Unsure of who your users are, your data or where a certain request is coming from to make a change or new feature? 

Then user research could be the answer (and usually is). Undertaking user research will allow you to check-in with your audience and users to help you uncover new insights into new requests, ideas or upcoming changes that could potentially damage your experience if you take the wrong path. Something that will save you time, budget and energy.

There are many other outcomes that can be super beneficial to your business and start-up, which we have discussed below.

Remove assumption to concentrate on real problems

Most design projects come with an assumption made on behalf of the user by the business or organisation. This can be very detrimental to the design process as it can steer time, energy and budget down the wrong path, designing solutions that aren’t needed, fix problems that don’t exist or undo something that is already working. 

User research tests these assumptions, allowing you to clarify if you had the right idea, was widely off or if an idea just needs tweaking before you spend additional budget designing and developing. 

A consensus of issues faced by users

By implementing user research, you can properly uncover the issues and user needs, agree them as a team with a point of reference in a persona document to guide all and any design decisions. It allows all team members who were and were not involved in the user research to understand who the user is, their needs and all pull in the right direction when looking to improve a product. 

Understand the wider context of where the issue exists

Sometimes an issue isn’t quite clear because we are looking or experiencing a project in a completely different scenario to 80% of the users.

E.g. Designing an application that is audio based to deliver instructions on how to operate machinery in an environment filled with loud machines constantly running with staff members who have to wear ear plugs as part of their health and safety procedure. 

By understanding how a product is being used, where it is being used and the factors away from the device and screen that impact on that experience, we can better design solutions that help.

Data to back up conversations and difference of opinion

Similar to assumption, some conversations can be steered by personal preference of a team member that may be at odds with the users actual need. By having a set of data, discovered through user research, we can have a single source of truth which ultimately trumps any opinion and directs the project team as a whole. 

Hear firsthand from your users

Nothing beats hearing it first hand from the user. Even if it clarifies what was assumed, it's still worth spending time to get that clarification because ultimately it will be cheaper than getting it wrong. 

Find new opportunities to innovate

Research will always start with a question, but depending on the methods used, you could very well uncover new opportunities to innovate solutions, products and services. Only by taking time to understand users and their needs within the context of their day to day, will we ever truly be able to consider a solution that can help or an innovation that can solve a problem. Especially if all users are sharing similar pain points and needs.

Conclusion: Save budget and create earlier success

A running theme through most of the points is that, taking time early on to understand your users and their needs means you can create the right brief for a product team to design a solution. Yes, it will still need to be tested but ultimately you will be closer to the solution on your first sprint because you took the time at the beginning to uncover the issues and sentiment. 

It means you won’t waste time writing the wrong brief and spend the budget designing and developing the wrong outcome. You will have a higher success rate through the design process on earlier iterations meaning you can innovate and develop quicker as a business.