User research: Into a wider world of users

--2009 Annual User Experience Metric project

Twitter CEO Evan Williams said "user experience is everything, but the enterprise to its attention and resources are not enough, if you do not understand the user-centric design, quickly learn!" Hire people who know the user experience, be fascinated by the user experience, experience the user experiences, and let the whole company focus on the user experience. ( Source Address ) It's not just about us. To achieve a consistent understanding of "user-centric design", at the same time, for the user Experience Department, it means higher requirements, including the discovery of user experience problems, meticulous and logical judgment and analysis.

The user Research Department uses research to provide opportunities for Taobao colleagues to access different types of users at different locations and at different times. In addition, this form of access provides an opportunity for the Cross-sectoral Taobao employees to look at the problem from different perspectives and collide with more solutions.

It is for this purpose, at the end of 09, we launched the national three research projects, focus groups and deep visits to the parallel way to investigate our users, is currently the most comprehensive research on Taobao products. Also let Taobao users can more directly to us to respond to the use of complaints and difficulties.

In the first phase, we conducted qualitative research: 9 focus groups, 20 in-depth visits, 32 product managers and designers involved, face-to-face contact with more than 90 users. We went to the user's home, the office, the school classroom, the delivery warehouse. Talk directly with one or more people, observe their life forms, Taobao sales work.

The second stage, we carried out the online questionnaire, thanks to the active participation of Taobao users, within a few days we will recall 27,000 copies questionnaires. For Taobao users, this means that they help us determine what is a very common problem and which feedback is very strong so that we can improve later.

Also exciting is that the user's feedback not only help Taobao determine which issues are needed to improve the need for us, but also collected a lot of user feedback of the valuable needs to promote further product optimization.

So after the end of the annual survey, we are still at the bottom of all the key path page placed "with Taobao said two words" an opinion collection entrance, will collect, collate user feedback as a daily work, promote our products and users closer, but also to provide users with the opportunity to improve the product. It is possible that the user's opinion has opened our direction of work.

In the case of conditions, into a broader user's world, to avoid the product developers into the mindset, to avoid guessing what users need. Therefore, we always listen to your suggestions, welcome your feedback!