{"id":2395,"date":"2014-06-23T08:18:50","date_gmt":"2014-06-23T12:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thinking.is\/?p=2395"},"modified":"2024-07-11T10:59:07","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T14:59:07","slug":"why-do-design-research-part-2how-to-get-design-research-on-a-dime-and-a-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395","title":{"rendered":"Why Do Design Research – Part 2: How to Do Design Research on a Dime (and a Deadline)"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Part 1, Why do design research: Deconstructing the excuses <\/i><\/a>we examined the reasons people often give for eliminating design research from product development when budgets and schedules get tight. We\u2019ve hopefully shown you why those reasons are flawed and why design research is a critical step in the process. However, knowing the criticality of design research doesn\u2019t change the fact that the project has a tight budget and a compact schedule. So now what?<\/span><\/p>\n

Conducting design research does require some time and money. That\u2019s just reality. But it doesn\u2019t have to be budget-busting or time-draining.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the way to save time and money is NOT to ask your employees to double as a research team.\u00a0 You know you need the insights from research to make effective business strategies. But assigning<\/i> research \u2013 to engineers, PMs, managers, interns, etc. \u2013 instead of hiring<\/i> research expertise <\/i>is not the way to save time and money! You\u2019ll likely pay for it later when flawed data fractures your strategies and weakens your market impact. Instead, educate yourself about the many tools and methods available to intelligently pick a la carte in accordance with your deadlines and budget. Some good data is better than lots of flawed data.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are more tips for effective, expedient design research on a budget:<\/span><\/h2>\n

Know who your users are<\/span><\/h3>\n

Focus design research by working with<\/i> marketing research to identify and prioritize market segments. You already know the segment and that will focus the user research. Stephanie McHenry, former Marketing Director at Daedalus, says, \u201cOne of the biggest mistakes marketers make is when they speak to a segment, a group. You have to speak to the individual in that target segment.\u201d User centered research focuses your solution on the user\u2019s particular needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Know your competition<\/span><\/h3>\n

Benchmark the features and functions of similar products, services, and interfaces to guide research questions. And, as an added benefit, you\u2019ll be able to carry on an intelligent, informed conversation should a participant reference competitors.<\/span><\/p>\n

If only one method can be used, choose user interviews<\/span><\/h3>\n

For insight gathering, nothing compares to actually talking to and hearing from users directly. Through a face-to-face conversation, you can read facial expressions and body language, ask for clarifications, and dig deep to uncover the underlying \u2018whys.\u2019 Talk to users in groups of 2 or 3 if you need to talk with more users in less time. And talk with them in the context of use. You\u2019ll notice things they do that they don\u2019t mention and you can ask for clarification and demonstration. You\u2019ll walk away with a more holistic understanding of who, what, where, and even why \u2013 answers you need before designing and marketing a new or improved product.<\/span><\/p>\n

If nothing else, talk to your customer call center representatives<\/span><\/h3>\n

Besides the users themselves, no one knows the problems of the users more than the customer call center. If talking to a user face-to-face or by phone is impossible, spend a few hours talking with customer service personnel. As a side note, be careful analyzing information collected in this way. Because you\u2019re hearing feedback second hand, there\u2019s room for incorrect interpretation and information being lost in translation. Also, keep in mind that this method will most often only tell you about the worst of your users\u2019 experiences, negating anything positive, which can be just as important to know, and eliminating the ability to see or hear unspoken opportunities for improvement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Use guerrilla<\/span> testing techniques<\/span><\/h3>\n

One of the most time consuming portions of design research is recruiting participants. Maintain a list of companies or users that have already agreed to participate in design research. Consider using a recruiting firm; depending on the specificity of the user type, paying someone who has access to ample databases may be more cost and time efficient. And lastly, don\u2019t be afraid to use your personal network. There\u2019s less resistance from users to participate in research if they’ve already met you.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Most importantly, start early! \u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Waiting to schedule visits can hinder the project timeline. Design research and all its logistics should be one of the first things to think about. In fact, it should be thought about prior to the official launch of the project.<\/span><\/p>\n

