How to convince others of the importance of UX research

Return on investment (ROI) is often the term on everyone’s lips when starting a big project or even when reviewing a website. It’s especially popular with those that hold the purse strings.  As UX researchers it is important to consider the ROI of the work we do and understand how to measure this. 

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We’ve lined up 5 key ways to measure ROI for UX research to help you get the conversation underway with stakeholders so you can show real and tangible benefits to your organization. 

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1. Meet and exceed user expectations

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Put simply, a product that meets and exceeds user expectations leads to increased revenue. When potential buyers are able to find and purchase what they’re looking for, easily, they’ll complete their purchase, and are far more likely to come back. The simple fact that users can finish their task will increase sales and improve overall customer satisfaction which has an influence on their loyalty. Repeat business means repeat sales. Means increased revenue.

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Creating, developing and maintaining a usable website is more important than you might think. And this is measurable! Tracking and analyzing website performance prior to the UX research and after can be insightful and directly influenced by changes made based on UX research.

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Measurable: review the website (product) performance prior to UX research and after changes have been made. The increase in clicks, completed tasks and/or baskets will tell the story.

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2. Reduce development time

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UX research done at the initial stages of a project can lead to a reduction in development time of by 33% to 50%! And reduced time developing, means reduced costs (people and overheads) and a speedier to market date. What’s not to love? 

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Measurable: This one is a little more tricky as you have saved time (and cost) up front. Aiding in speed to market and performance prior to execution. Internal stakeholder research may be of value post the live date to understand how the project went.

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3. Ongoing development costs

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And the double hitter? Creating a product that has the user in mind up front, reduces the need to rehash or revisit as quickly. Reducing ongoing costs. Early UX research can help with the detection of errors early on in the development process. Fixing errors after development costs a company up to 100 times more than dealing with the same error before development.

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Measureable: Again, as UX research has saved time and money up front this one can be difficult to track. Though depending on your organization and previous projects you could conduct internal research to understand how the project compares and the time and cost savings.

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4. Meeting user requirements

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Did you know that 70% of projects fail due to the lack of user acceptance? This is often because project managers fail to understand the user requirements properly. Thanks to UX research early on, gaining insights into users and only spending time developing the functions users actually want, saving time and reducing development costs. Make sure you get confirmation on those requirements by iterative testing. As always, fail early, fail often. Robust testing up front means that in the end, you’ll have a product that will meet the needs of the user.

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Measurable: Where is the product currently? How does it perform? Set a benchmark up front and review post UX research. The deliverables should make the ROI obvious.

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5. Investing in UX research leads to an essential competitive advantage.

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Thanks to UX research you can find out exactly what your customers want, need and expect from you. This gives you a competitive advantage over other companies in your market. But you should be aware that more and more companies are investing in UX while customers are ever more demanding, their expectations continue to grow and they don’t tolerate bad experiences. And going elsewhere is an easy decision to make.

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Measurable: Murky this one, but no less important. Knowing, understanding and responding to competitors can help keep you in the lead, and developing products that meet and exceed those user expectations.

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Wrap up

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Showing the ROI on the work we do is an essential part of getting key stakeholders on board with our research. It can be challenging to talk the same language, ultimately we all want the same outcome…a product that works well for our users, and delivers additional revenue.

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For some continued reading (or watching in this case), Anna Bek, Product and Delivery Manager at Xplor explored the same concept of "How to measure experience" during her UX New Zealand 2020 – watch it here as she shares a perspective on UX ROI.

Knowing and understanding why and how your users use your product is invaluable for getting to the nitty gritty of usability. Delving deep with probing questions into motivation or skimming over looking for issues can equally be informative. 

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Put super simply, usability testing literally is testing how usable your product is for your users. If your product isn’t usable users often won’t complete their task, let alone come back for more. No one wants to lose users before they even get started. Usability testing gets under their skin and really into the how, why and what they want (and equally what they don’t).

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As we have been getting used to video calling regularly and using the internet for interactions, usability testing has followed suit. Being able to access participants remotely has allowed us to diversify the participant pool by not being restricted to those that are close enough to be in-person. This has also allowed an increase in the number of participants per test, as it becomes more cost-effective to perform remote usability testing.

