Optimal Blog

In today's digital landscape, delivering exceptional user experiences is no longer optional—it's essential for success. At Optimal, we're committed to empowering UX professionals and organizations with the best-in-class tools and methodologies to create outstanding digital products and experiences. 

‍

In this blog post, we'll explore practical use cases that demonstrate how Optimal's research platform can drive meaningful improvements across various UX scenarios.

‍

‍

Use case 1: Make Collaborative Design Decisions or A/B Test a Design

‍

Whether you're refining an existing product, launching a new website, or rebranding, Optimal's user research and insights platform empowers your team to make informed, collaborative design decisions. Here's how to leverage our tools for impactful results:

‍

1. Qualitative Insights: Establish organizational priorities

‍

• Use our Qualitative Research tool to develop a comprehensive list of top tasks or goals from your organization's perspective.
• Engage stakeholders across departments to ensure alignment on key objectives.

‍

2. Surveys: Validate user priorities and pain points

‍

• Deploy a targeted survey using our Survey tool to confirm users' top tasks and identify existing issues.
• Gather quantitative data to support or challenge organizational assumptions about user needs.

‍

3. First-click Testing: Conduct preference testing

‍

• Use our First-Click Testing tool to evaluate the effectiveness of different design options.
• This method provides valuable insights for A/B testing decisions, ensuring designs resonate with your target audience.

‍

4. Qualitative Insights: Deep dive into user preferences

‍

• Conduct follow-up interviews or focus groups using our Qualitative Research tool to gain a deeper understanding of user preferences and experiences with different design options.
• Explore the 'why' behind user choices to inform more nuanced design decisions.

‍

By systematically applying these research methods, your team can collaboratively create designs that not only look great but also deliver exceptional user experiences. Optimal's platform empowers you to make data-driven design decisions, fostering innovation while minimizing the risk of costly missteps.

‍

Remember, the key to successful collaborative design is continuous iteration and testing. Use Optimal's tools throughout your design process to validate decisions, gather feedback, and refine your approach for optimal results.

‍

‍

Use case 2: Developing effective content strategies

‍

Developing a robust content strategy is crucial for intranets, help documents, websites, and product copy. Optimal's user research and insights platform empowers you to create content that resonates with your audience and drives engagement. Here's how to leverage our tools for effective content strategy development:

‍

1. Card Sorting: Organize content intuitively

‍

• Use our Card Sorting tool to understand how users naturally categorize and group your content.
• Gain insights into users' mental models to inform your content hierarchy and organization.
• Apply findings to create a content structure that aligns with user expectations, enhancing findability and engagement.

‍

2. Tree Testing: Validate information architecture

‍

• Employ our Tree Testing tool to confirm whether information placed within your proposed hierarchy is findable and understandable.
• Identify areas where users struggle to locate content, enabling you to refine your structure for optimal user experience.
• Iterate on your information architecture based on concrete user data, ensuring your content is easily accessible.
• Test different content structures and then compare them with each other using the task comparison tool available in Optimal to understand which structure is most likely to drive users to perform the targeted actions.

‍

3. Qualitative Insights: Analyze language perceptions

‍

• Leverage our Qualitative Research tool to conduct in-depth interviews or focus groups.
• Explore user perceptions of terminology, language style, and content tone.
• Gather rich insights to inform your content voice and style guide, ensuring your messaging resonates with your target audience.

‍

4. Additional Applications of Qualitative Insights

‍

   Expand your content strategy research by using our Qualitative Research tool to:

• Review internal tools and processes to streamline content creation workflows.
• Compare content experiences across desktop and mobile devices for consistency.
• Gather event feedback to inform content for future marketing materials.
• Analyze customer service and support interactions to identify common issues and FAQs.
• Conduct usability testing on existing content to identify areas for improvement.

‍

   Key questions to explore:

• What's working well in your current content?
• What's not resonating with users?
• What are users' first impressions of your content?
• How do users typically interact with your content?
• How well does your content foster empathy and connection with your audience?

‍

By systematically applying these research methods, you'll develop a content strategy that not only meets your organizational goals but also deeply resonates with your audience. Optimal's platform empowers you to create content that informs, engages, and converts, driving meaningful results for your business.

‍

Remember, content strategy is an ongoing process. Regularly use Optimal's tools to assess the effectiveness of your content, gather user feedback, and iteratively improve your approach for continued success.

