Research and HI-FI Thorough The Google UX Course

Going deep into the Google UX course, I got to understand that before any product’s design is properly actualised series of research has to be conducted. In the user experience field a research study is conducted to get a full insight about a product.

RESEARCH STUDY

This is a step-by-step examination of a group of users’ and their needs, which adds realistic context to the design process. When conducting research studies there is a professional way to going about it;

1. Plan: map out the goal of the research.
2. Research: perform the research in accordance to the mapped out goals
3. Synthesis
4. Share: present your research findings to project stakeholders.

When performing research one of the best technique is conducting usability studies

USABILITY STUDY: a research method that assesses how easy it is for users to complete core tasks in a design. It is also the study to determine and discover pain-point users experience so as to make corrections before final product launch.

I got to know that there are elements to follow when making UX research plans, which are;

1. Project Background: this answers the question, “what led to the conduct ?”
2. Research Goals: this answers the question, “what are you trying to solve ?”
3. Research Questions: this questions are made as regards reaching the research goal.
4. Key Performance Indicators(KPIs): this measures the progress of the research towards the goal.
5. Methodology: this means the collection and analysation data of prospective users.
6. Participants: when conducting a research one have to recruit people that fits the products target audience.
7. Script: here one is required to make discussion guides.

PROJECT BACKGROUNDS: I got a broader understanding on project background, the importances, how to write an appropriate project background.

Importance of Project Background

• It gets the team on the same page at the beginning of the study.
• It shows a clear understanding on why the research is needed.
• It promotes confidence in the over all quality of the analysis and insight gotten.

How to Write Project Background

• Firstly one as to identify the signal that indicated research was needed.
• Secondly one as to make a full and detailed description of any previous research conducted.
• Lastly one should list insights the research will generate.

RESEARCH GOALS: I got to know the various types of research goals and the stages at which they are mapped out, they are;

• Fundamental Research Goal: this makes one understand why or if you should build the product.
• Design Research Goal: this makes one understand how to build the product.
• Post-Launch Research Goal: this makes one understand if the product worked as expected, this it satisfy the targeted audience.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS: when deciding on the research questions to use one has to make sure it is; actionable, specific and has no leading questions.

I also got a brief scope of KPIs; critical measures of progress towards an end goal which are;

1. Time on task: how long it takes for a user to complete a task
2. Use of navigation Vs Search action: the number of users who use the navigation compared to the search action performed within the product.
3. User error rates: this indicates the part of a design that causes the users to make errors.
4. Drop off rate: how many users abandon an experience or journey in the product.
5. Conversion rate: this measures the percentage of users who completes a desired action.
6. System Usability Scale (SUS): this is a questionnaire to measure the usability of a product. When creating a SUS the use of list options from Disagree to Strongly Disagree and then Neutral to Agree to Strongly Agree.

METHODOLOGY: this are the steps one take to conduct a research.

PARTICIPANTS: there are certain things to put into consideration when recruiting the right participants for a research;

• Characteristics
• Screener survey
• Inventive
• Diverse perspective and ability

SCRIPTS: these are thee discussion guides for the research.I got to know the few tips needed to writing a usability script

1. Use the same set of questions for each interview
2. Ask open-ended questions
3. Encourage elaboration
4. Ask the same question from different angles
5. Don’t mention other users
6. Don’t ask leading questions

When writing a script there are three stages involved;

• Getting started: sharing pleasantries with the. participants
• Usability task: performing the interview
• Conclusion: asking clarifying questions as regard the feedback from the interview, ending the session and then then them.

Into the course, I got to know the compulsory consideration to put in mind when conducting research is respecting users’ privacy and data. The users data needed to be protected are

1. Personal Identifiable Information (PII): examples are names, home address, emails, e.t.c.
2. Sensitive Personal Identifiable Information (SPII): examples are SSN, Passport numbers, gender, ,medical information, e.t.c.

So research data and privacy are to be kept properly secured by the designer or company with appropriate mediums and contracts or paperworks in place to enforce the protection.

There are two types of usability study namely;

1. Moderate: this guides the participants through the study in real time. Its limitations are that; it can influence/bias the participants and it is less flexible.
2. Unmoderated: in this type of usability study participants test out prototypes without human guidance. Its limitations little to no control over the environment and no real time follow up questions.

Notes to take during Usability study;

• Capture any thoughts that comes during the study
• Summarise a participant’s experience during the study
• Highlight compelling quotes to include in your research report

The best tool to take down Usability study data is a spreadsheet.

ANALYSE AND SYNTHESIS

RESEARCH INSIGHT: this is an observation about people that helps one understand the user or their needs from a new perspective.

The following are qualities of a strong insight;

1. Grounded in real data
2. Answer the research questions
3. Easy to understand
4. Increase empathy for the user experience
5. Inspire direct action

When sharing a research two mediums are mostly used;

• Presentation: use of Google slides, Microsoft power, Keynotes, e.t.c.
• Research Report: the use of a document with fewer visuals containing the same information as a presentation e.g Google docs, Microsoft word, e.t.c.

HIGH FIDELITY DESIGN (HI-FI)

Fidelity is how closely a design matches the look and feel of the final product. A high fidelity design is a design that closely matches the looks and feel of a final product and is more refined/polished overall.

Hi-Fi design is more about visual design; typography, colour and iconography.

• Typography: the classification, typeface and font used in the design.
• Colour: the colour that best fit the product following industry standards.
• Iconography: a system of graphic images or symbols that are associated with the product.

This might be dependent on the design system or brand identity in place if there is any.

Through the course I understood the importance of layouts, hierarchy and scale in designing.

LAYOUT: this is the way to arrange elements on page, it usually refers to the specific placement of text, style, icons, and images. The type of layouts are;

• Basic grid
• Layout grid

When implementing a layout containments and spacing are to be used. Containments are dividers, boarders, fill, and shadows, while Spacings are white spaces also called negative spacing.

HIERARCHY: this refers to a group of elements that are organised in order of importance. This helps emphasise where to focus first, what action to take. Emphasis is about making one element stand out from the other elements surrounding it.

SCALE: this explains the size relationship between a given element and the other elements in the design.

DESIGN SYSTEM is one of widely used practice in the design world. A design system a standard set of design elements or components of particular product or company in other to maintain consistency. It is sub divided into three;

Visual Style

• Typography
• Colour Palettes
• Iconography
• Grid definition

Guidelines

• Design principles
• Editorial guidelines
• Implementation guidelines

UI Patterns

• Elements
• Components
• Modules
• Templates

Supporting Codes

The provision of development codes for each elements.

Benefits of Design Systems

1. It creates consistency for designers and users
2. It re-enforce the company’s brand identity
3. It brings about scalability
4. It saves time and money by increasing efficiency
5. It helps designers and developers work together more efficiently

I also learnt to use Figma to make Hi-Fi designs and also prototype the design and share my designs of designers platforms; dribbble and behance.

This section of the Google UX course was a real eye opener about all that goes into researching and making studies; usability or case.