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CSPC2006/01. Creating User Research and User Profiles

 Updated: 2 hours read

To Learn the fundamentals of user research. To Collect and analyze data to understand user needs. To Create detailed User Profiles (Personas) based on your research findings.

This lab will guide you through the process of gathering data about users through user research and creating user personas based on that data. These personas will help you design web technologies with a user-centered approach.

Template

Table of contents

Open Table of contents

What is User Research?

User research helps you understand the needs, goals, pain points, and behaviors of your target audience. This knowledge is crucial for creating websites or applications that are easy to use and address real user problems.

Step by step instructions

Planning Your User Research: In this part, you’ll define what information you want to gather from users and design a method to collect this data.

1. Define Your Research Objective**

Before you begin, ask yourself:

2. Choose a Research Method

Select a method to gather data:

3. Design Your Questions

Create 5-10 questions to gather insights about user goals, challenges, and behaviors. Examples:

Conducting User Research: Now that you’ve planned your research, it’s time to collect data.

4. Distribute the Survey

5. Conduct Interviews (Optional)

Analyzing the Data: Once you’ve gathered responses, the next step is to analyze the data to identify key patterns.

6. Summarize Your Findings

7. Group Similar Users

Segment users into groups based on their goals and behaviors. For example:

Creating User Profiles (Personas):

Now, you’ll create user personas, fictional characters representing the users you’ve researched. Personas help you design with specific user needs in mind.

8. Create Personas

For each user group, create at least 1 persona. Use the template below to guide you.

User Persona Template

User Persona Template:

  • Name: Give your persona a name (e.g., “John, the Busy Student”).
  • Demographic Information:
    • Age: (e.g., 22)
    • Occupation: (e.g., University student)
    • Location: (e.g., London, UK)
  • Background:
    • A brief description (e.g., John is a final-year computer science student who often uses online learning platforms).
  • Goals:
    • What does this user want to achieve? (e.g., John wants quick access to tutorials to improve his coding skills.)
  • Challenges/Pain Points:
    • What are the user’s frustrations? (e.g., John finds it difficult to navigate cluttered websites.)
  • User Behavior:
    • How does the user interact with the product? (e.g., He uses the website on his mobile during commutes and prefers clear, organized content.)
  • Devices Used:
    • What devices does the user use to access the application? (e.g., 60% mobile, 40% desktop).

Example Persona

Example Persona:

  • Name: Sarah Miller
  • Age: 29
  • Occupation: Marketing Manager
  • Location: New York
  • Background: Sarah works remotely and manages a team. She frequently uses productivity tools to keep her team on track.
  • Goals: She wants to track her team’s progress quickly and without distractions.
  • Challenges/Pain Points: Sarah often finds herself overwhelmed by unnecessary features in the tools she uses.
  • User Behavior: She prefers to use her laptop but occasionally checks progress on her phone during meetings.
  • Devices Used: 70% laptop, 30% mobile.

Submission & Reflection

9. Submit Your Personas

10. Reflect

In a short paragraph, reflect on the following:

Conclusion

In this lab, you’ve conducted basic user research, analyzed your findings, and created user personas. These personas will help you design web applications that meet real user needs, improve user satisfaction, and solve common pain points.

Key Takeaways

By the end of this lab, you should have:

References


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