Empathy: Understanding the User
Explanation
Section titled “Explanation”Empathy means putting yourself in the users’ shoes to understand their expectations, frustrations, and needs.
Common techniques:
- Qualitative interviews (individual conversations)
- Quantitative studies (surveys, analytics)
- User immersion
- Competitor analysis
- Observation
- Documentation review
- Persona creation
Qualitative Interviews
Section titled “Qualitative Interviews”Goal: Gather detailed information from a small sample of target users.
How to conduct a good interview?
Section titled “How to conduct a good interview?”- Identify target users (age, socio-professional background, habits, etc.)
- Prepare an interview script with open-ended questions
- Pay attention to verbal, non-verbal, and paraverbal cues (tone, gestures, reactions)
- Use task simulations: ask users to perform a task while observing their behavior
- Avoid bias and do not lead the answers
Note-taking methods:
Section titled “Note-taking methods:”- One UX designer asks questions, another takes notes
- Audio/video recording if needed
Quantitative Studies
Section titled “Quantitative Studies”Quantitative studies gather large-scale data to confirm or invalidate trends identified in qualitative research.
Methods:
- Online surveys (Typeform, Qualtrics, Jotform…)
- Analytics tools (Google Analytics, Hotjar…)
- A/B Testing
- Email campaigns
Persona
Section titled “Persona”A persona is a fictional representation of a typical user, based on real data.
Why use it?
- Helps keep the end user at the center of the project
- Summarizes key user characteristics (motivations, habits, frustrations)
- Guides design decisions based on actual needs
Final Summary
Section titled “Final Summary”- The Empathy phase focuses on deeply understanding users
- Qualitative interviews uncover deep insights
- Quantitative research validates those insights at scale
- Personas help synthesize user profiles and guide the project
This phase is essential to designing a truly user-centered product!