Random Thoughts
July 14, 2023
For those of you who do not know what UXR is, it is User eXperience Research, typically done qualitatively via a one-to-one interview format. The objectives of the research vary depending on the needs at the time, but it primarily revolves around making the user interface (be it an application, web-based interface, an operating system, or even just a dedicated user interface of a product) more intuitive and user-friendly.
Having said that, with today’s economy being so digital focused, most, if not all, businesses have some part of it online, be it pre-sale, as a sales channel, post sales, or even as a product itself (with SaaS being quite prominent nowadays). User interface (UI) design, therefore, plays a critical role in the success of a business. And UXR is the foundation for ensuring the UI design meets end-user expectations and needs.
While that is the case, many businesses, especially startups, still choose to conduct UXR on their own using their own UX/UI designer instead of spending some money and outsourcing it to specialists in the field. The end result is you risk building the UI based on biased and unreliable data, leading to a negative user experience that potentially ruins your chance for success. But instead of focusing on the negative, I am going to give you some powerful positive reasons why outsourcing UXR is the only option you should take:
An unbiased and objective-oriented research process that leads to reliable and insightful end-user intelligence: Being professionals in the field, independent UX researchers are not emotionally invested in the design, and will pose neutral and non-leading questions to end-users. Moreover, professional UX researchers are trained to get to the bottom of the why’s, which is vital in optimizing the design. Consider the example of an untrained UX designer testing his/her own design, and when the end-user expressed dislike for an aspect of the design, the designer might ask how the end-user would change the design to make it better. To a professional UX researcher, the opinion of the end-user in how he/she would change the design is unimportant, instead comprehending why the design is disliked is crucial. And it is up to the designer to change the design based on the reasons why the design is disliked.
Qualitative research is a science, professional researchers spend years being trained in it: While I have written this before in a previous post, but I will spend time going through it again as UXR is a subset of qualitative research. The gist of it is that qualitative research is a science, you need to be trained (in years) to know not only when and how to apply the various techniques (projective or otherwise), but also fundamentally how and when questions are asked. Qualitative research is much more than just having a conversation, the entire flow of the discussion needs to be strategically designed to achieve the research objectives. I remember one of my bosses in the past said to me before that I feel perfectly sums it up, “people do not often mean what they say!”, and this is precisely the job of a trained qualitative researcher—to figure out what they really mean.
It is actually more cost-effective to outsource as it sets you up for the longer term: This is probably the biggest argument here. While it is true that if you do not spend, it doesn’t cost you… well, at least not immediately. At mentioned before, if the research is conducted incorrectly, you will risk obtaining unreliable data that ultimately leads to costly and disastrous business decisions. On the other hand, if the research is designed and done correctly, it will provide you with end-user insights (fundamental expectations and needs that do not change too often) that yield an effective longer-term strategy, setting you up with success for the foreseeable future with just one outsourced qualitative study. In this sense, the outsourcing option is indeed much more cost-effective.
You will have access to a diverse set of end-user pool that otherwise you cannot reach on your own: This point I have also mentioned before in a previous post, but it is worthwhile to mention again here. Let’s be honest, who are the likely end-users you would end up recruiting in research that you are doing on your own if not your friends and family. Not only are they most likely not 100% fitting to your target market (as you rationalize they would since you are running out of options of people whom you can speak to), but they mostly likely would hold back their opinions as they would want to preserve their positive relationship with you (especially when it comes to opinions that are negative to your business). On the other hand, professional agencies can recruit from a diverse end-user pool that you cannot reach, and remain neutral to unearth objective insights from them.
So when it comes to UXR, do not fall into the trap of thinking that you can do it on your own just as effectively as professional researchers. There is simply too much at risk. At the very least send out a brief to get proposals from different UXR agencies, see what they would propose to you and how much it would cost you. It might just surprise you at the end.
Well, that’s my two cents for now. Hopefully, as always, it’s been helpful to you. Do feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts. As importantly, remember to follow us on our LinkedIn page for more! Until next time!
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