User Research

Conduct effective user research to understand user needs, behaviors, and pain points for informed design decisions.

When to Use This Skill

• Starting new projects
• Understanding user needs
• Validating assumptions
• Identifying pain points
• Creating personas
• Mapping user journeys
• Competitive research
• Feature prioritization

Core Concepts

1. User Interview Guide

## Interview Guide: Mobile Banking App

**Objective**: Understand how users manage finances on mobile

**Screening Questions**:
- Do you use mobile banking? (Yes/No)
- How often? (Daily/Weekly/Monthly)
- Primary device? (iOS/Android)

**Opening** (5 min):
- Thank you for participating
- We're designing a mobile banking app
- No right/wrong answers, honest feedback
- Recording for notes only

**Background** (10 min):
1. How do you currently manage your finances?
2. What banking apps do you use?
3. What do you like/dislike about them?

**Task Exploration** (20 min):
4. Walk me through your last mobile banking session
5. What were you trying to accomplish?
6. What challenges did you face?
7. How do you check your account balance?
8. How do you transfer money?

**Pain Points** (10 min):
9. What frustrates you most about mobile banking?
10. What features are missing?
11. Any security concerns?

**Wrap-up** (5 min):
12. If you could change one thing, what would it be?
13. Any other thoughts?

**Thank participant and incentive**

2. User Persona Template

# Persona: Busy Professional Sarah

![Photo placeholder]

## Demographics
- **Age**: 32
- **Occupation**: Marketing Manager
- **Location**: Urban, San Francisco
- **Tech Savvy**: High
- **Income**: $85K/year

## Goals
- Quickly check account balance on-the-go
- Pay bills without desktop access
- Track spending automatically
- Set savings goals

## Pain Points
- Limited time during work hours
- Forgets to pay bills on time
- Hard to track where money goes
- Security concerns with mobile apps

## Behaviors
- Checks phone 50+ times/day
- Uses mobile for most tasks
- Trusts Face ID authentication
- Prefers iOS apps

## Quote
"I need banking that fits my busy lifestyle, not the other way around."

## Scenarios
1. Checking balance before coffee purchase
2. Paying rent while commuting
3. Splitting dinner bill with friends
4. Setting up auto-pay for utilities

3. User Journey Map

# Journey Map: Account Opening

**Persona**: First-time User Tom
**Goal**: Open savings account

| Phase | Awareness | Consideration | Application | Verification | Activation |
|-------|-----------|---------------|-------------|--------------|------------|
| **Actions** | Sees ad | Compares banks | Fills form | Uploads ID | Makes deposit |
| **Touchpoints** | Social media | Website | Mobile app | Email | Mobile app |
| **Thoughts** | "Need to save" | "Which is best?" | "Hope it's easy" | "Is this secure?" | "Finally done!" |
| **Emotions** | 😊 Hopeful | 🤔 Uncertain | 😰 Anxious | 😟 Worried | 🎉 Relieved |
| **Pain Points** | Too many options | Confusing rates | Long form | Slow verification | Complex process |
| **Opportunities** | Clear benefits | Comparison tool | Auto-fill | Instant verify | Welcome bonus |

Best Practices

1. Define objectives - Clear research questions
2. Recruit right users - Match target audience
3. Ask open-ended questions - Encourage stories
4. Listen actively - Don't lead answers
5. Record sessions - With permission
6. Synthesize findings - Patterns and themes
7. Create artifacts - Personas, journey maps
8. Share insights - Stakeholder presentations

Resources

• Just Enough Research: Erika Hall
• The Mom Test: Rob Fitzpatrick
• UserInterviews.com: Participant recruitment