User experience researchers can learn from the investigative methods used by detectives

Absrtact: A striking similarity between good research and good detective work. In this article, let's take a closer look at what the user experience researcher can learn from the investigative methods used by detectives. Through these classic detective stories, we draw an important knot

There is a striking resemblance between good research and good detective work. In this article, let's take a closer look at what the user experience researcher can learn from the investigative methods used by detectives. Through these classic detective stories, we come to an important conclusion: if you want to be a better researcher, you should learn how to think like a detective.

There is a striking resemblance between good research and good detective work. It is not surprising, however, that all two disciplines are involved in surveys, are looking for a series of evidence, and aim to obtain solutions. But on a deeper level, the knowledge, skills, experience, methods, and skills needed have a lot in common. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that reconnaissance is research, research, and reconnaissance.

What can be learned from these excellent Sherlock Holmes detective stories for user experience research??

He includes the following five steps:

Understanding the issues to be addressed

Collecting facts

A bold assumption, an explanation of the truth

Ignore the most unlikely assumptions, and draw the scenario

Implementation programme

We can swap roles to see how these reconnaissance steps can teach us how to do good user experience research.

The 1th step is to understand the problem to be solved

"I never guessed that it was a bad habit that was very destructive to logical reasoning. "--Four Signatures" (1890)

Are you interested in the question or the answer?

There is no doubt that the answer is a question. Even asking simple questions can boost your thinking, and you lose interest once you get the answer. The curiosity of most of the user researchers and Sherlock Holmes aroused by these challenging questions is more exciting than the answer itself.

So it's confusing to focus on solutions and answers in the design area. The plan is the goal, but they shouldn't be putting the cart before the horse from the solution. As with many teams today, it's too early to focus on the design, which is getting far from the problem you want to solve.

Sherlock Holmes objected directly to seeking a solution, and he said:

"It is the biggest mistake to speculate before knowing these facts, and some will distort the facts to fit the theory instead of the theory." ”

He always starts with the mysteries of every case. It may be a letter, sometimes a newspaper story, but it usually starts with a knock on the door. The client will tell Sherlock Holmes the bizarre story, and he will get some important clues by observing the client. He also took his considerable knowledge of the subject, reviewed the situation before, and found out what he could do about possible protagonists. Use a lot of knowledge, or recall previous cases to find relevant important people. Sherlock Holmes from guessing or supposing. For Sherlock Holmes, each new case is unique and has reliable evidence. These give the initial focus and direction of the investigation.

Here are some of the ways that we can learn from Sherlock Holmes in the User Experience research:

Don't start by focusing on solutions

Create clear research questions (write down the research questions).

Don't do any research until you have any questions.

Don't make any guesses before you have any questions.

Find out what you know.

File search-First read the previous research report.

Meet with team members and stakeholders.

Use tabular methods to collect background information.

Never speculate.

Step 2nd, gather the facts.

"Material! material!" "I can't make bricks without clay," he exclaimed impatiently. "-Copper Beech Case (1892).

Although Sherlock Holmes was good at questioning, he knew that it would be an unreliable method to tell people exactly what they saw or heard, or what they knew. Opinions are not facts, and speculation cannot be evidence. Thus, his first method of collecting facts is to observe carefully:

"Watson, you know my method, it is based on the observation of the subtle things." ”

It is important to Sherlock Holmes that some of the cases appear insignificant and trivial. Subtle clues can often draw an important inference.

Observation is vital to innovation and is an important method of user experience researchers. When used in research, it helps us to understand how people actually work and what they do (not what they say they do). It also helps us focus on the details of their work, the detailed workflow, which is often not what the user can do. This is the key to determining the potential needs of users-because they don't know what is possible, so they can't articulate it.

Don't worry about the relevance of the information you capture, it's a good habit to observe. Do not filter information for data collection based on prior expectations and assumptions. Do not judge or measure this information at this stage. Do not attempt to explain the information you have observed, nor do you attempt to map the information to a scheme or plan, all of which will be considered later. Looking back at one of the success stories, Sherlock Holmes was so reminded of Watson:

"You remember, we often take a blank state of mind to take over a case, we have no forming theory, but simply to observe, which is often our advantage." ”

Now all you need to do is make sure you catch every detail. Because you can always get rid of useless information later, you may not be able to revisit the place of the crime to collect the information you missed.

You may not need to wear a disguise like a detective or lie down on the floor with a magnifying glass, but there are some that can be borrowed from Sherlock Holmes to improve our information gathering and observation skills:

Observe how the user actually works-not for demonstration purposes.

Keep in mind that these participants are experts and you are "novice".

Focus on the most typical tasks, the busiest season, the most representative dates, and the most important events.

Find out what has been done before and observe its behavior according to the task flow.

Look for difficult, protracted, and frustrating places.

Follow them wherever they go.

Find out what they want.

Obtain copies and photographs of artifacts, samples, forms and documents.

Use a chart to show the area you need to design.

Lists the tools that users use.

Note the user's dynamic and interactive behavior.

Be alert to what happens at the same time.

Record any anomalies you see at the scene.

