ABSTRACT

In a culture somewhat preoccupied with solutions, the idea of deliberating over a research problem may seem heretical to some. According to the Council of American Survey Research Organizations an estimated $6.7 billion is spent each year in the USA, $2 billion in the UK, and $18.9 billion spent globally on just one method—survey research. Rohit Deshpande, Harvard Business School professor and former executive director of the Marketing Science Institute, estimates that 80% of all customer research serves only to reinforce what companies already know, rather than testing or developing new possibilities. Most of the phenomena that user experience (UX) researchers are likely to study are constructs. UX research can require a sizable investment in time and costs. Because the outcome will dictate the direction of a project and influence its success, there’s too much at stake to risk mishaps or misunderstandings happening during the research.