User Research Smoke & Mirrors: Non-Scientific User Research isn’t a Bad Thing

Instead of attaining enlightment, my mind is swarmed with question marks. So does that mean that scientific research and numbers are damned lies? And does that also mean that non-scientific methodologies are the key to user experience design?

I have to admit that non-scientific methods that we had learnt in class such as card sorting, paper prototype, user persona and usability test are important in making that great experience for users. This is what I didn’t realize until I take this module. Since we are designing things for our target audience, comments should be gotten from them. More often than not, suggestions given by the users are more valuable and enlightening than what numbers can give.

Design itself is subjective. This particular design may look like a piece of trash to some, but can be an art to others. The experience in using the design cannot be quantified, unless someone wants to quantify users’ thoughts about the design, be it “trash” or “art”.

Now this is what confuses me. “User experience design” is a slippery slope. What does it actually mean? For the article, it seems to me that it is referring to Human-Computer Interface. Can the same thing be applied to other user experience designs? But how about designs in architecture? It consists of a synergy of arts and science. A scientific research such as the quality of the soil, the materials needed for the building, the auspiciousness of the venue (fengshui) has to be done before going into the non-scientific aspect in creating a priceless experience for users, which is something inspirational and cultural based. So can we say that scientific research is useless?

Bringing it back to the Human-Computer Interface topic, it will be ridiculous to come out with a result that says “Design A is 5% more usable than Design B”. However, I do not fault the usefulness of scientific research in user design experience. For companies that design websites for clients, it may be useful to have fact-based recommendation rather than mere conjunction or opinions. After all, clients like to have facts and figures presented to them. This website mentions about quantifying user experience using an Objective Analysis Tool. As user experience is made up of four elements namely branding, usability, functionality and content, scores are given to each element to rate the design. http://www.sitepoint.com/article/quantify-user-experience

Rather than bashing scientific research, a holistic approach should be used. Supposed all the non-scientific methodologies had been done and the website has been successfully created, how will it be judged? By simply asking a few people who might give comments like “It’s great!” or “Wow cool!” doesn’t mean anything. Somehow the importance of numerical figures cannot be overlooked, especially for businesses and organisations. I believe that every design comprises the beauty of arts and science.