Conducting User Research during the
Pandemic
By : Abhignya Srishaila
Design is often confused for art and craft. It is
very commonly misinterpreted as a tool to
enhance the visual appeal of something. But
design is not just a sketchbook of illustrations
and landscapes. It is an intuitive, informative
and a cross-disciplinary field solving real-time
problems. The design industry is a vast space of
multiple disciplines- Fashion, Automobile,
Product, Service, System Design, User
Experience Design, to name a few. The design
of a product (including its looks and the
functions) is one of the main differentiators that
helps businesses stand apart from their
competitors, and this is why companies invest in
branding, advertising, and package design
almost as much as they invest in manufacturing.
User experience design is a field that
emphasises the usability of a product, service,
or system by enhancing the experience of the
user (emotional and cognitive perceptions) that
follows it (Joo, 2017). One of the motives of UX
design, apart from the aesthetics and
ergonomics, is the fact that it arouses meaning
and emotional responses in the user. Along with
the need for a particular design solution, people
look for a sense of their own identity and worth
in the design (Merchant, 2018). The user needs,
expectations, and connections can be met
through an effective process called user
research.
“We wanted to more richly experience why we
were alive, not just make a better life…there
was definitely more to life than the materialism
of the late 50’s and early sixties. We were going
in search of something deeper.” - Steve Jobs
What is User Research?
User Research is nothing but the process of
decoding users’ motivations, triggers, mental
and behavioural processes that underlie their
challenges and needs for a product/service/
system (“User Research Basics | Usability.gov”,
2020). The psychology of users is a very
important factor in determining where the actual
problem lies. Needless to say, in a business,
understanding the market and the target
customers is of significant importance, with
respect to their culture, belief systems, location,
socio-economic status, and activity-focused
behaviour. User research is a ‘systematic’
methodology, which means it follows an
organised and a structured flow, similar to any
scientific research. The tools and methods
adopted in user research are often in sync with
the kind of insights we look to uncover. Some of
the best practices and trends of conducting user
research are ethnographic studies, in-depth
interviews, usability testing (moderated/
unmoderated) in qualitative methods, online/
offline surveys, product analytics, card sorting
as quantitative methods.
Thus, understanding the various aspects of
emotional, cognitive, and behavioural processes
of our end users helps us design and innovate
upon products and services that people find
relatable and worthy enough to use in their
lives.
“The challenge for companies that want to grow
into unfamiliar markets is not only
understanding the new cultures but also doing
so quickly”- Vijay Kumar & Patrick Whitney
Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on UX and
User Research
The consequences of the pandemic has given
rise to various emerging consumer behaviour
trends in order to acclimatise to the current
scenario. Health and hygiene tops everyone’s
list of priorities now, while travel and luxury
barely make the cut.
It is a hard-hitting reality that design is often the
first to get neglected during an economic crisis
of an organisation, due to the crunch of time,
money, and resources (Ardill, 2020). Due to the
financial crisis, many design agencies and
organisations experienced postponement or
cancellation of existing projects, client
withdrawals, and delay in product development
and launch (Khemsurov, 2020).
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