‍

‍

Use case 3: Increase website traffic

‍

Empower your team to boost conversion rates by leveraging Optimal's best-in-class user research and insights platform. Here's how you can unlock meaningful improvements:

‍

1. Qualitative Insights & Surveys: Uncover user motivations

‍

• Conduct in-depth interviews or targeted surveys to gather rich, qualitative feedback about user experiences, motivations, and pain points on your site.
• Add an intercept snippet to your existing website to survey users as they come to your website to get a clear understanding of user motivations in context.
• Analyze responses to identify key themes and opportunities for optimization.

‍

2. Tree Testing: Optimize navigation structure

‍

• Use our Tree Testing tool to evaluate the effectiveness of your site's navigation structure.
• Identify areas where users struggle to find information, enabling you to streamline pathways to conversion.

‍

3. Card Sorting: Enhance information architecture

‍

• Leverage our Card Sorting tool to understand how users naturally categorize your site's information.
• Apply insights to refine the layout of product features or benefits on your landing pages, aligning with user expectations.

‍

4. Prototype Testing: Validate Design Changes

‍

• Develop prototypes of new landing pages or key conversion elements (like CTAs) using our Prototype Testing tool.
• Conduct first-click tests to ensure your design changes resonate with users and drive desired actions.

‍

5. Follow-up Qualitative Insights: Iterate and improve

‍

• After implementing changes, conduct follow-up interviews or surveys to gauge the impact of your optimizations.
• Gather feedback on the improved user experience and identify any remaining pain points.

‍

By systematically applying these research methods, you'll gain the actionable insights needed to create a more intuitive, engaging, and conversion-friendly website. Optimal empowers you to make data-driven decisions that not only boost conversions but also enhance overall user satisfaction.

‍

‍

Embracing mixed methods research

‍

To truly unlock the power of user research, we recommend a mixed methods approach. By combining quantitative data from surveys and usability tests with qualitative insights from interviews and open-ended responses, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of your users' needs and behaviors.

‍

For more information on mixed methods research and how it can enhance your UX strategy, check out our detailed guide: What is mixed methods research?

‍

‍

And that’s a wrap

‍

Optimal's user research and insights platform provides the tools and methodologies you need to deliver exceptional digital experiences. By leveraging these use cases and adopting a mixed methods approach, you can make data-driven decisions that resonate with your users and drive business success.

‍

Remember, great UX is an ongoing journey. Regularly employ these research methods to stay attuned to your users' evolving needs and preferences. With Optimal as your partner, you're equipped to create digital products and experiences that truly stand out in today's competitive landscape.

‍

Ready to elevate your UX research? Explore Optimal's platform and start unlocking actionable insights today!

We've been hard at work enhancing your research capabilities, and we're excited to share what's new at Optimal. Here's what we've shipped to help you uncover even deeper insights:

‍

‍

What’s new at Optimal? 

‍

‍

Prototype Testing gets more powerful ⚡

‍

Since launching the Beta, we've been collaborating closely with hundreds of Optimal customers to gather feedback and run usability testing. Your support has been invaluable, and we’re excited to announce these latest updates for Prototype Testing:

‍

Improved security with password management: A new "Password settings" button allows users to manage stored passwords, which participants receive before starting their Prototype Study. Additionally, users are prompted for a password when importing protected prototypes.

‍

Improvements to usability: Your feedback was taken onboard, and we’ve updated the buttons, including "Re-sync to file" and "Change prototype," to improve usability.

‍

Results sharing: You can now easily share specific sections (e.g., analysis, tasks, clickmaps) via a URL with your stakeholders in just a few clicks. With the added protection of a password for secure access.

‍

Participant data view: To speed up your data analysis and improve your workflows we’ve added task metrics in the "Results > Participants" table, showing tasks completed, skipped, and success percentage.

‍

Notes tab in analysis: Users can now take notes directly in the Analysis section for Task Results, Click Maps, Paths, and Questionnaires.

‍

‍

Smarter data exports📊

‍

This release makes it easier for users to analyze data faster with flexible export options and an improved format for questionnaire and survey downloads. Find out more about the updates below.

‍

• Additional download export options: Access new download questionnaire data options. Choose to download questionnaire data by pre-study, post-study, and screening questions.

‍

• Organized question tabs: Navigate your data more easily with each question exported to its own tab in the download spreadsheet. Each question tab will mirror the question and answer format/structure found under the Questionnaire section.

