User Research, Task Analysis, and Evidence-Based Design
From assumptions to evidence
Why research matters
High-quality web systems are grounded in observed behavior, not just stakeholder opinion. Advanced teams use mixed methods to uncover goals, pain points, contextual constraints, and decision patterns across user groups.
Research principle
A good research question is specific enough to inform design choices and broad enough to reveal patterns beyond a single anecdote.
Common methods
Interviews
Deep qualitative understanding of motivations and mental models.
Contextual inquiry
Observation of people doing real tasks in their environment.
Survey research
Broad quantitative signals across a larger sample.
Diary studies
Longitudinal insight into changing behavior over time.
Usability testing
Task-based evaluation of interface effectiveness.
Method selection guide
| Method | Best used when | Limitations |
|---|---|---|
| Interview | You need depth and context | Small samples; subject to recall bias |
| Survey | You need breadth and trends | Weak at explaining why |
| Usability test | You need task-level interface evidence | Often artificial compared with real use |
| Analytics | You need behavioral patterns at scale | Shows what happened, not why |