52683 USER EXPERIENCE RESEARCH
Assessment Item 2: User Experience Research Project (Group and Individual) 60%
(Part A) UX Research Project - Group
Working in groups of 3-4, students apply their knowledge and skills of user experience research methods to research and analyse a chosen product or service. Students develop a series of user research methods/activities to better understand the needs, goals and pain points of their chosen product’s end users. Students then workshop, test and refine their user research methods, before conducting relevant research and collecting data. It is expected that students will conduct a series of user research methods/activities including, but not limited to, a contextual enquiry, survey/questionnaire, and interview questions for target users. Based on the data analysis, students will propose relevant recommendations to improve the overall end-user experience. These recommendations will be conveyed in an in-class presentation (including a slide deck) as if to executives who run the company of the chosen product or service.
(Part B) Ethical Research Statement - Individual
Throughout the user experience research, data collection, data analysis, and presentation process, students are to reflect on the ethical research practice and principles of researching with and for Indigenous users. Individually, students reflect critically on the ethical implications of their human-centered design research using specific examples of their own research activities to demonstrate their ethical research practice, and present this as a written statement.
A detailed brief and outline of deliverables are provided below.
Objective(s): a, b, c, d and e
Groupwork: Group and Individual
Weight: 60%
Word Length: Part A (Group): UX Research Presentation – 6-8 mins + slides + compiled research data/appendix submitted as a PDF to Canvas
Part B (Individual): Ethical Research Statement – 750 words
Due: Part A (Group) The presentation document and compiled research data
must be submitted to Assignments on Canvas the day before your presentation:
• by 11:59pm Sunday 11th May for Monday classes or
• by 11:59pm Tuesday 13th May for Wednesday classes
The group presentation will take place in-class in the student’s allocated seminar (either Monday 12th May or Wednesday 14th May)
Part B (Individual) will be submitted to Assignments on Canvas by 11:59pm Friday 30th May (Final Assessment Period)
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User Experience Research Project
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Weighting
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Quality and professionalism of research plan, methods, analysis and recommendations
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35%
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Quality and professionalism of presentation delivery and materials
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20%
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Effectiveness of individual contribution to the research project
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10%
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Engagement with ethical research practice with and for Indigenous users in individual research statement
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15%
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Synthesis of relevant theoretical and practice-based UX approaches in individual research statement
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10%
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Clarity of expression and accuracy of referencing in individual research statement
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10%
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PART A (Group) –
User Experience Research Project
As a group, students are to choose one app from the list of A1 apps. You may choose an app a group member has already studied for A1. You can also refer to work completed in A1 when discussing your findings in A2 e.g. did your data validate your assumptions from A1? Did your data reveal additional pain points?
Each group will conduct the following methods:
Survey: each group member to conduct at least 3 (group total: 9-12 minimum)
Interview: each group member to conduct at least 1 (group total: 3-4 minimum)
Contextual Enquiry: each group member to conduct at least 1 (group total: 3-4 minimum)
Heuristic Evaluation (for groups of 4): each group member to conduct 1 (group total: 4)
Method Leads
Each group member will choose a method and take responsibility for that method eg. Survey Lead, Interview Lead, etc. The Method Lead is responsible for drafting, testing, instructing other team members in data collection, collating and analysing data, and presenting the results of their research method. Other team members will contribute with testing and data collection, under the direction of the Method Lead.
For example, the Survey Lead will:
• draft the survey questions and pilot test them
• apply any feedback from the group and finalise the survey questions
• instruct the other group members in how to conduct their surveys
• collate and analyse the data
• present the survey results in the group presentation
The other group members will:
• complete the survey evaluation form. and give feedback to the Survey Lead
• conduct surveys under the guidance of the Survey Lead
• return the data to the Survey Lead in a timely manner
Please ensure you are conducting your research ethically and safely. Make sure you conduct all in-person surveys, interviews, and contextual enquiries in a public space ie. not in someone’s home. If your research involves children/minors, you must only conduct your research with a parent/guardian over 18 years of age.
