User Experience and User Interface Design - The Graphic Design: Reference and Specification - page 172

U ser r esearch M ethods
Ethnographic Research: A qualitative research method that studies people and how they
work in a natural environment. Rather than asking target questions in a survey, eth-
nographic research requires a researcher to visit and watch people in an environment
where the interface will be used. The primary benefit to ethnographic research is that
uncovers underlying and previously unnoticed problems.
Focus Groups: A moderated discussion with a group of demographically similar individu-
als, who are considered potential users of a product. Specifically, focus groups give
designers an opportunity to learn more about the target audiences' thoughts and deci-
sion-making process. A focus group can help uncover general trends on how valuable a
potential solution could be.
User Interviews: Face-to-face discussions, typically with current users, or someone who
is likely to be a user. These interviews are typically focused on 5-7 key topics. The
interviewer is usually a designer or product manager. The conversation is designed to
be open ended, with the interviewer guiding the discussion. In most interviews the goal
is to dive deep into a few topics to help surface existing problems or reveal new ones.
Sketching
A sketch is a fast and easy way to layout an initial user interface idea. The low fidel-
ity nature of a sketch allows for a quick, visual articulation of thoughts, an increased
number of potential solutions, and a opportunity for non-designers to participate in the
design process. A sketch will force a designer to think about, and prioritize, the content
and objectives of a particular and can help discover problems earlier in the process.
s ketching t ools
•Penandpaper
•Whiteboardanddry-erasemarkers
Wireframing
Wireframes in Web design are similar to a blueprint in architectural design. It provides
all the details on structure, content, and functionality prior to the visual design of a
user interface. A wireframe will define what goes on a page, where it goes, and why it
goes there without having to worry about elements such as font and colors. Wireframes
won't outline every single page, instead key templates will be developed. The templates
created will be used to extrapolate the rest of the experience.
Wireframes are meant to be shared, dissected, and iterated upon. Because wireframes
are completed early in the process, designers have more freedom to make mistakes,
learn, and make changes without incurring high cost for change.