Why we’ll need user research more than ever after this pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged many aspects of our lives. It has impacted the way we work, the way we shop, the way we attend doctor appointments, to name a few. Many aspects of our lives are turning to a digital landscape faster than we expected. No doubt coming out of this crisis, we will face a new normal. What follows are questions and thoughts on the general impact of COVID-19 and the future of design for a new wave of digital experiences and a new spectrum of needs based on the assumption that a rapid shift to digital in many sectors will follow.
A new reality
“We are only taking urgent matters, if you wish to speak to your doctor we now have virtual appointments, you will need to complete a form, send that back to our email, and then you will need to register on the new system that we have.”
This was the message from the clinic assistant over the phone, while I was receiving my online grocery pickup instructions just before my next round of back to back virtual meetings.
How might we provide tools that are better suited for this new reality where our digital medium usage seems to be increasing?
For the single mother that works from home with kids that attend a school or a doctor’s appointment online? What about a marginalized aging cohort likely to encounter fewer brick and mortar services where they used to go to socialize? An aging cohort impacted even more by an increased number of people opting to isolate or provide digital offerings? How do we continue to serve those that are more inclined to have a face-to-face conversation?
How do we serve those with disabilities and additional barriers?
There will be unparalleled opportunities to serve customers through new mediums and provide unique experiences that bring value to their life, but we must first understand their world.
We will need to understand new patterns and behaviors from a sped-up exposure to a digital life to better serve their needs. Where they will want to focus their energy and attention? What A Day in the Life will be for those that will have a decrease in commuting because of normalcy, of work from home, and less physical interaction? What their motivations will be? What difficulties will they face?
The future of insights generation
Empathy has always been a driver of user-centered company cultures. Face-to-face research is the most popular method for conducting empathic research, but with more at-home realities, research will likely have to accommodate its execution to understand people from the distance.
How can we continue to build that empathy when research and fieldwork move to more automated forms of data generated without the presence of a researcher and through technologies like virtual or augmented reality? How might we continue to pick up on unspoken signals or clues about what people are thinking or feeling miles away from our participants?
There will always be opportunities to remain empathetic, even if our patterns developed from self-isolation carry on beyond the pandemic.
User Research as a mindset and fundamental skill
Those leading with empathy and connecting with their customers are likely to stay and win their customers on this shift to a new normalcy. As we design the products of the future, we must listen and go beyond the numbers that emerging technologies will compile for us.
With an accelerated shift of customers to a digital landscape, it will be vital for organizations to remain human. User research can’t longer be an exercise unique of a team producing reports likely to be ignored, but a collaborative, intentional and orchestrated effort between all the parties involved in the making of a product to have a shared understanding of the customer needs. Customer-focused organizations will need to empower their teams to learn about their customers, insights will continue to be more rapidly available and transparent to the teams in organizations looking to bring value to the lives of their customers.
User research will need to become a fundamental skill for those making and designing the next generation of digital experiences, the ones that will respond to a new range of problems and needs. Researchers must play a role in championing and empowering others to make sense of the data and understand the new story of their customers after this pandemic.
