The hottest User Research Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

Enhancing Employee Experience through UX

UX Psychology • 238 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
💼 Business UX Employee Experience User Research
  1. It is crucial to integrate UX principles into the employee experience to enhance engagement and productivity in the workplace.
  2. By applying UX methodologies like user research, iterative design, and usability testing, organizations can create environments that prioritize employee needs and well-being.
  3. UX professionals can play key roles in optimizing the employee experience by leading research, advising on best practices, and educating workplace teams on UX skills and mindsets.

Embrace AI’s Uncertainty in UX

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 29 implied HN points • 06 Mar 24
🕹 Technology AI UX Design User Research
  1. In the age of AI, the design landscape is changing as we embrace the uncertainty of probabilistic systems, leading to a redefinition of traditional design roles and processes.
  2. Using AI in user research introduces new challenges, such as increased variability and a shift towards more qualitative studies over quantitative ones.
  3. Designing for AI means relinquishing control over the final user interface and embracing a design approach focused on creating rules and heuristics for AI-generated content.

Creating Inclusive AI: A Strengths-Based Approach to Accessible Design

UX Psychology • 138 implied HN points • 10 Nov 23
🕹 Technology AI User Research Frameworks Methodology
  1. Designing AI systems using a strengths-based approach can empower users across a wide array of abilities, rather than highlighting deficits.
  2. Key frameworks like Universal Design, Ability-Based Design, and Design for User Empowerment help create more accessible and empowering intelligent systems.
  3. Using qualitative research methods like co-design and long-term engagement can provide deeper insights into diverse user experiences, enhancing the design process.

UX Roundup: Domain-Optimized AI | Be a Test User | Heuristic Evaluation Template | Jakob Live

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 30 implied HN points • 22 Jan 24
🕹 Technology UX Design AI User Research
  1. Domain-Optimized AI aims to provide specific answers integrating content from experts.
  2. Participating in research studies can help understand user experiences and the impact of designs.
  3. Heuristic Evaluation Template by Jason Ogle helps evaluate interfaces and offers guidance based on 10 usability heuristics.
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Nostalgia in UX Design

UX Psychology • 158 implied HN points • 11 Aug 23
🕹 Technology UX Design Psychology User Research
  1. Nostalgia has evolved from being seen as a medical ailment to a cultural touchstone, becoming more relevant today in marketing and design.
  2. Nostalgia offers psychological comfort during distressing times, increasing well-being, optimism, and a sense of meaning in life.
  3. When incorporating nostalgia into UX design, it's essential to understand the audience, innovate while evoking the past, ensure coherence, and avoid the potential pitfalls of manipulation and inhibiting innovation.

The Effect of Culture in UX

UX Psychology • 258 implied HN points • 12 May 23
🕹 Technology UX Design Cultural differences User Research Iconography Language
  1. Understanding cultural differences is crucial in UX design to cater to diverse user needs globally.
  2. Cultural dimensions like individualism-collectivism, high-vs-low context communication, and power distance can significantly impact user behavior and preferences.
  3. Incorporating cultural sensitivity in design through research, inclusive elements, and collaboration with local experts can enhance user experience for a diverse global audience.

Lost in Navigation: Overcoming the Paradox of Choice in UX Design

UX Psychology • 99 implied HN points • 01 Sep 23
🕹 Technology UX Design Psychology User Research
  1. Providing more choices in user interfaces does not always lead to better decisions due to the paradox of choice - too many options can lead to decision overload and poorer choices.
  2. Choice paralysis in UX occurs when users are overwhelmed with options, leading to inaction or abandonment of tasks - simplifying navigation options can help prevent this.
  3. Hick's Law states that decision time increases with the number of choices available, emphasizing the importance of streamlining navigation design to reduce cognitive effort and aid decision-making for users.

Why do people hate redesigns?

UX Psychology • 178 implied HN points • 28 Oct 21
🕹 Technology UX Design Psychology User Research Behavioral Economics Cognitive Bias
  1. Users often hate redesigns due to familiarity bias, where they prefer the familiar even if the change is beneficial, and the endowment effect which makes them value what they already have more.
  2. Psychology plays a significant role in user reactions to redesigns, as habits are hard to change, leading to user dissatisfaction with altered interfaces.
  3. To improve user experience with redesigns, allowing opt-ins for changes can give users control, conducting thorough user research helps address pain-points, and making small, incremental changes can ease user adaptation.

5 ways to empathize with users and involve your team

Step-by-step Product • 19 implied HN points • 05 Mar 23
💼 Business Product Management Team Collaboration User Research Communication Strategies
  1. Observing users regularly and involving your team is crucial for building successful products.
  2. Maintaining continuity in the discovery process by having weekly touchpoints with customers helps generate insights.
  3. Creating a stakeholders repository and using tools like empathy maps and user scenarios can enhance team collaboration and communication.

Creating personas with secondary data

UX Psychology • 59 implied HN points • 05 Jan 22
🕹 Technology UX Design User Research
  1. Personas are crucial in design, representing target users based on research. They help focus design efforts, improve team communication, make assumptions explicit, and bring empathy to the process.
  2. Secondary data can be utilized to create personas, saving time and costs. Social media, case studies, and internal research are potential sources.
  3. Creating multiple personas ensures a more accurate representation of the target group. It's essential to limit personas to 3-4 major ones, each representing a segment of the target users.

10/36 - User Research 101: Navigating the Discovery Process

Product Mindset's Newsletter • 9 implied HN points • 19 Mar 23
🕹 Technology User Research Product Management Data Collection
  1. User research helps understand user behaviors and needs through various methodologies to improve product usability.
  2. Benefits of user research include cost reduction, increased user satisfaction, and gaining a competitive advantage.
  3. User research methods include qualitative and quantitative approaches, attitudinal and behavioral studies, and a mix for a comprehensive view.