‍

• Dedicated screening question tab: Review screener questions - now separated in a dedicated tab - with the added option to exclude them from your export.

‍

• Added index numbers for survey analysis: An index number column (e.g. 1, 2, 3) has been added next to the labels for radio, Likert, and checkbox question types in the "Participant data" download for easier analysis. A new tab has been added to display answer indices for fixed set questions (e.g., radio, checkbox, multi-select), while matrix questions will still export with their values.

‍

To get started, navigate to the Downloads tab under Results. Results Downloads are available for all tools except for Qualitative Insights.

‍

‍

What’s coming next?

‍

‍

Introducing the shiny new Qualitative Insights tool (the artist formally known as Reframer)✨

‍

We’re just days away from the re-launch of our Qualitative Insights tool, previously known as Reframer. This upgrade brings powerful new features to streamline and enhance your qualitative data analysis, making it faster, easier, and more insightful than ever.

‍

With the new Insights feature, you can capture and organize key takeaways from studies more efficiently. Each Insight — which includes a title, description, and linked observations — will live under the new Insights tab, allowing you to quickly gather and manage critical findings. You can create Insights directly from your observations or leverage AI to accelerate insight discovery, surfacing hidden themes within your data.

‍

AI-Driven Insights with full control: You and your organization retain complete control over AI usage. All AI-generated results are fully editable, giving you the flexibility to adjust or even turn off AI support for your studies. Use AI as much or as little as needed, with peace of mind over your data management.

‍

‍

Surveys 2.0 🌟

‍

Enhanced usability
Our survey relaunch focuses on significantly improving usability, making creating, editing, and launching surveys easier than ever. Key releases coming late 2024 include:

‍

• Simplified setup: Manage your entire survey flow - welcome, screening, pre-study, study questions, and thank you - on one page.

‍

• Question grouping: Create and manage question groups for better organization.

‍

• Question mobility: Move individual questions or groups within a study effortlessly.

‍

• Flexible question placement: Add questions at any point in the survey flow.

‍

• Question cloning: Easily duplicate questions to save time.

‍

‍

Video Insights: Coming end of 2024 🎬

‍

By the end of the year, we’ll be adding Video Recording to our Prototype Testing tool. This new feature will allow you to better understand user experiences, and gain even deeper insights during a Prototype test. Video recording will be browser-based, with no plug-in required, eliminating setup complexities. Participant consent to record screen, face and voice is all taken care of by Optimal and captured upfront in the testing process. 

‍

‍

Help shape what comes next 🫵

‍

Join our research panel and influence Optimal's future! You'll get early access to new features and thank-you gifts for your time. Interested? 

Email product@optimalworkshop.com

‍

"Hi Optimal Work,I was wondering if there are some best practices you stick to when creating or sending out different UX research studies (i.e. Card sorts, Prototyye Test studies, etc)? Thank you! Mary"

‍

Indeed I do! Over the years I’ve learned a lot about creating remote research studies and engaging participants. That experience has taught me a lot about what works, what doesn’t and what leaves me refreshing my results screen eagerly anticipating participant responses and getting absolute zip. Here are my top tips for remote research study creation and launch success!

‍

‍

Creating remote research studies

‍

‍

Use screener questions and post-study questions wisely

‍

Screener questions are really useful for eliminating participants who may not fit the criteria you’re looking for but you can’t exactly stop them from being less than truthful in their responses. Now, I’m not saying all participants lie on the screener so they can get to the activity (and potentially claim an incentive) but I am saying it’s something you can’t control. To help manage this, I like to use the post-study questions to provide additional context and structure to the research.

‍

Depending on the study, I might ask questions to which the answers might confirm or exclude specific participants from a specific group. For example, if I’m doing research on people who live in a specific town or area, I’ll include a location based question after the study. Any participant who says they live somewhere else is getting excluded via that handy toggle option in the results section. Post-study questions are also great for capturing additional ideas and feedback after participants complete the activity as remote research limits your capacity to get those — you’re not there with them so you can’t just ask. Post-study questions can really help bridge this gap. Use no more than five post-study questions at a time and consider not making them compulsory.

‍

‍

Do a practice run

‍

No matter how careful I am, I always miss something! A typo, a card with a label in the wrong case, forgetting to update a new version of an information architecture after a change was made — stupid mistakes that we all make. By launching a practice version of your study and sharing it with your team or client, you can stop those errors dead in their tracks. It’s also a great way to get feedback from the team on your work before the real deal goes live. If you find an error, all you have to do is duplicate the study, fix the error and then launch. Just keep an eye on the naming conventions used for your studies to prevent the practice version and the final version from getting mixed up!

