Course 4 – Conduct UX Research and Test Early Concepts
Week 3: Analyzing and Synthesizing Research Results
Google UX Design Professional Certificate
Coursera Study Guide
Analyzing and Synthesizing Research Results INTRODUCTION
In this part of the Coursera Google UX Design Professional Certificate course, you’ll learn how to analyze and synthesize research results to gain actionable insights. Analyzing and synthesizing data is a fundamental step for every UX designer in order to create successful designs that meet user needs.
The goal of analyzing and synthesizing your findings is twofold: first, it allows you to uncover patterns and trends in the data; second, it enables you to identify improvement opportunities based on participant feedback. To organize your research results effectively, you will use an affinity diagram, which involves grouping related information into meaningful categories. Through this process, common themes will emerge which can provide valuable insights into user behavior and preferences.
By the end of this course, you will be able to confidently analyze your research results and identify actionable insights that can be used to inform and improve your design solutions. Analyzing and synthesizing research results is an essential skill for UX designers, so developing a strong understanding of this process is of utmost importance. You will gain the skills you need to identify patterns and trends in research data, so that you can make informed decisions to create successful products and services.
Learning Objectives
- Derive actionable insights from themes identified in usability studies
- Describe the qualities of a strong insights
- Identify patterns and themes from observed data
- Explain the steps to synthesize observed data into insights
- Create an affinity diagram
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE ON SYNTHESIZING DATA INTO INSIGHTS
1. Fill in the blank: Researchers need to transition data they receive from observations to insights. To do this, they first need to _____ all the data from the usability study in one place.
- Gather (CORRECT)
- organize
- analyze
- categorize
Correct: The first step in turning data observations into insights is to gather all forms of data from all observers of the study.
2. Once researchers identify common themes in the data, what is the next step?
- Create an affinity diagram to organize the data for each theme.
- Identify outliers and compare them to the common themes.
- Write an insight that tells the design team how to improve the product based on each theme. (CORRECT)
- Develop a hypothesis for a product improvement based on each theme.
Correct: After researchers identify the themes in the data, they come up with insights based on each theme.
3. When UX designers synthesize data, what are they doing? Select all that apply.
- Collecting assumptions about users
- Understanding methods of data collection
- Combining ideas to draw conclusions (CORRECT)
- Evolving their understanding of user problems (CORRECT)
Correct: When UX designers are synthesizing data, they’re combining ideas to draw conclusions. It evolves their understanding of user problems and how they can further improve the design.
4. What is the difference between traditional and field research?
- Traditional research focuses on collecting first-hand observations, while field research prioritizes data collection.
- Field research focuses on collecting first-hand observations, while traditional research concentrates on compiling data. (CORRECT)
- Traditional research focuses on defining trends in the marketplace, while field research collects data on those trends.
- Field research focuses on quality checking potential design features, while traditional research observes them.
Correct: The difference between traditional and field research is that field research focuses on collecting first-hand observations, such as audio, video, and in-person experiences. Traditional research, on the other hand, concentrates on collecting feedback and compiling data.
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TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE ON STRONG INSIGHTS
1. Which of the following are qualities of strong insights? Select all that apply.
- List observations
- Easy to understand (CORRECT)
- Answer research questions (CORRECT)
- Inspire direct action (CORRECT)
- Increase empathy for the user experience (CORRECT)
Correct: Strong insights are easy to understand. They should also answer research questions, increase empathy for the user experience, and inspire direct action.
Correct: Strong insights answer research questions so people can understand why the insights matter. They should also be easy to understand, answer research questions, increase empathy for the user experience, and inspire direct action.
Correct: Strong insights inspire direct action for a design solution. They should also be easy to understand, answer research questions, and increase empathy for the user experience.
Correct: Strong insights increase empathy for the user experience and the team’s engagement in the product’s success. They should also be easy to understand, answer research questions, and inspire direct action.
2. A designer is gathering insights from a recent usability study for a new website design. Which of the following insights is grounded in real data?