So no more excuses<\/span><\/h2>\n

Design research is important, and even if the ideal research is not feasible, any thoughtfully led design research is better than none because it mitigates the many risks of a product launch. Or you can spend hours and dollars designing something that isn\u2019t useful, usable, or desired, betting the whole project on red 17 and hoping for the best\u2026 Play it safe. Play it smart. Avoid unnecessary risk. Invest in the user, and they will more likely invest in your product.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Featured\u00a0Photo by<\/span> Josh Appel<\/a> on<\/span> Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Part 1, Why do design research: Deconstructing the excuses we examined the reasons people often give for eliminating design research from product development when budgets and schedules get tight. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":3920,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Do Design Research - Part 2: How to Do Design Research on a Dime (and a Deadline) - daed.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Do Design Research - Part 2: How to Do Design Research on a Dime (and a Deadline) - daed.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In Part 1, Why do design research: Deconstructing the excuses we examined the reasons people often give for eliminating design research from product development when budgets and schedules get tight. ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"daed.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-06-23T12:18:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-07-11T14:59:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.daed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/josh-appel-NeTPASr-bmQ-unsplash-1024x769.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"769\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Daedalus Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Daedalus Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Daedalus Team\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f08aac4ae63cbed0fffa61088919d15f\"},\"headline\":\"Why Do Design Research – Part 2: How to Do Design Research on a Dime (and a Deadline)\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-06-23T12:18:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-11T14:59:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395\"},\"wordCount\":819,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"design research\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395\",\"name\":\"Why Do Design Research - Part 2: How to Do Design Research on a Dime (and a Deadline) - daed.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-06-23T12:18:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-11T14:59:07+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why Do Design Research – Part 2: How to Do Design Research on a Dime (and a Deadline)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/\",\"name\":\"daed.com\",\"description\":\"research, design, and engineering thinking\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"daed.com\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/White_Daedalus.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/White_Daedalus.png\",\"width\":5249,\"height\":745,\"caption\":\"daed.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f08aac4ae63cbed0fffa61088919d15f\",\"name\":\"Daedalus Team\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/524207b1dc467ee81cafe2cc979aa823?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/524207b1dc467ee81cafe2cc979aa823?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Daedalus Team\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.daed.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?author=10\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Do Design Research - Part 2: How to Do Design Research on a Dime (and a Deadline) - daed.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why Do Design Research - Part 2: How to Do Design Research on a Dime (and a Deadline) - daed.com","og_description":"In Part 1, Why do design research: Deconstructing the excuses we examined the reasons people often give for eliminating design research from product development when budgets and schedules get tight. ...","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395","og_site_name":"daed.com","article_published_time":"2014-06-23T12:18:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-07-11T14:59:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":769,"url":"http:\/\/blog.daed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/josh-appel-NeTPASr-bmQ-unsplash-1024x769.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Daedalus Team","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Daedalus Team","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395"},"author":{"name":"Daedalus Team","@id":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f08aac4ae63cbed0fffa61088919d15f"},"headline":"Why Do Design Research – Part 2: How to Do Design Research on a Dime (and a Deadline)","datePublished":"2014-06-23T12:18:50+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-11T14:59:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395"},"wordCount":819,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["design research"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395","url":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395","name":"Why Do Design Research - Part 2: How to Do Design Research on a Dime (and a Deadline) - daed.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-06-23T12:18:50+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-11T14:59:07+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?p=2395#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why Do Design Research – Part 2: How to Do Design Research on a Dime (and a Deadline)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/","name":"daed.com","description":"research, design, and engineering thinking","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#organization","name":"daed.com","url":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/White_Daedalus.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/White_Daedalus.png","width":5249,"height":745,"caption":"daed.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f08aac4ae63cbed0fffa61088919d15f","name":"Daedalus Team","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/524207b1dc467ee81cafe2cc979aa823?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/524207b1dc467ee81cafe2cc979aa823?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Daedalus Team"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.daed.com"],"url":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/?author=10"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2395"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2395"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4306,"href":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2395\/revisions\/4306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.daed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}