Avoiding expensive guesses.
WHAT RESEARCH PREVENTS
Building the wrong thing Solving a problem nobody has Designing for an imagined user
WHAT IT COSTS
Far less than rebuilding.
WHAT A SMALL BUSINESS CAN REALISTICALLY DO
Talk to a handful of actual customers Watch someone attempt the current process Read support requests and complaints Look at what people actually do
THAT IS SUFFICIENT
Formal research methods are not required to avoid the largest mistakes.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
What people are trying to achieve How they do it now What is difficult about that What they would consider a success
WHAT NOT TO ASK
Whether they would use a thing that does not exist.
People are poor predictors of their own behaviour.
WHAT TO ASK INSTEAD
About what they actually did, recently and specifically.
WHAT TO DO WITH FINDINGS
Write them down, briefly, and refer to them when deciding.
WHAT TO AVOID
Research that confirms what you already decided.
