Introduction

Our Approach

The User Experience Research (UXr) team serves to represent the customer’s point of view in the digital product development process. We inform Product, Channel and Design decisions by providing timely and actionable insight into how customers use and perceive both current and potential products and features. As part of a cross-functional team, we convert research findings into user-centered solutions that are continuously refined through ongoing qualitative and quantitative testing.

Process

Overview

The User Experience Research (UXr) team works within both agile and traditional development cycles. We partner with stakeholders to identify key business and design objectives. Research road-maps are tailored to each individual project, and can incorporate a range of research methodologies from our capabilities set.

Methodologies

We recommend the right methodology based on hypotheses/assumptions, project objectives, life-cycle stage of the product, and relevance to other business initiatives. Common methodologies we employ throughout the product life-cycle include:

Testing Curve

Ethnography

Customers are observed in their own home or work environments, so the development teams can understand their behaviors and processes in a regular, everyday context.

Contextual Inquiry

Customers guide us through their process of completing critical tasks, such as paying a bill or reconciling transactions. We ask questions along the way to help us better understand the ‘whys’ behind their behavior.

Focus Groups/Rapid Round Tables

Before we initiate the design process, we validate and prioritize efforts by hosting discussions with customers in a group setting, to get feedback on new and exploratory concepts.

Co-Creation

We involve customers in the design process, inviting them to problem-solve with our team to help bring their ideas and potential solutions to life — designing with the user.

Card Sorting

Customers help us prioritize decisions around information architecture by sorting topics into various categories based on their preferences. This can be done on the lab or online.

Usability Testing

We conduct bi-weekly usability testing in an off-site lab to obtain quick feedback from customers. In addition to usability, the core focus of this testing is utility and comprehensibility of designs. We incorporate rapid iterative testing and evaluation (RITE method) when appropriate.

In-Depth Interviews (IDIs)

Whether we’re exploring a new concept or want customer feedback on an existing one, we conduct in-depth one-to-one interviews to give each customer more time to reflect on their experiences.

Expert Review

Before we take a project into the usability lab, we may first employ a reviewer to identify and address any major heuristic and usability issues.

Remote Testing

We often conduct remote testing as a way to complement other qualitative research efforts in a more scaled-up way, sometimes across multiple markets. Remote testing helps us pin point the ‘what,’ and employing more behavior-based methods help us uncover the “why”.

A/B Testing

In instances where we have two design variants that equally address customer needs, we work with our quantitative research team to understand which variant leads to better conversion. Sometimes combined with Remote Testing.

Multivariate Testing

When we have multiple design variants, we partner with our quantitative research team to understand which combination of variants leads to the most successful customer experiences.

Journey Mapping

A customer’s interactions with our products and services don’t occur within a vacuum. So we map out these interactions, taking into consideration all channels — those that customers interact with and the ones behind the scenes.

Competitive Benchmarking

We benchmark our digital experiences against key competitors to help understand potential gaps in our offering, and to inform our future research and design decisions.