On Design Research
Research is critical for the success of any project. I was introduced to Research in the form of Qualitative v/s Quantitave Research. But later on I learnt that this was just one way to classify Research — on the basis of Data Collection method. There are other types of classifications like — Depth of Scope (Exploratory/Descriptive/Explanatory/CorrelationaI) and Degree of Manupulation (Experimental, Quasi Experimental / Non — Experimental) and more… Research is a very deep space of study.
These types of classification differ according to the purpose of Research. Being a digital product designer, classification based on Data Collection method should suffice in most of our cases.. But then again “Qualitative” and “Quantitative” are just bigger buckets and there are several methods within these buckets that can be used during various phases of the project.
Here are some of the methods that are useful at these different phases of a Project.
Phase 01 — Planning & Scoping
- Focus Group
- Secondary Research
- Stakeholder Maps
Phase 02 — Exploration & Synthesis
- Mind Mapping
- Card Sorting
- Ethnography
- Questionnaires
- Secondary Research
- Shadowing
- Surveys
Phase 03 — Concept Generation & Early Prototype
- Card Sorting
- Heuristic Evaluation
- Personas
- Prototyping
- Storyboards
- Usability Testing
- User Journey Maps
Phase 04 — Evaluation, Refinement, & Production
- Experiments
- Heuristic Evaluation
- Prototyping
- Usability Testing
Phase 05 — Launch & Monitor
- A/B Testing
- Focus Group
- Usability Testing
- Analytics
Many forms of research can be used at multiple Phases…Selecting the kind of research methodology becomes very crucial and can determine the success or failure of the research itself and thus the project. There are many more methods of research, most of which can be found in this book Universal Methods of Design highly reccommend this book for those of you who would like to dive deeper in the field of Design Research.
