Summary
The speaker begins by sharing his journey from computer science to a PhD in cognitive science at Stanford, and his extensive experience at startups, Yahoo, eBay, Realtor, and McAfee (now Intel Security). He stresses the critical intersection of security and user experience, aiming to improve usability in this field. He categorizes enterprise UX users into end users, admins, and buyers, underscoring their different needs and the primary shared goal of job security. Introducing a layered user experience model, he places core user needs at the center, surrounded by usability and appeal (content and look/feel). Referencing Catherine Courage’s upcoming book, he formalizes a 3D research method framework: qualitative versus quantitative, behavioral versus attitudinal, and context of use (natural, scripted, decontextualized, hybrid). He discusses popular research methods like usability labs, ethnographic field studies, interviews, big data analytics, surveys, and concept testing. Ethnographic field studies are noted as especially powerful for understanding real-world user behavior. The speaker highlights challenges in enterprise UX research, including restricted access to customers in B2B contexts, conflicting insights from varied stakeholders, and the absence of competitive pressure in internal IT teams, which can diminish UX quality. Using the fourth dimension of time, research is aligned to product development phases: strategy focusing on user needs (favoring field studies and interviews), optimization for design refinement, and assessment relying on quantitative methods. He closes by advocating a balanced mix of quantitative and qualitative approaches, emphasizing inclusion of field studies and usability labs to achieve what he terms the golden trapezoid of user research.
Key Insights
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Enterprise UX involves distinct user roles: end users, admins, and buyers, each with unique needs.
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A simple layered model of UX centers on user needs, surrounded by usability and appeal layers.
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Qualitative methods provide rich, direct, contextual insights, while quantitative methods offer scalable, numerical measurement.
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Behavioral data often differs from attitudinal data because people may be unaware of or misreport their actions.
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Ethnographic field studies capture powerful real-world behaviors and workflows not accessible via surveys or labs.
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In enterprise B2B contexts, sales teams often control customer access, limiting user research opportunities.
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Lack of competition in internal IT environments can reduce the incentive to improve user experience.
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Product development stages (strategy, optimization, assessment) guide the timing and type of research methods employed.
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Field studies and interviews are vital in the strategy phase to deeply understand user needs before design.
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Combining qualitative and quantitative methods across user research delivers more comprehensive insights, creating the golden trapezoid.
Notable Quotes
"Every great user experience begins with meeting a user need at its very core."
"People at Target got fired over the breach that occurred, so not getting fired is a strong motivator."
"What people say and what they do are often not the same thing, and it's not because people are liars."
"Ethnographic field studies are probably the most powerful qualitative method available."
"Having no competition can be a problem because it removes pressure to create a great user experience."
"In enterprise, buyers worry about box checking and avoiding being fired, which fragments security product adoption."
"The success metric for internal customers is often just getting the product out the door on time."
"Big data lives in the upper right corner: quantitative and behavioral methods like clickstream and A/B testing."
"Use a mix of quantitative behavioral and attitudinal methods plus field studies to get a complete picture."
"The golden trapezoid of user research happens when you combine field studies, usability labs, and quantitative data well."
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