Involving and Understanding the User

To develop good and user-friendly software, it is worthwhile to involve the user in the development process. In order to obtain feedback from users as early as possible and incorporate it into development, the human-centered or User-Centered Design process places the user at the center of the entire design process. This process involves four stages that are iteratively traversed:

• Analysis (Understanding the user and their problems) Specification (Defining and documenting requirements) Prototyping (Creating design solutions)
• Evaluation (Checking if the requirements are met)

If during the evaluation it is found that the requirements are not yet met, it is possible to return to one of the previous stages to expand the analysis, sharpen the specification, or adjust the prototype. This continues until the requirements from the specification are met.

To better understand the user, the analysis captures the context of use. This includes considering the user who uses the software, their goals, tasks, environment, and resources. Goals that the user wants to achieve with the software can be broken down into smaller tasks. Resources are the means they need to perform their tasks.

Types and Forms of Surveys

There are methods such as observation, focus groups, or surveys to obtain information about the user or the context of use. Surveys are differentiated between standardized surveys, semi-standardized surveys, and narrative surveys.

Standardized and semi-standardized surveys are particularly suitable for user surveys and follow a structured questionnaire that is prepared in advance. The former strictly follows the questionnaire, deviating neither from its sequence nor allowing additional questions to be asked. It is only allowed to explain questions if they are not understood. In semi-standardized surveys, it is open in which order the questionnaire is conducted, and additional questions may be asked.

Narrative surveys dispense with a questionnaire. Instead, the interviewer asks targeted questions to encourage the respondent to tell their story. This form of survey can be particularly useful for writing biographies, for example.

Once the type of survey has been chosen, it is important to consider in what form it should be conducted. Generally, a distinction is made between online surveys, telephone interviews, and conceptual interviews, where the survey (face-to-face) is conducted at the location where the software is used.

Types of Questions

Depending on the goal of the survey, it may be crucial to choose the right type of questions. However, it is not excluded that both types may be used in a survey.

Open-ended questions allow for new insights or exploration since in this form of questions, there are no answer options to choose from, and the respondent can freely talk. This may bring up aspects that the interviewer had not considered and can be further explored. However, it should be noted that there may be digressions in the answers that may need to be controlled.

Closed-ended questions provide predefined answers from which the respondent chooses. This is useful when the answers can be estimated in advance and thus specified. A typical example of closed-ended questions are yes/no questions, which bring easier evaluation and comparability.

For all surveys, it is important to avoid suggestive questions and instead choose neutral questions. Suggestive questions contain a certain valuation and can lead the respondent to give an answer they would not have given if the question had been formulated neutrally. The question “Do you find the navigation successful?” presumes a positive mood and may unintentionally lead the respondent to simply agree, even if they have a different opinion. “How do you perceive the navigation,” on the other hand, leaves the direction open and gives the respondent room to think about it and decide for themselves.

Hands-On – What Have I Learned?

If the number of respondents allows, I like to conduct individual interviews. This allows for the opinions of individuals who tend to hold back in a group and let others take the lead to be obtained.

Furthermore, I have discovered semi-standardized surveys with a supplementary introduction for myself. The questionnaire serves as a guide and for checking whether all important questions have been answered. I prepare the introduction to pick up the user at the beginning of the survey, explaining what the survey is about or what it refers to. Furthermore, part of the introduction is to convey to the respondent that they cannot give wrong answers, but rather to understand their tasks and work steps, to get to know their “daily work routine” and identify potential pain points to address them directly.

At the beginning, I like to clarify if we can use informal language, as this creates a more relaxed atmosphere and removes some formality. Then I start with questions that are easy for the user to answer. This includes their job title or how long they have been using the software. This can alleviate tension, as some people perceive a survey as an examination situation and are nervous, afraid of making mistakes or saying something wrong. Through the simple questions at the beginning, the respondent realizes that it is about them or their work and the questions are easy to answer. Then I go into depth and clarify the relevant questions about the system.

When I want to query demographic data, such as age, I have made it a habit to place these at the end of a survey. Asking them directly at the beginning can be uncomfortable, as the interviewer and respondent often do not know each other.