Presentation Timing
• For groups of 3, you will have 6 mins in total.
• For groups of 4, you will have 8 mins in total.
We will have to enforce the time limits to make sure all groups have an opportunity to present.
Individual Contribution
Although this is a group presentation, you will be marked individually. You must provide evidence of effective individual contribution to the project by completing evaluation forms on your group members’ draft methods, and through participation in conducting surveys, interviews, contextual enquiries, and heuristic evaluations. Tutors will be monitoring your uploads and activity on MS Teams throughout semester and checking that you are participating in your group research project.
Submission to Canvas
Due to Canvas the day before your presentation:
One member of the group must submit the presentation slides:
• Please ensure that the cover slide includes the names and student numbers of all members of the group.
• Please ensure that the name of each project lead and their method is clearly identified.
• You can also submit an online link to your Canva/Google slides to be used during the presentation, but you must submit a PDF by the due date.
Each student must submit their individual compiled research data as a PDF:
• The method evaluation forms you completed for each method
• The final survey/questions/outline of your method
• The data collected using your method
• Your data analysis
• Copy of your team contract
These documents will be used to grade the quality and professionalism of your research, as well as your individual contribution.
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Suggested Presentation Structure (use as a guide only)
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Slide 1: Background to the Project
Slides 2 – 3: Research Objectives and Methodologies
Slides 4 – 6: Survey Method
Slides 7 – 9: Interview Method
Slides 10 – 12: Contextual Enquiry Method
Slides 13 – 15: Heuristic Evaluation Method
Slides 16 – 18: Overview of Key Findings and Final Recommendations
Background to the Project
• Provide a short introduction outlining the app, its key users and user segmentation, plus user needs.
Research Objectives and Methodologies
• List research objectives/goals (what did your research set out to achieve?)
• Provide a brief overview of the research methodologies and methods
(behavioural/attitudinal etc.) you have used and why? You may use a methods table to summarise the key information.
For each method, you should discuss:
• Target Participants
o Outline your target users/participants. Indicate who (in terms of
demographics) you recruited for the user research and how you found participants (e.g. sampling approach).
• User Research Method
o How did you implement/action these methods?
o What sort of data you were looking for and what you hoped the data would tell you about the users, their needs, their pain points etc?
o This section must be clearly explained and supported with reference to readings/sources to substantiate your research approach.
• Data Analysis and Key Findings
o What data was collected?
o How was the data analysed?
o What were the key observations/findings resulting from this analysis?
Overview of Key Findings and Final Recommendations
• Grounded in your research and analysis, what are the key findings and
recommendations you can provide to executives for the improvement of the digital product/service?
• Whenever possible, identify the benefits of your recommendations.
• What were the limitations of the research?
• Include any further research you may need to conduct and why it is needed.
PART B (Individual) –
Ethical Research Statement (750 words)
In addition to the above Part A – User Experience Research Project, we want you to discuss the ethical considerations for researching with and for Indigenous peoples. You should refer to relevant principles and responsibilities from the required readings on Indigenous research including the AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research (2020). You should also refer to relevant theoretical and practice-based UX approaches, including required readings and industry sources.
Drawing on relevant UX approaches and the AIATSIS Code of Ethics, please discuss the following points in relation to the method you were responsible for and the methods you assisted with:
• How have you considered the inclusion of Indigenous users in your survey/interview/contextual enquiry/heuristic evaluation?
• Which principles and responsibilities from the AIATSIS Code of Ethics were relevant to your methods?
• How did you adhere to these principles when researching with Indigenous users?
• If you did not have Indigenous participants in your research, please explain how you would have ensured that you upheld your ethical responsibilities and adhered to the core principles within your method. Please give detailed examples of how you would have put these principles into practice. You can use the Guide to Applying the AIATSIS Code of Ethics to help you.
Please also provide evidence that you have successfully completed the Ethics module and test on Canvas with a 100% score (include a screenshot of your score at the end of your document).