Ask yourself if there is a missing omission.

Observe in the most detailed degree--look at what people touch and see.

Pay special attention to the sequence and time of events and actions.

Pay special attention to the details.

3rd step, bold assumption, explain the truth

"On the contrary, Watson, you can see everything." You just don't start to infer what you see. You are too short of information about unfolding inferences. "--the sapphire case in the History of Adventures (1892).

Sherlock Holmes put forward these explanations of facts based on a lot of knowledge and experience:

"Usually, in the course of what happens, I find some subtle clues, and these similar cases in my mind lead me to make some assumptions."

His knowledge is profound, but it is also very fine. He knew a lot about chemistry, footprints, all kinds of poisonous flowers (but not gardening) and blood, and he was a successful violinist. By distinguishing between 140 different types of cigars, pipes, cigarettes, and tobacco, the professional differences can be seen in his fine points of attention.

Similarly, we must use our knowledge of human behavior, technological progress, market trends and our business objectives to help us identify the most consistent models and solutions that are collected in the study.

Our hypothesis can now help us identify different ways in which people work. When we compare what we've done and what we might do in the future, the importance of doing so is evident. For our innovation and design team to discover these differences, we must fully answer questions about users, tasks, and usage environments in the process of our work. (who is doing what?)

Our models, roles, scenarios, and stories should include:

Main objective

Workflows

The establishment of mental model

Tools used

Working environment.

Term used to describe what to do

The 4th step is to ignore the most unlikely assumptions and come up with a solution

"I remember an old maxim saying that when you rule out the impossible, the rest, though impossible, must be true." "--The Green Jade Crown case in the history of adventure

Detectives face a lot of suspects, and at this point, if we do our job, we will face a lot of product ideas and solutions. In this step, we begin to overlook the least successful scenario. Detectives often ask, "is the idea consistent with the facts?" Our user researcher asks, "is the scenario consistent with the data we observe?" We started to give up some of the inappropriate options that didn't fully explain what we observed, and we applied the arcane razor and gave up programs that only fit the exception data.

We're testing. Holmes, remember, he is a scientist. He carried out the experiment.

Ignoring those possible assumptions is risky. The evidence will only support a relatively more convincing scenario. Looking for a lot of evidence in the investigation is not a new theory, but it can be used well in user experience research. I don't mean statistics, I mean reliable and effective data and the ability to predict data. The most important is the evidence without bias. In this respect, not all data can be used. This is a useful hierarchy:

Strong evidence: well-designed, independent usability testing, and responsible testers for trial version testing, archived surveys, and meta-analysis of research reports.

Strong evidence: Internal usability testing, usability testing for in-house employees, and feedback from usability experts using the product.

Weak evidence: Opinions from focus groups and surveys, feedback from friends and colleagues, opinions of managers, factual evidence.

As we enter the actual design phase, the test should work with the team to design a successful prototype during the iteration. James Dyson A very good test of the 5,127 prototype before the successful completion of the double cyclone bag-free vacuum cleaner. You may not need so many iterations to prototype, but you can't expect a step.

So what does intuition do? Doesn't it work? But first, we should dispel this misconception.

Intuition is not a wild guess. We have intuition only when we are familiar with things, and that is the nature of intuition. Being familiar with things means being experienced. So intuition is useful, it will affect our design decisions. When we read about CEO Steve F. When Jobs used his intuitive judgment to deal with things, he was like Sherlock Holmes, relying on his rich experience to deal with similar situations. He knows what works and what doesn't. But what we mean here is not the intuition of ' reckless ', ' feeling ', ' guessing '. Frankly, if you're just going to speculate, but there's no point in this phase, you might as well have guessed in the first place.

Step 5th, implementing the programme

"The best way to figure out a case is to tell the details of the case to another person." --"Silver Horse" (1892)

Whenever Sherlock Holmes broke a case, he would describe the crime to the client, Watson and the police, then the police arrested the criminal and the case was solved. Sherlock Holmes's work was done, and he accumulated an experience, and then began to detect the next case.

Here are some suggestions to ensure that the design team takes action on your findings:

Conduct a one-day design workshop and pass the user Experience research program to the design team.

Present specific and operational design recommendations to the team.

To help user experience research should give researchers a certain right

Create and propose a series of clear steps in tactics and strategy.

Schedule the new design version of the test to continue to iterate.

Training for user experience and user-centric design methods.

Leading design meetings and not just participating.

Think Like a detective.

We are exploring how to think like a detective. Did we do it?

Maybe I just want to be as perceptive as a detective--like finding posters on the wall. We all worship Sherlock Holmes, it is an indisputable fact that he has a distinct character, unlike other detectives will be disturbed-but he is a fictional character. So to understand the real life, I decided to talk to real-life detectives. I contacted an old schoolmate who recently worked in the Criminal Investigation office in West Yorkshire, and I asked him, "What would you say if you gave the new researcher a piece of advice?" He replied without hesitation: "Never, never, never act on the assumption, find out the facts and then take action against them".

Sherlock Holmes had done the best he had to tell the facts about the evidence, not to speculate not to assume. This is how to think like a detective.