Many companies use analytics as a starting point for user research but struggle to understand why users do what they do. Alex shows how applications like Google Analytics can formulate and answer questions, and how quantitative techniques can be combined with qualitative methods such as traditional user testing.
People
Alex Tarling
Methods
Product AnalyticsUsing behavioural data from products — events, funnels, retention — to understand how people actually use features and where they drop off, informing design and personalisation decisions.
User InterviewsUser interviews explore people’s circumstances, experiences and needs through a guided conversation. Use them when you need to understand a problem in depth or learn how a service fits into someone’s life. Recruit current or likely users, prepare open questions and possible follow-ups, and ask for concrete examples rather than idealised accounts. Start with consent, listen carefully, and allow useful unexpected topics to emerge. A discussion guide keeps the research focused without turning it into a rigid questionnaire. Interviews can accompany usability tests when you also need to observe people using a service.
Usability TestingUsability testing reveals where people struggle while attempting realistic tasks with a prototype or service. In a moderated session, a researcher observes the participant and may ask them to explain their thinking. Use it to investigate confusing language, layouts or interactions and identify improvements. Agree research questions, recruit likely users and prepare believable tasks that do not reveal the solution. Explain that the service is being tested, then mostly watch and listen rather than guiding participants. Record observations and follow up on unclear behaviour. Plan accessible sessions, including participants’ own assistive technology when appropriate.