Comments on: UIEtips: 3 Questions You Shouldn’t Ask During User Research

By: Erin Lynn Young

Erin Lynn Young — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:47:13 +0000

I agree with Barbara – I’ve heard the second two points, but not the first. And I think the first is brilliant! Your example of simply rephrasing the question takes you from the hypothetical to real. It seems like a mistake that’d be really easy to make and I’m glad you brought it to my attention.

By: Barbara Bix

Barbara Bix — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:36:55 +0000

Your observations about asking people to reflect on the past, rather than predict the future is a good one. One of my mentors once told me, “People make great reporters, but lousy analysts.”

Yet, so many researchers ask, “Would you buy this?” and “What would you pay for it?” rather than finding out how they solved the same problem in the past, what items have ranked high enough to get them to open their wallet recently, and what their process was for purchasing/approving like solutions.

Here’s an article we wrote several years ago addressing some of he same issues: http://bbmarketingplus.com/articles/RT_3-2006.htm that discusses the “Power of anecdote and agenda”.

By: Carolyn Snyder

Carolyn Snyder — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:52:47 +0000

Over the years I’ve had clients ask some ridiculous questions. My favorite: “Did you click on that because it’s yellow?” (Yellow = Clickiness. Right. I have to avoid the entire produce section because I just can’t leave those bananas and lemons alone.) Or, “Do you think you would have figured it out if this was a real site and not a prototype?” Or, “Why didn’t you see that?”

I actually don’t mind the occasional oddball question from an observer – it makes the others realize that there’s a reason why they pay me to do this. And yes, even after 17 years I still ask stupid questions, though on a good day I’ll catch myself halfway through and say, “I’m sorry – I need to shut up now. Please continue with what you were doing.”