The Importance of User Research in Digital Product Design
In today's world, digital products have become an integral part of our lives. From shopping to socializing, we rely heavily on digital products to fulfill our daily needs. But what goes into creating such products? Every detail matters when creating a successful digital product design — from the design and functionality to the user experience and overall functionality. However, designing a product that meets user needs and expectations is easier said than done. That's where user research comes in.
What is user research?
User research in digital product design is a crucial pre-development step that acquires opinions and insights from the target demographic to determine their preferences, problems, pain points, and expectations.
Based on the initial research learnings, product development starts. After that, from the first phases of product creation through the post-launch review, user research is an iterative, continuous process in the digital product design journey. It aims to create successful products that deliver a pleasant user experience and increase user engagement and satisfaction.
That said, let’s understand — why is it important, how it can be implemented, and the best product designing courses in India
Importance of User Research in Digital Product Design
Without user research, your designs are primarily based on guesswork, and everyone knows how that ends — an unsatisfactory product. To save yourself from this, here’s why performing user research is extremely important:
- It aids in creating an accessible and inclusive digital product design that caters to everyone, regardless of age, language, physical abilities, gender, or cultural backgrounds.
- It helps create user-centered products that address users’ needs and pain points through unique features, functionality, and utility.
- Companies can avoid costly redesigns and improve customer satisfaction by leveraging the insights in the initial digital product design stage.
- It provides a competitive advantage by allowing companies to bridge the demand/supply gap and stand out. This leads to increased market share and revenue.
- Lastly, it helps design successful products by leveraging user feedback early in the design process and fulfilling user expectations, preventing unpleasant user experiences, and avoiding costly mistakes.
How to do user research?
When you start with user research in digital product design, it’s best to mix qualitative and quantitative methods. Doing so prevents the value-action gap, which occasionally renders qualitative data inaccurate.
The value-action gap, often known as what people say vs. what people do, is a well-known psychological concept that asserts that individuals truly don’t do what they claim they would do.
Some commonly used qualitative digital product design user research methods include:
- Guerrilla testing
- Focus Groups
- Interviews
- In-lab testing
- Participant
- Observation
- Field Studies
Quantitative methods include:
- Surveys or Questionnaires
- Eye tracking
- A/B testing
- Heatmapping
- Web Analytics
- First click testing
Where can you learn Digital Product Design?
Whether you’re a practicing designer or just starting out, discovering the power of user research in digital product design is crucial.
École Intuit Lab, India’s #1 design institute understands this and offers the best digital product designing courses with various benefits. Our digital product design course is a four-year program spread across theoretical classes, technical training, studio classes, frequent real-world projects, and two industry internships. Our expert faculty guarantee an enriching learning experience that’ll prepare you for the challenges of the dynamic design industry.
So, what are you waiting for? Admissions are now open for 2023. Register here!
