/user-research-techniques

name: user-research-techniques
description: "User research methods including interviews, usability testing, surveys, and analytics. Use when planning user research, choosing a research method, gathering user insights, or validating assumptions with data. Trigger on: 'plan user research', 'which research method should I use', 'how do I talk to users', 'conduct user research', 'how many participants do I need'."

User Research Techniques

Guide to qualitative and quantitative research methods for understanding users, validating ideas, and informing product decisions.

When to Use This Skill

**Auto-loaded by agents**:

• `research-ops` - For research methods, planning, and best practices

**Use when you need**:

• Planning research studies
• Choosing research methods
• Conducting interviews or tests
• Analyzing research data
• Validating product decisions

Research Methods Matrix

           Quantitative <-- --> Qualitative
           (What & How Many)    (Why & How)
              |
Behavioral --+-- Analytics        Usability Testing
(What they  |    Surveys          Field Studies
  do)       |    A/B Tests        Diary Studies
              |
Attitudinal -+-- Surveys          Interviews
(What they  |    NPS              Focus Groups
  say)      |    Questionnaires   Concept Tests

Qualitative Methods

User Interviews

Understand problems, validate solutions, assess products. Use open-ended questions, listen more than talk (80/20 rule), and ask "why" 5 times. 5-8 participants per segment.

Usability Testing

Test product usability with moderated or unmoderated sessions. Recruit 5-8 participants, use think-aloud protocol, measure task completion, time on task, and satisfaction.

Field Studies

Observe users in their natural environment through contextual inquiry, shadowing, or diary studies. Best for understanding context and discovering workarounds.

Card Sorting

Understand mental models and information architecture. Open (users create categories), closed (sort into given categories), or hybrid.

Focus Groups

6-10 participant moderated discussions. Good for exploring opinions and generating ideas. Avoid for validation (groupthink risk).

**Comprehensive guide**: `references/qualitative-methods-guide.md`

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Quantitative Methods

Surveys

Measure attitudes at scale with NPS (0-10), CSAT (1-5), CES (1-7), or custom questions. Keep short (<10 questions), avoid leading/double-barreled questions. 100+ respondents for directional insights, 384+ for statistical significance.

Analytics

Track behavioral data: engagement (DAU/WAU/MAU), conversion funnels, retention cohorts, feature adoption.

A/B Testing

Test variants with statistical rigor. Requires a clear hypothesis ("Changing CTA color from blue to green will increase click-through by 10%"), a single variable change, sufficient sample size (use an online calculator -- typically 1,000+ per variant for small effects), and a 1-2 week runtime. Only test when you have enough traffic; for early-stage products with <1,000 weekly visitors, use qualitative methods instead.

**Key pitfalls**: Stopping tests early when results look promising (peeking problem), testing too many variants at once (diluted significance), and ignoring segment effects (overall neutral but positive for one cohort).

Research Synthesis

Combine findings across studies to identify patterns. Three core approaches:

• **Affinity mapping**: Group observations by similarity, name the clusters, identify themes. Start here when you have raw interview notes.
• **Thematic analysis**: Code data into themes using a three-level system (codes → categories → themes). More rigorous than affinity mapping.
• **Jobs-to-be-Done**: Frame findings around the job users are hiring your product to do. Structure: "When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [outcome]."

For deeper synthesis methods, see `synthesis-frameworks`.

**Comprehensive guide**: `references/quantitative-methods-guide.md`

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Best Practices

1. Avoid Bias

**Confirmation Bias**: Seek disconfirming evidence **Leading Questions**: Ask neutral questions **Selection Bias**: Recruit diverse participants **Observer Effect**: Users behave differently when watched

2. Sample Sizes

**Qualitative**:

• 5-8 users per segment (diminishing returns)
• 15-20 total for diverse product

**Quantitative**:

• 100+ for trends
• 384+ for statistical significance
• Use power calculations

3. Triangulate

**Combine Methods**:

• Interviews (why) + Analytics (what)
• Usability tests + Surveys
• Quantitative -> Qualitative -> Quantitative

4. Continuous Discovery (Teresa Torres)

**Weekly Touchpoints**:

• Talk to 2-3 customers per week
• Mix research types
• Share with team
• Document insights
• Map to opportunities

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Common Mistakes

**Avoid**:

• Asking what users want (they don't know)
• Leading questions ("Do you love this?")
• Only talking to power users
• Research without action
• Skipping synthesis

**Do**:

• Observe behavior, not just opinions
• Ask open-ended questions
• Recruit diverse participants
• Act on findings
• Share insights widely

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Tools

**Research Platforms**:

• UserTesting, Maze (unmoderated testing)
• User Interviews, Respondent.io (recruitment)
• Lookback, Zoom (moderated testing)

**Analysis**:

• Dovetail, Airtable (synthesis)
• Miro, FigJam (affinity mapping)
• Typeform, SurveyMonkey (surveys)

**Analytics**:

• Mixpanel, Amplitude (product analytics)
• Hotjar, FullStory (session replay)
• Google Analytics (web analytics)

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Templates and References

Assets (Ready-to-Use)

• `assets/research-plan-template.md` - Research plan template with goals, methods, questions, and deliverables

References (Deep Dives)

• `references/qualitative-methods-guide.md` - User interviews, usability testing, field studies, card sorting, focus groups
• `references/quantitative-methods-guide.md` - Surveys, analytics, A/B