Practical User Research for Enterprise UX

2.1 Why It’s Hard to Get Support

for Research in Enterprises
2.1.1 Time and Budget
Instead of answering the question “What dowe gain if we do this research?”, ask instead “What do we stand to lose if we don’'t do the research?”
2.1.2 Legacy Thinking
Product roadmaps get decided by “the bureaucracy（官僚主义）”, and unfortunately few leaders practice what Clayton Christensen calls discovery-based planning
Discovery-based planning suggests that managers assume that forecasts are wrong, rather than right, and that the strategy they have chosen to pursue may likewise be wrong.
2.1.3 Product Myopia（近视）
everyoneon the team holds a different idea of what the product should do.
Creating something of any complexity generally requires several different people with different backgrounds and different priorities to collaborate on a goal.

2.2 How to Sell the Value of User Research in Enterprises

2.2.1 • Increased revenue
2.2.2 • Reduced cost
2.2.3 • Faster development cycles

2.3 How to Get the Right Support

2.3.1 • Start with the outcomes –- what the company gains from the research
2.3.2 • Move on to explain how research is closely connected to those
outcomes.
2.3.3 Show some existing projects that suffered from skimped on user
research.
2.3.4 If possible, show proof from a small internal project where research
was included
2.3.5 And as a final kicker, bust some of the myths around research –-
especially the time/budget thing –- and present a plan for how to
incorporate research into the development process

2.4 Field Tips for

Enterprise User Research
2.4.1 Plan for Users Who Aren’'t Buyers
users and buyers are not the same people –- and their needs
couldn’'t be more different.
2.4.2 Write a Concise User Research Plan
Background.
Methodology and Schedule
Goals (overall and specific).
Outcomes.
2.4.3 Focus on Core User Research Methods
Useful = Utility + Usability

2.4.4 Record and Document Your Sessions for Better
Collaborative Analysis
2.4.5 Always Show Your Work