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But if we’re remote, does this mean it can’t be moderated? No - remote testing, along with modern technology, can mean that remote testing can be facilitated and moderated. But what is the best method - moderated or unmoderated?

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What is moderated remote research testing? 🙋🏻

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In traditional usability testing, moderated research is done in person. With the moderator and the participant in the same physical space. This, of course, allows for conversation and observational behavioral monitoring. Meaning the moderator can note not only what the participant answers but how and even make note of the body language, surroundings, and other influencing factors. 

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This has also meant that traditionally, the participant pool has been limited to those that can be available (and close enough) to make it into a facility for testing. And being in person has meant it takes time (and money) to perform these tests.

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As technology has moved along and the speed of internet connections and video calling has increased, this has opened up a world of opportunities for usability testing. Allowing usability testing to be done remotely. Moderators can now set up testing remotely and ‘dial in’ to observe participants anywhere they are. And potentially even running focus groups or other testing in a group format across the internet. 

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Pros:

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- In-depth gathering of insights through a back-and-forth conversation and observing of the participants.

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- Follow-up questions don’t underestimate the value of being available to ask questions throughout the testing. And following up in the moment.

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- Observational monitoring noticing and noting the environment and how the participants are behaving, can give more insight into how or why they choose to make a decision.

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- Quick remote testing can be quicker to start, find participants, and complete than in-person. This is because you only need to set up a time to connect via the internet, rather than coordinating travel times, etc.

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- Location (local and/or international) Testing online removes reliance on participants being physically present for the testing. This broadens your ability to broaden the pool, and participants can be either within your country or global. 

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Cons:

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- Time-consuming having to be present at each test takes time. As does analyzing the data and insights generated. But remember, this is quality data.

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- Limited interactions with any remote testing there is only so much you can observe or understand across the window of a computer screen. It can be difficult to have a grasp on all the factors that might be influencing your participants.

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What is unmoderated remote research testing? 😵💫

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In its most simple sense, unmoderated user testing removes the ‘moderated’ part of the equation. Instead of having a facilitator guide participants through the test, participants are left to complete the testing by themselves and in their own time. For the most part, everything else stays the same. 

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Removing the moderator, means that there isn’t anyone to respond to queries or issues in the moment. This can either delay, influence, or even potentially force participants to not complete or maybe not be as engaged as you may like. Unmoderated research testing suits a very simple and direct type of test. With clear instructions and no room for inference. 

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Pros:

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- Speed and turnaround,  as there is no need to schedule meetings with each and every participant. Unmoderated usability testing is usually much faster to initiate and complete.

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- Size of study (participant numbers) unmoderated usability testing allows you to collect feedback from dozens or even hundreds of users at the same time. 

- Location (local and/or international) Testing online removes reliance on participants being physically present for the testing, which broadens your participant pool.  And unmoderated testing means that it literally can be anywhere while participants complete the test in their own time.

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Cons:

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- Follow-up questions as your participants are working on their own and in their own time, you can’t facilitate and ask questions in the moment. You may be able to ask limited follow-up questions.

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- Products need to be simple to use unmoderated testing does not allow for prototypes or any product or site that needs guidance. 

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- Low participant support without the moderator any issues with the test or the product can’t be picked up immediately and could influence the output of the test.

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When should you do which? 🤔

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Each moderated and unmoderated remote usability testing have its use and place in user research. It really depends on the question you are asking and what you are wanting to know.

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Moderated testing allows you to gather in-depth insights, follow up with questions, and engage the participants in the moment. The facilitator has the ability to guide participants to what they want to know, to dig deeper, or even ask why at certain points. This method doesn’t need as much careful setup as the participants aren’t on their own. While this is all done online, it does still allow connection and conversation. This method allows for more investigative research. Looking at why users might prefer one prototype to another. Or possibly tree testing a new website navigation to understand where they might get lost and querying why the participant made certain choices.

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Unmoderated testing, on the other hand, is literally leaving the participants to it. This method needs very careful planning and explaining upfront. The test needs to be able to be set and run without a moderator. This lends itself more to wanting to know a direct answer to a query. Such as a card sort on a website to understand how your users might sort information. Or a first click to see how/where users will click on a new website.

