 383 1,000,000 → 384

Data Synthesis

Affinity Mapping

STEP 1: Individual notes on sticky notes STEP 2: Group similar notes together STEP 3: Name the groups (themes) STEP 4: Identify patterns across groups STEP 5: Prioritize by frequency/impact

Theme 1: [Name] Theme 2: [Name] ├── Finding A ├── Finding D ├── Finding B ├── Finding E └── Finding C └── Finding F

Insight Development

OBSERVATION → INSIGHT → IMPLICATION

Observation: "Users click the help icon frequently on the checkout page" Insight: "Users are confused about shipping options during checkout" Implication: "Redesign shipping section with clearer labels and defaults"

Research Report Structure

Research Report: [Study Name]

Executive Summary

• [Key finding 1]
• [Key finding 2]
• [Key recommendation]

Background

• Research questions
• Methodology
• Participants

Key Findings

Finding 1: [Title]

• Evidence
• Quotes
• Impact

Finding 2: [Title]

...

Recommendations

Appendix

• Participant demographics
• Full task results
• Survey responses

Research Operations

Research Repository

research/ ├── 2024/ │ ├── Q1/ │ │ ├── checkout-usability/ │ │ │ ├── plan.md │ │ │ ├── guide.md │ │ │ ├── notes/ │ │ │ ├── recordings/ │ │ │ └── report.md │ │ └── onboarding-interviews/ │ └── Q2/ ├── templates/ ├── participant-database/ └── insights-library/

Participant Management

participant_criteria:

• active_user: true
• account_age: ">90 days"
• not_contacted: "last 90 days"

compensation:

• 30_min_interview: $50
• 60_min_interview: $100
• survey: $10
• diary_study: $200

scheduling:

• tool: Calendly
• buffer: 15 min
• max_per_day: 4

Reference Materials

• references/research_methods.md

• Method deep dives

• references/survey_design.md

• Survey best practices

• references/synthesis.md

• Analysis techniques

• references/ethics.md

• Research ethics guide

Scripts

Interview transcript analyzer

python scripts/transcript_analyzer.py --folder transcripts/ --themes themes.yaml

Survey analyzer

python scripts/survey_analyzer.py --responses responses.csv --output report/

Usability metrics calculator

python scripts/usability_metrics.py --results test_results.json

Insight database updater

python scripts/insight_db.py --add finding.md