Using research results in decision-making

A guide for implementing research and audience feedback in product design and development

Presented by Khalil A. Cassimally

INTRODUCTION 

User research is great. Insights about our users help us better serve them. Unfortunately, it is not unusual for teams to expend a lot of resources on user research and ultimately fail to use data from their research to inform their decision-making about which products and features to build.

One of the main reasons for this is the way many teams approach user research. Often teams cast a wide net, capture a huge amount of data, and then hope to fish out some insights that may be useful in the future (perhaps when creating a feature or a product).

The problem is that this approach is not efficient, or even particularly effective. This research-first approach typically culminates in little action, failure to collect adequate data, or collection of too much unnecessary data. Though data is collected, the team may not know what to do with it, may discover that it's not enough to inform the work, or waste time and resources collecting data they didn't need in the first place.

By contrast, the decision-first approach to user research is a more effective method to get user insights that will naturally align with your product design and development process. Here, the research you conduct and the data you gather are in the service of the decision you want to make. With this approach, your research is focused on creating action.

A quote card - The problem is that this approach is not efficient, or even particularly effective. This research-first approach typically culminates in little action, failure to collect adequate data, or collection of too much unnecessary data

IN PRACTICE

Use the tips and concepts in this section to cultivate a product culture in your newsroom

Identify, involve, and inspire internal stakeholders

Partnership with internal stakeholders supports the entire process that follows. Identify internal stakeholders by determining who will execute Steps 1-4, who will provide advice, and who will sign-off on project plans. Consider who will be surprised or annoyed (especially in leadership) if they find out about your work at a later date, and bring them along as stakeholders. Involve stakeholders in decision-making to increase collective confidence in the work. Inspire stakeholders by focusing on getting small wins to generate enthusiasm.

Step 1: Define decision

Start by making a decision about what your team or organization wants to prioritize. Consider existing business objectives, involve internal stakeholders, and spend ample time on this step – defining a decision is high-impact work that establishes the purpose of your research. Consider asking the following questions: What problem do we want to solve for our users? Why is solving this problem a priority for us?

Example: “We want to provide even more value to our on-site users to improve user loyalty and drive more subscriptions.”

Illustration that showcases a sample user research plan

Step 2: Map evidence needs

Once you’ve defined the decision, figure out what data you need to collect to inform that decision. Start by listing what your team and internal stakeholders need to know to inform the decision. Review past project documentation and user research findings to establish how much you already know, and identify what you still need to know to inform the decision. This is the gap in knowledge you will need to fill by collecting relevant data with user research.

Example: Providing more value to users can be done by offering more valuable products to users, which can be done by creating products that address the needs of users. But what are those needs?

Step 3: Select research methods and conduct research

You have a decision, and you know what data you need to collect to inform that decision. To select the research methods most appropriate to collect that data,ask yourself the following questions: Is the data qualitative or quantitative? Is the data attitudinal (why users do what they do) or behavioral (how users do what they do)?

  • Qualitative and attitudinal: Interview, focus group

  • Qualitative and behavioral: Ethnographic research

  • Quantitative and attitudinal: Survey

  • Quantitative and behavioral: A/B testing, usability testing

Example: User needs are qualitative and attitudinal, therefore one-on-one interviews are the best method to collect our user needs data.

Step 4: Synthesize findings to fill knowledge gaps

You’ve done the research. Now it’s time to synthesize the data so that you can inform your decision. Focus on analyzing the data you’ve collected through the lens of the evidence needs, or knowledge gaps, that you mapped in Step 2. Revisit your original decision or create a plan to execute on your decision depending on the extent to which your data has informed your decision.

Example: We have identified four user needs which now informs the decision and allows us to provide more value by creating products that address those user needs.

TERMS

Definitions for product terms referenced in this guide are sourced from NPA’s crowd-sourced product glossary

Stakeholder

A person with interest in or who may be affected by your product’s outcome. Stakeholders may be internal and cross-departmental (e.g. editorial, marketing, development, etc.), and external (e.g. product audience, user base).

Documentation

A record of business policy, procedure, workflow, decisions, or other information that includes instructions or references. Documentation is often written but could be instructional video or other recording.

RELATED READINGS / RESOURCES

User research: this more efficient approach informed two key products at The Conversation - Khalil A. Cassimally, The Conversation

Maze Question Bank - 397 questions to use in user research - Ash Oliver, Maze.co

Evidence-data fit table - Khalil A. Cassimally, The Conversation

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Khalil A. Cassimally

Khalil A. Cassimally is the Audience Project Manager at The Conversation where he oversees audience acquisition, retention and monetisation especially in the UK market. He has grown audiences and worked on audience development in the news media space for over ten years. He also writes on a freelance basis, and has bylines in The Guardian, Scientific American, among others. He shares actionable information about user research and audience development more widely on LinkedIn.

Puedes leer la guía traducida y adaptada al español aquí: Uso de los resultados de la investigación en la toma de decisiones

Você pode ler o guia traduzido e adaptado para português aqui: A utilização dos resultados de pesquisa na tomada de decisões

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