‍

Sending out remote research studies

‍

‍

Manage expectations about how long the study will be open for

‍

Something that has come back to bite me more than once is failing to clearly explain when the study will close. Understandably, participants can be left feeling pretty annoyed when they mentally commit to complete a study only to find it’s no longer available. There does come a point when you need to shut the study down to accurately report on quantitative data and you’re not going to be able to prevent every instance of this, but providing that information upfront will go a long way.

‍

‍

Provide contact details and be open to questions

‍

You may think you’re setting yourself up to be bombarded with emails, but I’ve found that isn’t necessarily the case. I’ve noticed I get around 1-3 participants contacting me per study. Sometimes they just want to tell me they completed it and potentially provide additional information and sometimes they have a question about the project itself. I’ve also found that sometimes they have something even more interesting to share such as the contact details of someone I may benefit from connecting with — or something else entirely! You never know what surprises they have up their sleeves and it’s important to be open to it. Providing an email address or social media contact details could open up a world of possibilities.

‍

‍

Don’t forget to include the link!

‍

It might seem really obvious, but I can’t tell you how many emails I received (and have been guilty of sending out) that are missing the damn link to the study. It happens! You’re so focused on getting that delivery right and it becomes really easy to miss that final yet crucial piece of information.

‍

To avoid this irritating mishap, I always complete a checklist before hitting send:

‍

• Have I checked my spelling and grammar?
• Have I replaced all the template placeholder content with the correct information?
• Have I mentioned when the study will close?
• Have I included contact details?
• Have I launched my study and received confirmation that it is live?
• Have I included the link to the study in my communications to participants?
• Does the link work? (yep, I’ve broken it before)

‍

‍

‍

General tips for both creating and sending out remote research studies

‍

‍

Know your audience

‍

First and foremost, before you create or disseminate a remote research study, you need to understand who it’s going to and how they best receive this type of content. Posting it out when none of your followers are in your user group may not be the best approach. Do a quick brainstorm about the best way to reach them. For example if your users are internal staff, there might be an internal communications channel such as an all-staff newsletter, intranet or social media site that you can share the link and approach content to.

‍

‍

Keep it brief

‍

And by that I’m talking about both the engagement mechanism and the study itself. I learned this one the hard way. Time is everything and no matter your intentions, no one wants to spend more time than they have to. Even more so in situations where you’re unable to provide incentives (yep, I’ve been there). As a rule, I always stick to no more than 10 questions in a remote research study and for card sorts, I’ll never include more than 60 cards. Anything more than that will see a spike in abandonment rates and of course only serve to annoy and frustrate your participants. You need to ensure that you’re balancing your need to gain insights with their time constraints.

‍

As for the accompanying approach content, short and snappy equals happy! In the case of an email, website, other social media post, newsletter, carrier pigeon etc, keep your approach spiel to no more than a paragraph. Use an audience appropriate tone and stick to the basics such as: a high level sentence on what you’re doing, roughly how long the study will take participants to complete, details of any incentives on offer and of course don’t forget to thank them.

‍

‍

Set clear instructions

‍

The default instructions in Optimal Workshop’s suite of tools are really well designed and I’ve learned to borrow from them for my approach content when sending the link out. There’s no need for wheel reinvention and it usually just needs a slight tweak to suit the specific study. This also helps provide participants with a consistent experience and minimizes confusion allowing them to focus on sharing those valuable insights!

‍

‍

Create a template

‍

When you’re on to something that works — turn it into a template! Every time I create a study or send one out, I save it for future use. It still needs minor tweaks each time, but I use them to iterate my template.What are your top tips for creating and sending out remote user research studies? Comment below!

‍

Optimal Workshop is thrilled to welcome Designlab as our newest education partner. This collaboration merges our strengths to provide innovative learning opportunities for UX professionals looking to sharpen their design skills and elevate their careers. 

‍

‍

The Power of a Design-First Education Partner

‍

What makes Designlab unique is its exclusive focus on design education. For more than a decade, they have dedicated themselves to providing hands-on learning experiences that  combine asynchronous, online lessons and projects with synchronous group sessions and expert mentorship. With a robust catalog of industry-relevant courses and an alumni network of over 20,000 professionals, Designlab is committed to empowering designers to make an impact at both individual and team levels.

