Observing the user experience : a practitioner's guide to user research / Elizabeth Goodman, Mike Kuniavsky, Andrea Moed.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I: Why Research is Good and How It Fits Into Product Development 1. Typhoon: A Fable 2. Do a Usability Test Now! 3. Balancing Needs Through Iterative Development 4. The User Experience Part II: User Experience Research Techniques 5. The Research Plan 6. Universal tools: Recruiting and Interviewing 7. User Profiles 8. Contextual Inquiry, Task Analysis, Card Sorting 9. Focus Groups 10. Usability Tests 11. Surveys 12. Ongoing Relationship 13. Log Files and Customer Support 14. Competitive Research 15. Others' Hard Work: Published Information and Consultants 16. Emerging Techniques Part III: Communicating Results 17. Reports and Presentations 18. Creating a User-Centered Corporate Culture Appendices A. The Budget Research Lab B. Common Survey Questions C. Observer Instructions Bibliography Index About the Author

The gap between who designers and developers imagine their users are, and who those users really are can be the biggest problem with product development. Observing the User Experience will help you bridge that gap to understand what your users want and need from your product, and whether they'll be able to use what you've created. Filled with real-world experience and a wealth of practical information, this book presents a complete toolbox of techniques to help designers and developers see through the eyes of their users. It provides in-depth coverage of 13 user experience research techniques.