- Users typically can find the home page of a website.
- Most users successfully created a user account using the icon at the top of the page. (CORRECT)
- Users should be able to create a user account by scrolling to the account creation link.
- Most users made the moderator feel happy about the study’s outcome by providing only positive feedback.
Correct: Insights grounded in real data are based on observations from multiple participants.
3. Consider the following scenario:
A team is developing an online service that allows users to rent out tricycles in major cities, and they want to know how to improve the user experience. They conduct a usability study and discover that users like the idea of renting a tricycle. However, users find it inconvenient that the service is only accessible on desktop computers. Users say that if they were wandering the city, it would be nice to go to a storefront or kiosk for checkout.
- Based on this scenario, which of the following is considered a strong insight?
- Users like that the app allows tricycle rentals.
- Users want more convenient features.
- Users think that it is inconvenient that they can only rent tricycles.
- Users want the added option of renting tricycles at a physical location (CORRECT)
Correct: This is a helpful insight for the design team. They can use it during the next iteration of their service to improve their offerings.
4. How do strong insights relate to a research question?
- They answer the research question (CORRECT)
- They refute the research question
- They suggest an alternative research question
- They allow researchers to change the research question
Correct: Strong insights need to answer the research questions you listed in your research plan. You want to tie your insight to the research questions to help people understand why the insight matters.
5. Fill in the blank: When creating an affinity diagram, you should ___ the sticky notes into groups of common themes and patterns.
- disassemble
- cluster (CORRECT)
- scatter
- separate
Correct: When creating an affinity diagram, you should cluster the sticky notes into groups of common themes and patterns.
6. You have completed the usability study for a prototype. Now, it is time to analyze and synthesize the data that you have collected. What is the first thing you should do with the data?
- Identify insights that evolve the understanding of users and their needs.
- Follow up with study participants to clarify any of their insights that are unclear.
- Group the data into themes. (CORRECT)
- Ask your UX design team to validate the data that was collected.
7. You have gathered the data from the usability study you conducted for your prototype. The common themes have been identified and insights have been created. You hand off the insights to your UX design team. How do the insights help your UX design team?
- Insights tell the UX design team if the product is going to be successful or not.
- Insights tell the UX design team how much scope they have left to work with on the project.
- Insights tell the UX design team how to improve the product based on a theme. (CORRECT)
- Insights tell the UX design team who the biased study participants were and what data might be skewed because of the biases.
8. Your UX design team has concluded the usability study. Now, they are ready to synthesize the data. They have transferred their observations from the spreadsheet to sticky notes so they can build an affinity diagram. You are concerned about this approach as one of your UX designers is visually impaired. What can the team do to ensure the data synthesis and affinity diagramming are inclusive for the visually impaired team member? Select all that apply.
- The visually impaired team member could be assigned to another task that does not involve creating an affinity diagram.
- They can ask the visually impaired team member to just listen and observe.
- The visually impaired team member could dictate what to write on each sticky note. (CORRECT)
- A team member could read each sticky note out loud and ask the remaining team members to suggest groupings. (CORRECT)
9. You have collected all of the data from the usability study for your prototype. Now, you and the UX design team need to find the themes from the data. What questions should you ask to help identify the themes from the data? Select all that apply.
- What immediate iterations should be made to the prototype?
- What data points have been clearly influenced by participant bias?
- What do the patterns tell you about the product design? (CORRECT)
- What common patterns stand out in the data you collected? (CORRECT)
10. You have organized the data from the usability study you conducted on your prototype. You have identified themes and patterns from the data. From there, you then identified insights. What makes strong insights? Select all that apply.
- They include your feelings and commentary on the data that was collected.
- They should be easy to understand. (CORRECT)
- They need to answer the research questions listed in your research plan. (CORRECT)
- They are grounded in real data and supported by multiple pieces of data. (CORRECT)
11. You are organizing the data collected from a usability study. You determined common themes, and now it is time to identify insights. What factors contribute to help make strong insights? Select all that apply.
