Open card sort analysis is part science, part art. The raw data will tell you generally how people group and organize items, but luckily, UXers have a little creative license when writing the exact right label for each category.
If you’re a visual learner or want to experiment with a different way (other than Excel) to analyze an open card sort… onward!
Recently, I co-facilitated four 100-person focus groups and two 100-person brainstorm sessions using Zoom web conferencing software—and learned some important lessons.
Continue reading “16 Tips for Conducting 100-Person Focus Groups and Brainstorm Sessions in Zoom”Need to provide critical feedback on a UX research plan or UX findings report for a colleague? Or maybe, you’d like to self-assess your own work and improve your process?
Continue reading “Evaluating UX Research Plans & Reports”Scientists think so.
There’s evidence that empathy is both a trait and a state. People can be naturally empathic, just like some people are naturally creative, humble, or diplomatic. And good news… less empathic people can learn to get better at it.
Continue reading “Can Empathy Be Taught?”Yes! There is actually more than one way to effectively measure empathy—and one way that is a waste of time.
Continue reading “Can Empathy Be Measured?”Empathy pays. Caring deeply about your customers isn’t just the right thing to do—empathy is good business.
Empirical research shows there is a direct correlation between employee empathy and business outcomes (e.g., profitability, customer satisfaction). Employees with high empathy are less likely to burnout (e.g., call out sick, quit, disengage).
So what exactly is empathy? It’s a term that often gets thrown around, but what does it actually mean to be empathic? What does it look like?
Continue reading “What Is Empathy… Really?”What is UX? Is UX the same thing as website design? In just a moment, I’ll set up my very bright spotlight to bring different aspects of the broad field of UX out of the shadows.
First, UX is shorthand for user experience.
Second, there are LOTS of kinds of user experiences—not all of them happen on a website. Or even the majority of them! Most people are awake 16-18 hours every day, and most of those experiences don’t include a website (e.g., showering, dressing, walking the dog).
UX designers, researchers, and strategists work across multiple experience disciplines, or may specialize in just one.
Continue reading “Experience Is Experience Is Experience”UX research encompasses all types of research activities: user research, competitive research, stakeholder or subject matter expert interviews, audits, analytics, and other information sources—with the goal of helping organizations understand how to better serve their users.
Think beyond the tradtional research report! Below is a list of UX research deliverables you can use to help you communicate strategy or research insights with greater impact and engagement.
Continue reading “When to Use Which UX Research Deliverable”When you’re first considering a career change, it may not be clear there are many ways to specialize in UX.
Many people get their start as a UX generalist, and then specialize later in their career.
Below are different UX career options to explore:
Continue reading “What Are the Different UX Career Options?”How do you obtain UX experience when you can’t quit your job to go to school? What are some ways to gain real-world experience in order to build a UX portfolio?
Continue reading “How to Get Real-World UX Experience without Going Back to School”