You're racing to meet project milestones. How can you ensure user research doesn't get left behind?
Even with tight deadlines, it's crucial to maintain the integrity of your user research. To ensure it remains a priority:
How do you keep user research on track during busy project phases? Share your strategies.
You're racing to meet project milestones. How can you ensure user research doesn't get left behind?
Even with tight deadlines, it's crucial to maintain the integrity of your user research. To ensure it remains a priority:
How do you keep user research on track during busy project phases? Share your strategies.
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As a senior UI/UX designer at Codefacto, balancing development speed with user insights is crucial. Even with tight deadlines, user research remains a priority. To ensure this, we plan smartly by dedicating time for research from the start. We streamline methods with quick, iterative testing for real-time insights. We also involve the whole team in user sessions, enhancing collaboration and understanding. These strategies help us keep user research central, even during busy project phases.
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Skipping user research might seem like a way to save time, but it often leads to costly mistakes or rework later. Even with tight deadlines, we can adopt a lean approach to gather critical user insights. This ensures our decisions are grounded in real needs, ultimately saving time and delivering a product that meets expectations.
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Depending on the nature of the work and the target users, myself and the team(which we have divided into two distinct groups: 'research' and 'implementation') would often make sure from an empirical point of view, we try out all the features on the basis of whatever amount of research success we have had so far within the frame of the project, then we iterate both sides as we progress. But generally, testing alongside research can help when we are in such a bottleneck. When we have all the time, we would usually research thoroughly prior to implementation.
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Time crunch? Don’t skip user research! Integrate it into your workflow: • Run quick guerrilla testing • Use remote tools for faster feedback • Leverage existing data and analytics Prioritise ruthlessly: • Focus on critical user journeys • Test core assumptions only • Use lean research methods Involve the team: • Share research tasks • Make it a team responsibility • Hold brief daily research syncs Remember, some research is better than none.* Even small insights can prevent costly mistakes.
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Even with tight deadlines, user research can't be sidelined. I schedule dedicated research time early in the project, ensuring it’s built into the timeline from the start. I streamline methods by opting for quick, iterative testing cycles to gather valuable insights fast. I also involve the whole team, encouraging them to participate in or observe user sessions so everyone stays aligned. These strategies help me keep user research a priority, even during the busiest phases of a project.
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