- The strongest insights incorporate data from both your observations and your personal feelings.
- Insights are strongest when they apply to multiple study participants instead of just one. (CORRECT)
- Strong insights are only based on what was observed during the usability study. (CORRECT)
- Strong insights are supported by multiple pieces of data. (CORRECT)
12. You are starting to construct an affinity diagram with the data you gathered from the usability study. Your UX design team is wondering what they should write on each sticky note. What guidance should you give them? Select all that apply.
- The name of the participant who provided the data point should be included on the sticky note.
- A sticky note should list a single idea. (CORRECT)
- The content on the sticky note should be no longer than one sentence. (CORRECT)
- Sticky notes could list an observation the participant made or a direct quote from a participant.
13. You want to make an affinity diagram but do not want to use sticky notes. Your UX design mentor suggests you use a digital tool. Which digital tools should you use? Select all that apply.
- Google Forms
- Miro (CORRECT)
- Jamboard (CORRECT)
- Mural (CORRECT)
14. You tell the junior UX designer to use sticky notes to organize the data collected from the usability study. Then, you ask them to categorize the sticky notes in a diagram. What kind of diagram is best for the junior UX designer to create?
- A Venn diagram
- A mind map diagram
- An affinity diagram (CORRECT)
- A fishbone diagram
15. You have organized the sticky notes with the participant observations from the usability study. The sticky notes are in neat, logical categories. However, you have a handful of sticky notes that do not relate to any of the categories. What should you do with them?
- Throw them away.
- Place them in the category that is the closest relation.
- Contact the participants and ask for clarification.
- Put them off to the side and refer to them if needed. (CORRECT)
16. You have completed the usability study for your prototype. Over the few days, your UX team has grouped the data into themes and identified insights from the data. What is the next step your UX team should take?
- File the participant data and finalize the prototype.
- Iterate the prototype based on the data insights. (CORRECT)
- Share the data with stakeholders and ask them to update the prototype.
- Conduct another usability study to validate the first round of data.
17. You have turned your observations from the usability study into insights. What happens next with the insights?
- You will combine the ideas and draw conclusions for next steps. (CORRECT)
- You will tell your UX design team to get started making revisions to the prototype based on the insights.
- You will document the insights and share them with your stakeholders so they can direct you on next steps.
- You will let study participants know that you need additional insights to validate the initial findings.
18. Your UX design team has agreed to create an affinity diagram to organize and synthesize the data gathered from the usability study. What are the benefits of an affinity diagram? Select all that apply.
- The findings are placed in separate locations
- Themes from all of the observations from the usability study can be easily identified. (CORRECT)
- It is easy to move the sticky notes, allowing for shifting ideas between themes and categories. (CORRECT)
- The like themes and ideas can be bundled together. (CORRECT)
19. Your UX design mentor advises you that you should use simple language when outlining the insights from the usability study. What is the best way for you to tell if you have used simple language? Select all that apply.
- You only have to define a few terms in your insights before a friend understands what you are talking about.
- Your stakeholders ask for a help guide to ensure they understand the research plan and the insights.
- Your friends should understand what you are talking about if you mention your insights in passing. (CORRECT)
- Your stakeholders, who were not involved in the research plan, can easily understand the insights. (CORRECT)
20. You have transferred your usability study notes from your spreadsheet to sticky notes so you can create an affinity diagram. You have a lot of sticky notes. What strategies could you use to organize your sticky notes? Select all that apply.
- Create multiple affinity diagrams to separate the sticky notes.
- Order them by priority for prototype revisions.
- Use a numbering system for similar data points. (CORRECT)
- Color code them by participant. (CORRECT)
21. A junior UX designer is working on gathering the data from the usability study on your prototype. You advise them the next step is to turn the observations into insights. They are not sure what you mean by insights. How should you explain this?
- An insight is an observation about people that helps you understand the user or their needs from a new perspective. (CORRECT)
- Insight refers to how the participant data corresponds to the design team’s data on pain points within the prototype.
- An insight indicates how well-versed a participant is with website navigation.