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Wrap Up 🌯

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With the ability to expand our pool of participants across the globe with all of the advances (and acceptance of) technology and video calling etc, the ability to expand our understanding of users’ experiences is growing. Remote usability testing is a great option when you want to gather information from users in the real world. Depending on your query, moderated or unmoderated usability testing will suit your study. As with all user testing, being prepared and planning ahead will allow you to make the most of your test.

What happens when you mix New Zealand's finest chocolate with 870 of Europe's brightest UX minds? Pure magic, as we discovered at UXDX Dublin 2024!

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A sweet start

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Our UXDX journey began with pre-event drinks (courtesy of yours truly, Optimal Workshop) and a special treat from down under - a truckload of Whittaker's chocolate that quickly became the talk of the conference. Our impromptu card sorting exercise with different Whittaker's flavors revealed some interesting preferences, with Coconut Slab emerging as the clear favorite among attendees!

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Cross-Functional Collaboration: More Than Just a Buzzword

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The conference's core theme of breaking down silos between design, product, and engineering teams resonated deeply with our mission at Optimal Workshop. Andrew Birgiolas from Sephora delivered what I call a "magical performance" on collaboration as a product, complete with an unforgettable moment where he used his shoe to demonstrate communication scenarios (now that's what we call thinking on your feet!).

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Purpose-driven design

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Frank Gaine's session on organizational purpose was a standout moment, emphasizing the importance of alignment at three crucial levels:

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- Company purpose

- Team purpose

- Individual purpose

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This multi-layered approach to purpose struck a chord with attendees, reminding us that effective UX research and design must be anchored in clear, meaningful objectives at every level.

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The art of communication

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One of the most practical takeaways came from Kelle Link's session on navigating enterprise ecosystems. Her candid discussion about the necessity of becoming proficient in deck creation sparked knowing laughter from the audience. As our CEO noted, it's a crucial skill for communicating with senior leadership, board members, and investors - even if it means becoming a "deck ninja" (to use a more family-friendly term).

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Standardization meets innovation

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Chris Grant's insights on standardization hit home: "You need to standardize everything so things are predictable for a team." This seemingly counterintuitive approach to fostering innovation resonated with our own experience at Optimal Workshop - when the basics are predictable, teams have more bandwidth for tackling the unpredictable challenges that drive real innovation.

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Building impactful product teams

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Matt Fenby-Taylor's discussion of the "pirate vs. worker bee" persona balance was particularly illuminating. Finding team members who can maintain that delicate equilibrium between creative disruption and methodical execution is crucial for building truly impactful product teams.

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Research evolution

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A key thread throughout the conference was the evolution of UX research methods. Nadine Piecha's "Beyond Interviews" session emphasized that research is truly a team sport, requiring involvement from designers, PMs, and other stakeholders. This aligns perfectly with our mission at Optimal Workshop to make research more accessible and actionable for everyone.

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The AI conversation

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The debate on AI's role in design and research between John Cleere and Kevin Hawkins sparked intense discussions. The consensus? AI will augment rather than replace human researchers, allowing us to focus more on strategic thinking and deeper insights - a perspective that aligns with our own approach to integrating AI capabilities.

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Looking ahead

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As we reflect on UXDX 2024, a few things are clear:

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1. The industry is evolving rapidly, but the fundamentals of human-centered design remain crucial

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2. Cross-functional collaboration isn't just nice to have - it's essential for delivering impactful products

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3. The future of UX research and design is bright, with teams becoming more integrated and methodologies more sophisticated

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The power of community

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Perhaps the most valuable aspect of UXDX wasn't just the formal sessions, but the connections made over coffee (which we were happy to provide!) and, yes, New Zealand chocolate. The mix of workshops, forums, and networking opportunities created an environment where ideas could flow freely and partnerships could form naturally.

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What's next?

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As we look forward to UXDX 2025, we're excited to see how these conversations evolve. Will AI transform how we approach UX research? How will cross-functional collaboration continue to develop? And most importantly, which Whittaker's chocolate flavor will reign supreme next year?

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One thing's for certain - the UX community is more vibrant and collaborative than ever, and we're proud to be part of its evolution. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the industry has a very bright future. 

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See you next year! We’ll remember to bring more Coconut Slab chocolate next time - it seems we've created quite a demand!

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