The State of UX Research in 2019

The UX field has gone through some major transformations in the past decade. As the goals of businesses change, technology improves, and design-thinking expands, UX research must shift to provide the greatest impact in the next generation of delivered experiences. Here are 3 trends to look out for in 2019.

1. UX Research to Drive Digital Business Strategy
2. The Data Driven Design Process
3. Agile UX Research

1. UX Research to Drive Digital Business Strategy

As design thinking expands to more companies, UX researchers should be catalysts for digital strategy. In October of 2018, McKinsey Quarterly released ‘The Business Value of Design’ , a high level study showcasing the beneficial impact on ROI for companies that have a level of design focus. Between the DMI design-centric index, the Forrester study of IBM’s Design Thinking Practice, numerous articles in HBR and MIT Sloan Management Review, the McKinsey article, and a recent report by InVision, ‘The New Design Frontier,’ the value of design and UX seems to be reaching the ears of executives.

So, what does this mean for UX research in 2019? Well, it means it is time to use your power for good. UX research, if communicated effectively at a business strategy level, will have profound impacts on the direction of companies. I repeat, if communicated effectively at a business strategy level. The InVision report suggests that the key differentiators between a level 3 design company and a level 5 (scale of 1–5) are UX research, experimentation, and the use of them to drive design strategy. If you need a refresher on this, I recommend listening to this Google talk by Satyam Kantamneni of UX Reactor: Design is [Business]. As companies begin to weave UX research and design into strategic thinking, accountability in the field will be higher, which means more checks and balances; poor quality research and design will no longer be tolerated and work experience will be more closely examined.

2. The Data Driven Design Process

Calling all researchers (especially qualitative researchers), it is time to brush off those statistics books in the back of your closet. Peter Drucker is credited with saying, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” As UX research begins to play a larger part in digital strategies, it will become increasingly important to show the value of design decisions, develop measurements programs, and associate UX/CX metrics with company KPI’s (key performance indicators). This means UX researchers will need to have a foundational knowledge in data. The data-driven design process will allow for 2 primary benefits:

1. Design measurement and validation
2. Discovery of key product & experience areas

Here are 3 notable examples of how this is currently happening in businesses that have very different structures. Google (a multi-portfolio company) has UX researchers that apply the HEART method, which allows them to validate designs and explore key areas of the experience that can be improved. Uber (we will call it a single-portfolio company for now) uses an experimentation platform that allows them to run thousands of experiments per month. They define key metrics prior to the experiment and use a statistics engine to run A/B/N tests to determine lift (improvement). After validating improvements, they can release new app versions to the general population. UX Reactor (a consulting agency) focuses on 5 key design problem areas when working with a client: adoption, retention, satisfaction, engagement, and efficiency. Again, all of these areas are measured, validated, and tied to strategic company KPIs.

3. Agile UX Research

As the push for speed to build and speed to value increases in the application development world, so does the need for faster research results. This area has been, and will continue to be, a challenge for UX research, but here are some things to keep in mind.

The tools used by UX researchers are improving in an attempt to help researchers move at a faster pace. Userzoom has recently added product features such as automated participant sourcing and video transcripts and companies like Tobii are even adding eye tracking products like Tobii Pro Sprint to keep up with agile demands. Lean UX research methods like R.I.T.E.have also made some helpful impact in the agile space.

In 2019, it will be important for UX practitioners in the agile world to be strong advocates for the benefits of UX research rather than a design and release process. At my company, it has helped for the researchers and designers to get a few sprints ahead, use templates for quick turnarounds on reporting, and get product owners and managers on-board early — making it clear that everyone is responsible for the experience delivered by the product. Another concept that I have seen is the staged release — Google calls it the 1% test and Uber has an experimentation platform that uses randomized experiments, but both companies release to a very small subset of users prior to a full launch. This is a process that UX research should be involved in when deciding ‘is this release improving the experience?’

Conclusion

Be on the lookout for some of these trends in 2019. UX practitioners might find themselves as part of the larger decision-making process when it comes to digital strategy. It is my hope that we are well equipped with the knowledge and tools to drive successful change and design a world that is better for everyone.