- An insight is the information you gathered in regards to attitude and body language from the study participants.
22. You have completed the usability study for your prototype and grouped the participant data into themes. What is the next thing you should do with the data?
- Identify insights that evolve the understanding of the users and their needs. (CORRECT)
- Implement the feedback from the data and start iterations of the prototype.
- Gather another participant group to go through the study to see if their feedback is consistent with the first set of data you collected.
- Reach out to study participants and clarify any questions you might have about the data.
23. During the usability study, the UX design team used sticky notes when they were taking notes. Now, they need to organize their notes. What is one method they can use to organize their sticky notes?
- Activity diagramming
- Sequence diagramming
- Class diagramming
- Affinity diagramming (CORRECT)
24. You are identifying insights from the data you collected from the usability study on your prototype. You want to ensure the insights actually inform change and iteration in your prototype. Which characteristic of strong insight should you focus on?
- A strong insight should encourage more debate and conversation about the data.
- A strong insight should focus on personal opinions.
- A strong insight should address user empathy.
- A strong insight should inspire direct action. (CORRECT)
25. Your UX design team is creating an affinity diagram for the participant data gathered during the usability study. They have created categories to place their sticky notes under. How many categories are recommended for an affinity diagram?
- 10 to 20
- 10 to 12
- 1 to 3
- 3 to 10 (CORRECT)
26. You are creating an affinity diagram and have some sticky notes that indicate users were frustrated and some sticky notes indicating users were frustrated with the navigation. How should you categorize these sticky notes to help delineate them?
- Create a Venn diagram type shape with the frustration sticky notes in the center.
- Keep them together as they are about the same general idea.
- Create a sub-category.
- Add a “general” category to put the overall frustrated sticky notes in. (CORRECT)
27. You tell your stakeholders that you are organizing the data collected from the usability study into an affinity diagram. They are not familiar with that term. How should you explain an affinity diagram to them?
- An affinity diagram is used to capture candid moments of participants during the usability study.
- An affinity diagram is used to organize data into groups with common themes or relationships. (CORRECT)
- An affinity diagram is a diagram that shows the emotions of the participants in the usability study.
- An affinity diagram is used to diagram the progress of participants in the user flow of the prototype.
28. You have finished the usability study on the prototype and are now ready to turn your observations from the data into actionable insights. Why are actionable insights useful? Select all that apply.
- Insights prove that the prototype is ready for final delivery.
- Insights provide a glimpse into users and their biases.
- Insights can help UX designers figure out how different pieces of data relate to each other. (CORRECT)
- Insights help explain what the data means and what to do with it. (CORRECT)
29. The bakery app you are designing has just gone through a usability study. You are looking through the common patterns that have emerged from the usability study data and want to turn those patterns into themes. Several participants noted that they would like to have the ability to place the same order every week. What should the theme be for this data point?
- Most participants want the ability to schedule a recurring order. (CORRECT)
- Most participants want an easier-to-use checkout screen.
- Most participants think the bakery app is useful.
- Most participants want to choose the pastries they order from week to week.
30. A junior UX designer is organizing data from a usability study for the first time. You have asked that they move the data that was collected in the spreadsheet to sticky notes. The junior UX designer asks you how many observations should they include on a sticky note. What should you tell them?
- All similar observations should go on the sticky note, as space allows
- One observation per sticky note (CORRECT)
- Two observations per sticky note
- Three observations per sticky note
Analyzing and Synthesizing Research Results CONCLUSION
In conclusion, how you handle and analyze the data collected during a usability study can mean the difference between successful solutions that delight users and not-so-fortunate outcomes. With this course, you will understand how to effectively distill your observations into insights, themes, and trends through affinity mapping.
You’ll be able to determine what best practices work for your user base and make engaging design decisions with confidence. From research design to data analysis, we’ve got it all covered! So why not take the next step in your learning journey by joining us at Coursera? With free courses on offer, there’s never been a more perfect time to invest in yourself than right now. Sign up today!
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