‍

‍

What Designlab Offers for Experienced Designers

‍

Designlab offers a range of advanced programs that support ongoing professional development. Some courses that might be interesting for our audience include:

‍

• Data-Driven Design: Gain confidence in your ability to collect and interpret data, justify design decisions with business impact, and win over stakeholders. 
• Advanced Figma: Accelerate your design workflow and become a more efficient Figma user by learning tools like components, auto-layout, and design tokens. 
• Strategic Business Acumen for Designers: Learn the foundational business knowledge and frameworks you need to influence strategy and get your design career to the next level.  
• Advanced Usability and Accessibility: Strengthen your usability and accessibility skills, integrate universal design principles into your work, and improve advocacy for inclusivity in design.  

‍

These courses ensure that experienced designers can enhance their technical and strategic skills to solve complex problems, lead projects, and design user-centered experiences.

‍

‍

Solutions for Design Teams

‍

Designlab also offers solutions for design teams looking to upskill together. These solutions can range from multi-seat enrollments to their courses to custom facilitation and training programs, perfectly tailored to your teams’ needs. By partnering with Designlab, companies ensure their teams are equipped with practical skills and a forward-thinking mindset to tackle design challenges effectively.

READ: Designing for Accessibility with The Home Depot

‍

‍

Special Offer for the Optimal Workshop Community

‍

To celebrate this partnership, Optimal Workshop users can take advantage of a special discount—$100 off any Designlab course with the code OPTIMAL. Whether you’re looking to refine your skills or explore new areas of expertise, Designlab’s programs offer the perfect opportunity to invest in your professional growth.

‍

Explore how Designlab’s offerings can help you level up your design career—whether it’s through mastering advanced tools, leveraging data more, or becoming a more strategic thinker. With continuous learning at the heart of success in UX and product design, there’s no better time to start your journey with Designlab.

‍

Unlock your potential and discover new possibilities with Designlab’s courses today. Use code OPTIMAL to save $100 on your next course and take the next step in your design career.

‍

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!

‍

‍

A sweet start

‍

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!

‍

‍

Cross-Functional Collaboration: More Than Just a Buzzword

‍

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!).

‍

‍

Purpose-driven design

‍

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

‍

- Company purpose

- Team purpose

- Individual purpose

‍

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.

‍

‍

The art of communication

‍

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).

‍

‍

Standardization meets innovation

‍

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.

‍

‍

Building impactful product teams

‍

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.

‍

‍

Research evolution

‍

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.

‍

‍

The AI conversation

‍

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.

‍

‍

Looking ahead

‍

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

‍

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

‍

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

‍

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

‍

‍

The power of community

‍

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.

‍

‍

What's next?

‍

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?

‍

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. 

‍

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

‍

If you missed our recent live training on Prototype Testing, don’t worry—we’ve got everything you need right here! You can catch up at your convenience, so grab a cup of tea, put your feet up, and enjoy the show.
‍

In the session, we explored the powerful new features of our Prototype Testing tool, offering a step-by-step guide to setting up, running, and analyzing your tests like a seasoned pro. This tool is a game-changer for your design workflow, helping you identify usability issues and gather real user feedback before committing significant resources to development.

Here’s a quick recap of the highlights:

‍

1. Creating a prototype test from scratch using images

‍

We walked through how to create a prototype test from scratch using static images. This method is perfect for early-stage design concepts, where you want to quickly test user flows without a fully interactive prototype.

‍

2. Preparing your Figma prototype for testing

‍

Figma users, we’ve got you covered! We discussed how to prepare your Figma prototype for the smoothest possible testing experience. From setting up interactions to ensuring proper navigation, these tips ensure participants have an intuitive experience during the test. For more detailed instructions, check out our help article 

‍

3. Seamless Figma prototype imports

‍

One of the standout features of the tool is its seamless integration with Figma. We showed how easy it is to import your designs directly from Figma into Optimal, streamlining the setup process. You can bring your working files straight in, and resync when you need to with one click of a button.

‍

4. Understanding usability metrics and analyzing results

‍

We explored how to analyze the usability metrics, and walked through what the results can indicate on click maps and paths. These visual tools allow you to see exactly how participants navigate your design, making it easier to spot pain points, dead ends, or areas of friction. By understanding user behavior, you can rapidly iterate and refine your prototypes for optimal user experience.

‍