If you want a great user experience, you have to understand what your users are thinking—even when they don't say it.

- Steve Krug Don't let me think

I really love this quote from Steve Krug, but I also have to say that it doesn't serve as a good guide for conducting research or actually doing analysis. It completely overlooks something I've personally had to learn myself — even if they don't say it.

So how do you pick up on what they're not saying? By actually observing them. You don't just weigh the words of an individual — like I recently experienced again when a user told me, "This isn't intuitive." Yet, shortly after, they were able to perfectly explain what they saw and how it worked.

So, is it really not intuitive? Or was it just a bit harder to learn?

These are the kinds of questions you should always be asking yourself. Don't just take what people say at face value — focus on what they do and how they explain it. That's where true insights lie, revealing what's actually true or false.

Design Process

Yes, of course, this is yet another ultimate presentation of a design process. I know, I'm getting tired of it too, but it's still important to me. Because, in the end, this is the only true process that exists for me when it comes to professional topics. So, what is design? Design is a process; design is science. Design can be measured through many different evidence-based methods.

Double diamond diagram with two diamonds side by side. The left diamond contains the words

My favorite methods

These are my preferred methods, which I like to use at Volkswagen to find out what our users' actual needs are—if they have any. Sometimes, it turns out that they actually don't. However, there are also suitable methods for those situations that can be applied.

Contextual Interviews

Contextual Interviews are a great way to understand how users actually use a product.

Start with the simple question: "Can you describe your typical workday?" All I have to do then is listen to what people are actually doing—and what they're not. You wouldn't believe how many valuable insights this simple question can reveal. It can easily fill an hour with a meaningful, open, and contextual interview session.

Possible Follow-up Questions
  • Where do you get your information from?
  • What do you need to do first?
  • What do you need to do afterward?
  • Which systems do you use?
  • Through which channels does information come in?
  • What else do you need to consider?
  • How often does this happen?
  • How often do you need to request information again?

If other questions arise, they can also be framed using the Ws, such as: Why is that? What is the reason for this? How does it work? Why does this happen? What is happening there? Who is doing it?

Attention

What should be avoided are leading questions, such as: "Don't you often have the problem that this function is hard to find?" or "It should be placed there, right?"

ISO Norm 9241 110

The ISO standard questionnaire is an incredible tool for assessing the status quo of legacy software, existing software, or software that is being developed or has already been developed. It can be conducted easily, regardless of the effort required or any need to adjust the questionnaire or question sets. It provides a wealth of insights — specifically 20 — highlighting areas where the software shows potential for improvement to help users utilize the software more effectively.

The questionnaire consists of around 20 questions that shed light on various user challenges, such as whether the software is learnable through its own help features or whether users can easily navigate from point A to point B using context menus.

No adjustments to the question set are necessary—it can be repeated at any time. Currently, I conduct this assessment once a year for the products I manage.

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Card Sorting

  • Open Card Sorting
  • Closed Card Sorting
  • Semi-Open Card Sorting

Card Sorting is a method that helps you understand how users organize information in their minds. It's a great way to find out how users think about the information they see.

The method is simple: You give the user a set of cards with information on them. Then, you ask the user to sort the cards into groups. This can be done in a physical or digital format.

Proto Persona Workshop

If you don't have users, create them!

Yes your heard right. By your own assumptions you can create a persona that is not based on real users. This can be a great way to start a project and to get a shared understanding of the users.

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Shadowing

Shadowing is a method that helps not only to understand what the user actually does with a product, but also, when viewed holistically over the course of an entire day, it exemplifies what the user generally does and how many products they might interact with. Often, it's not just a single product that the user comes into contact with at work, but multiple products.

I know that out there — especially outside of the Konzernwelt — people often emphasize the one product. However, in reality, users interact with many products. These touchpoints need to be addressed because, more often than not, the real issues lie in the interfaces between products.

How to do it?

You accompany the person like a shadow—hence the term shadowing. You don't help them. Ideally, you don't even ask questions during the observation, as that could introduce bias. You simply observe, paying close attention to their interactions with the environment.

You also observe body language, as posture is a strong indicator of what the person is truly thinking. What people say and what they actually do are often two very different things—and it's essential to always separate the two.

Stop Talking, Start Building: How LEGO Serious Play Transforms Meetings

I'll be honest, LEGO® Serious Play isn't primarily about actually building the problem in a playful way. Of course, everyone else out there can claim whatever they want. Personally, I think it's an excellent warm-up exercise—using an incredibly silly and totally trivial method to get people to talk about the same thing, something they can actually touch.

We humans — especially, perhaps, in German - speaking cultures — tend to map out an overwhelming number of possibilities. LEGO® Serious Play helps minimize that. It allows people to focus and concentrate on one task—the one right in front of them. This, in turn, helps team members connect better within a product team.

That's one of the main reasons I use this method: to bring people together, help them get to know each other, and understand how they can communicate and work with one another — without having to deal with a virtual problem or challenge.

Stakeholder Mapping

You can not imagen how often i have been in a appoinmant with buisness stakeholders and they have no clue what the user needs are.

Don't Just Argue—Measure It! How NASA-TLX Changes the Conversation

What do you do when the business department simply doesn't believe you? You show them that things can be different. With the NASA-TLX survey, you have the proof in your hands. It's no longer just the users decision or the business department's decision—it becomes your decision. Because by making it measurable and verifiable, you turn it into a shared, data-driven conclusion. It's that simple.

Read more about the NASA-TLX