Hi all.
I’ll go out on a limb and hope I’m not the only one who feels this. Sometimes, I feel a huge gap between what I’m supposed to do in my job and what I actually do. Am I alone in that? I hope not.
The Struggle with Usability Testing
Usability testing is a good example of this. You read all these best practice articles on how to do it, but I rarely have the time or budget to work like that in practice. And even if I do some testing, it never feels enough.
We should squeeze whatever user research and testing we can into a project, but we should not beat ourselves up if we cannot do more.
Embracing Imperfection
Of course, we all avoid talking about this because we don’t want to look unprofessional. However, I suspect (and really hope) that we all struggle with these feelings.
I have come to think of this not as a failure on my part but as being pragmatic and doing what I can within the constraints placed upon me. I would encourage you to do the same.
Adopting a Positive Attitude
It is time for us to shed our insecurities about how we do our jobs. We should adopt the attitude that doing something is better than nothing. Doing our best is good enough. We shouldn’t get frustrated when we can’t do more.
We also shouldn’t get frustrated if our testing and research aren’t perfect. Getting just the right participants and planning the perfect test scenarios is time-consuming and complicated, and often, it is impossible. So, instead, do what you can, but be aware of the limitations and how those may affect your results.
Shifting Focus to Improvement
This attitude increasingly underpins how I speak about UX “best practices,” as you would have seen if you read my email about “good enough.”
The emphasis should be on getting better, not being the best. For example, if you normal skip user research entirely, start with a simple survey. You can use something like Pollfish. But if you already do that, it might be time to improve by doing a first-click test or 5-second test with something like Lyssna.
From there, you can add more and more, from unfacilitated usability testing with Maze to full-blown diary studies or even on-site testing.
Would You Be Interested In a Workshop on User Research?
This concept of doing what you can in user research and testing has led me to create a new workshop on the subject. I plan to run it for you guys at the start of May. If that is of interest or if you would like me to run it in-house for your organization, email me, and I will tell you more.
Don’t Despise Small Beginnings
I guess in all of this, I am trying to encourage you that whatever you can do is better than giving up in despair. Don’t despise those small beginnings, and don’t convince yourself you are failing at your job.
