About the UX Methods
The UX methods outlined cover the entire user-centered design process. For each method extensive information is provided to allow you to use the method, along with links to find out more and to see how the method has been used in Life Science projects. Methods are categorised by when they are usually used within the user-centered design process.
User Research
Task Modeling
Understand what tasks your users are trying to accomplish before designing solutions to treat pain points areas.Great for:
- Understanding the tasks to be supported by a new system
- Focusing on the goals the user has rather than recommended design solutions
Personas
Captures your user research in a format that allows you to gain a deeper understanding of your users motivations, opinions and pain points through user research.Great for:
- Understanding current user motivations, opinions and pain points
- Discovering new user needs for your product
Contextual Inquiry
By directly observing users and asking the right questions, you can see for yourself how they work and better understand needs and opportunities.Great for:
- Understanding where and how users actually work
- Uncovering workarounds, references, and shortcuts
User Interviews
There's no better way to understand the goals, challenges, and needs of your users than by talking directly with them.Great for:
- Understanding current user motivations, opinions, and pain points
- Discovering new user needs for your product
Jobs To Be Done
Find out what jobs users want to get done so that you can design tools, products and services that provide better solutions.Great for:
- Evaluating, designing, and identifying ways to improve new tools, products and services
- Identifying and prioritising desirable features
UI Design
Card Sorting
Direct feedback from the users can help to better prioritize content, design screen layouts, and understand the users’ perspectives.Great for:
- Understanding users’ mental models, organizational relationships, and collective vocabulary
- Determine content priority
- Developing site maps, navigational hierarchies, form organization, screen layout, task processes, and other outputs where an understanding of the users’ perspectives of concept relationships is important.
Prototyping
Making design concepts real can help you communicate, get feedback, and ensure you’re designing the right solutions.Great for:
- Getting early user feedback
- Testing alternative design options
- Communicating with stakeholder/project team
Evaluation
System Usability Scale
Use a metric to measure and track the usability of your product or service based on user feedback.Great for:
- Quantifying usability
- Sharing with stakeholders
- Supporting decision-making during product development
UX Metrics Using HEART
The HEART framework is an approach to define user experience measures for a system, product, or feature.Great for:
- Determining project-specific UX metrics
- Gaining team and sponsor alignment on UX-related success
Usability Testing
Get your design in front of real users and see how they would really use it to do their work.Great for:
- Uncovering how well the design works for users
- Pinpointing bottlenecks, problems, and areas of confusion
- Verifying assumptions about users and their goals
- Involving users in the design process
Not sure which method to use?
| I want to... | Gather user requirements | Decide what to focus on | Generate ideas and designs | Evaluate a design or product | Measure UX | Compare different designs or products | |
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User Research
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UI Design
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Card Sorting |
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| Prototyping |
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Evaluation
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UX in Action
Have a question, or want to suggest a method?
If you have a question about a method, or have a method that you use that you'd like to suggest then please get in touch with the project team. We're always interested to find out about UX methods that are particularly useful for Life Sciences projects.