What is the Importance of User Research in User Experience Design?

Despite various search engines in the market, customers are pulled to Google and there is a reason for that. And no, the reason is not popular marketing campaigns but rather a simplistic user experience design.

 You don’t need any tutorial or step-by-step guidance to navigate Google or understand how a search needs to be conducted. According to FirstSiteGuide, Google has 1 Billion users who are making use of its product and services and this leading domain has 40,000 searches every second.

To become an unrivaled titan in a highly competitive market is not easy and various components go into making a brand such a huge success. Though, a good UX design goes a long way to achieve this, just like it did for Google. 

Customers love a website or application that is aesthetically pleasing and simple to use. User research remains an important part of user experience design and here is why you must focus on user research if your business has an application or website.

What is User Research?

User experience research is an important step for user experience design as it helps to set the foundation for a design strategy. The current market is overflowing with products and services where businesses are using new methods to gain insights and tailor-make the right product. 

There is no room for assumptions and guesswork if you are looking to offer an impeccable UX design. Instead get access to data about the customer’s preferences, expectations and behavior which will help you design a quality product. 

User research refers to the process of gathering insights that are useful for the design process. Data is gathered in a systematic manner through different research techniques to study the needs, behavior, pain point and attitude of customers towards a product or a service. These research tools can range from surveys, creating a persona, competitive analysis, journey mapping and more. 

What is the purpose of user research?

Unless you understand the impact that a design will have on an audience and know the customers’ expectations, you cannot offer them a superior user experience design. 

The key here is the user or the customer and through user research, you are able to gain insights on their needs and struggles. By putting the user first, you are creating a user-centred design that is shaped to meet the expectations of the customer.   

The purpose of user research is to get into the mind of the user and approach the product from an angle that will sit comfortably well with customer requirements. Another important thing that user research tackles is bias which means that you will not design the product or service as per your assumptions but on relevant data. 

Importance of user research in UX design?

If your customers are not getting a seamless, enjoyable and rewarding experience while using your application or website then you might want to re-think your entire user experience design. This will also impact the brand value and image along with adding to budget constraints. 

Al this can be avoided by investing time and money into user research and creating a user-friendly product or service that is clear, simplistic and easy to use. Here are some essential reasons why you must consider user research as part of the design process. 

Helps Create a Better Product 

By putting UX research at the beginning of the design process, you will be able to create a product that people would like to use. You will have all the necessary information about user preferences which you can use to create a product or service that meets user requirements. 

 Improve User Experience 

It all comes down to giving users a great experience that will keep bringing them back. Amazon is a fine example of a brand that prioritizes customer convenience and this has helped them stay on top as a leading e-commerce brand. Through, user research you can find out numerous ways in which you can make improvements in the user experience. 

Reduce Development Cost 

Exceeding the assigned budget can have negative implications for the business and these issues can be prevented early on through user research. If the business identifies user requirements at the beginning of the design process, it won’t have to spend extra on making major design changes later on. This will save costs and time for the business and also add to its brand value. 

With websites and applications becoming a norm in the business world, the emphasis on user experience (UX) has grown tremendously. If you are keen to make a career in this interesting field then check out User Experience and Interactive Design with Co-op offered by Canada College of Technology and Business (CCTB). 

This program is well suited for anyone who wants to make a career as a developer as it offers a variety of skill sets that are needed to meet the challenges that one will encounter in this field. 

 The full-time diploma program focuses on human-centred design along with fundamental design principles, sketching, prototyping and more. Since this is a co-op program, students will also gain practical work experience of 900 hours which will give them the leverage of better understanding the subject from a business point of view. 

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