In the design thinking lesson the first stage was Empathise. User research is how you do it in practice: you collect real evidence about who your users are and what they need, instead of relying on opinions in a meeting room. You do not need a big budget. A few well-run conversations can change the direction of a project.
Why do user research before designing?
Designers are not typical users. You probably own a recent phone, use many apps daily and read English comfortably. Your users may share one phone in a family, have patchy mobile data, or prefer Tamil or Hindi. Research protects you from designing only for yourself.
Two kinds of research data
| Type | Answers | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Qualitative | Why and how people behave | Interviews, observation, usability tests |
| Quantitative | How many and how often | Surveys with closed questions, analytics, A/B tests |
Beginners usually get the most value from qualitative research, because it reveals problems you did not know to ask about. Quantitative data is useful later to check how widespread a problem is.
Common user research methods and when to use them
| Method | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| User interviews | Understanding goals, habits and pain points | Leading questions; trusting predictions about the future |
| Contextual observation | Seeing real behaviour in the real setting | People acting differently because they are watched |
| Surveys | Measuring attitudes across many people | Poorly worded questions; only reaching certain groups |
| Analytics review | Finding where people drop off | Shows what happened, not why |
| Competitor review | Learning common patterns users already know | Copying without understanding |
Tip: There is a useful difference between what people say and what they do. Interviews and surveys capture attitudes; observation and analytics capture behaviour. Combine both when you can.
Planning a simple interview study
- Write your research goal. Example: “Understand how working professionals in Chennai book intercity bus tickets and what worries them.”
- Choose participants. Recruit people who actually do the activity. Five to eight interviews often show clear patterns for one user group.
- Prepare a discussion guide. A warm-up, 8–12 open questions, and a closing question.
- Get consent. Explain the purpose, ask permission before recording, and keep personal data safe.
- Run the session. One person asks, another takes notes if possible. Aim for 30–45 minutes.
- Synthesise. Write each observation on a sticky note (FigJam works well) and group similar notes to find themes. This is called affinity mapping.
During the session
Your job in the room is to listen far more than you talk. Start with easy questions so the participant relaxes. When something interesting comes up, follow it with simple prompts such as “Tell me more about that” or “Why was that important?” Silence is useful too: wait a few seconds after an answer and people often add the detail that matters most. Never correct or teach the participant – there are no wrong answers in an interview. If you are speaking with someone in their own language or setting, such as a parent at home or a shopkeeper at their counter, you will usually get more honest and detailed stories.
Writing good questions
The quality of your interview depends on your questions. Ask about past behaviour, keep questions open, and avoid suggesting an answer.
| Avoid | Ask instead |
|---|---|
| Would you use an app that tracks your bus live? | Tell me about the last time you travelled by bus. What happened from booking to boarding? |
| Don’t you find booking sites confusing? | What, if anything, was difficult while booking? |
| Do you like our design? | What did you expect to happen when you tapped that? |
| How often do you travel? | When was the last time you travelled? And the time before that? |
Watch out: Do not ask users to design the solution for you (“What feature should we add?”). People are good at describing their problems and poor at predicting what they would use. Your job is to understand the problem deeply and design the solution.
Turning notes into insights
An observation is what you saw: “Three of six people screenshotted the ticket because they feared losing network at the bus stand.” An insight explains why it matters: “Travellers need confidence that the ticket works offline.” Insights like this feed directly into problem statements and, in the next lesson, into personas.
- Separate facts (what people did or said) from your interpretation.
- Look for patterns across several participants, not one memorable quote.
- Note surprises – they are often the most useful findings.
- Share a short summary with your team: goal, method, participants, top 3–5 insights.