Katryna Krieger

Engaging in UED based discussions, sharing tools, tips, and experiences on social media like LinkedIn is an effective means to stay updated with industry happenings. The accessibility to a broad network of professionals and industry leading companies creates opportunities for everyone to collaborate at some level in some way. Social media presents an unmatched means to stay up-to-date with extensive UED topics, software, practices, and innovations.

There is significant value in having detailed records avaliable about changes in decisions, direction, etc. Being able to reference documented information in answering challenging questions about what, why, who, and when, can paint a well-translated picture, inclusive of context. Without detailed records, perception and assumptions are free to run wild. A foundation that lays the framework to track the trail being blazed, lays the groundwork for desired results to be realized. This also helps to form a foundation where patterns are easier to recognize and groom, leading to greater long-term success.

There is a usable ease to being able to retrieve research data when it is well organized. This enables targeted insights to be readily available for reference and sharing, quickly, when needed. Having a versatile system of organization allows the retrieval of data and research in a variety of useful ways such as by visualization, time frame (i.e. Q2 vs. Q4), product or feature, topic (access frequency, most frequently used functions, user feedback, etc.). Being able to get the most out of data at any given time, requires superb organization. Having a system of organization, sets the stage to be able to easily leverage research in ways that provide a variety of valuable insights.

In brainstorming UX, it is important to include stakeholders who are impacted by a product even if they may not be using the product directly. Why? Because how a product is used has a downstream impact for those who rely on data from a product. Example: If a user enters a time entry correction in a system, but only includes minimal info (i.e. # of hours without accurate in/out times), it can make reconciliation challenging. If the "Why?" question arises, contextual data can help to provide insight. The user entering the correction may not understand impact if the user impacted downstream does not get a chance to explain such. Understanding, presents the opportunity to emphasize impactful parts of a product beyond what may be obvious.

Click tracking heatmaps provide the valuable opportunity to watch users' minds engage with a product. Ultimately, knowing what users are reacting to, engaging with, and in what order, helps to clarify what the natural process of the user is. What are the common colors, button sizes, fonts, placements, functions, etc., that users are engaging with most? Do these trends change as users progress through their processes? Insights that come through the results of click tracking heatmaps are highly valuable in ensuring intuitive page layouts that are adopted well.

Some of the greatest and most valuable lessons learned, come through failure. Insights deriving from failure are sometimes exponential as context and influencing factors are often hyper-analyzed. Creative thinking and innovation come through the liberty to explore, trial, and error, an essential aspect of research in general. Building trust within a team and keeping a constructive communication circle open is foundational to growth!