user-researchlisted

# User Research ## Coverage User research covers the generative qualitative methods that surface what people do, think, feel, and need — typically before a solution exists. The core methods are **semi-structured interviews** (Steve Portigal, Tomer Sharon), **contextual inquiry** with its master-apprentice stance (Beyer & Holtzblatt), **ethnographic observation** in the user's actual environment, **diary studies** for behaviors that unfold over days or weeks, and **intercept studies** for in-the-moment reactions. Each method trades off depth, naturalism, scale, and scheduling cost differently; choosing well depends on what kind of evidence the project needs. The skill includes the craft of **interview construction**: opening with broad context questions, moving to specific recent episodes ("tell me about the last time you…"), avoiding hypotheticals ("would you use…") and leading prompts ("don't you find it frustrating that…"), and using silence as a tool. The **critical incident technique** (Flanagan) and **5 Whys** laddering are used in-session to push past surface answers. The practice also includes what NOT to do: solution-prompting, confirmation seeking, anchoring on the interviewer's own hypothesis, interrupting, and steering toward a preferred narrative. Contextual methods extend interviews into the user's environment. **Contextual inquiry** treats the user as the master craftsperson and the researcher as an apprentice asking clarifying questions while the user works.