A Recipe for UX Success

Delivering a satisfying digital solution using UX research is no different than cooking a meal for a crowd -- you need to know the audience, have the right ingredients, understand the process, and be able to execute the finer details.

I love to cook -- and, if you’ve seen my waistline, it’s clear I love to eat. For 20 years I’ve been the primary cook in my household and I love everything about cooking (note: this does not include baking. I am not a fan; luckily, my wife is). And it came to me that there are many parallels between what one does in the kitchen and what a team can do to design the right product for clients.

Always Learning, Always Improving

I think back to my early days exploring cooking -- overcooking a chicken breast, dumping some salsa on top, and voilà -- something edible, but not exactly good. Over the years, you learn different techniques, experience different cultural palates, and incorporate new tools into your kitchen (which is why I keep eyeing a tagine…)

It’s no different with UX research. You can keep doing the same thing over and over, but your chance of success is greater if you can adjust on the fly. Sometimes a room isn’t responding to your efforts, so how can you change your techniques to elicit quality responses? How can you get that vital information from someone who may be shy to participate? It takes time, experience, and willingness to learn.

Understand Foundational Principles…

I mean, do knife cuts really matter? It may not be the end of the world if you bite into an undercooked hunk of sweet potato next to a mushy carrot, it is far more pleasing if the cook took the care to uniformly dice the ingredients so they cook evenly.

From French mother sauces to time-tested family recipes, there are techniques that form the foundation of cooking across generations and cultures. They provide the understanding and experience you need. And UX is no different.

Understanding basic interview concepts: how to listen, how to ask probing questions, how to read body language is key. Knowing what tools exist, how to use them, and how to interpret results is the minimum starting point.

… But Add Your Own Flair

However, UX research is not a net-sum equation. You don’t just ask a bunch of people something, compile the results, and, voilà, you have an intuitive IA. There are still methods needed to interpret results, understand what’s being said, and context to be provided.

We learn and grow. We get exposed to new experiences and tools. We experiment. Maybe your grandmother had an incredible mac and cheese recipe, but that doesn’t mean it’s gospel. Feel free to add your own flair. Experiment with different cheeses and find what works for you.

Same for UX. Use the tools that are out there, but feel free to adapt them to your audience. Toss in that metaphorical gruyère and see what the results are.

Get the Right Ingredients

If you’re going to cook for a crowd of vegetarians, it’s probably best not to seek advice from hard-core carnivores. The same goes for UX. If your site its intended to be targetted to an external audience, but the majority of your research is inward facing -- or executed by an internal audience -- you’re pretty much doomed to failure.

Confirmation bias can sink any efforts -- people are more likely to stick with what they know. And even if the IA is awful, with enough time people get used to it. Think of it like a brisket -- delicious, I know, but it takes time and effort to get it that way. Brisket is one tough cut of meat and only over time does it break down.

Sure, you can break down your audience in the same way -- subjecting them to poor IA for years, then asking them if it works. Or you can try presenting them with a well-seasoned ribeye and see which they prefer. Many people are comfortable with eating only the things that they’re comfortable with -- it’s our role to provide them with potentially challenging, but ultimately rewarding, alternatives.

Making sure you ask the right questions is only part of the game. Asking those questions to the right people matters more.

Mistakes in the Mix

Timing is a key element of cooking. Rushing the process can have disastrous results. If you rush your roux or cook your sauce on too high a temperature to expedite the process, you end up with unappealing clumps or broken sauces.

The same can be said for cooking things out of order. If you thrown in more delicate items like fruits, fresh herbs, or tomatoes at the same time as your heartier ingredients, you end up with unpleasant textures and overcooked products. There’s a cadence to cooking.

You can replicate the look of a recipe, but if you do things out of order, you run the risk of ruining the end result. This is especially true if you undervalue the “meat” of the process -- treat research as an afterthought or add-on to design, and it’s the equivalent of waiting until the last 10 minutes to cook that chicken. Sure, it may look good on the outside, but the inside is underdone and potentially ruinous to your project’s effectiveness.

Generally, this happens because a client wants things a certain way. The research is there to justify a desired end result, and the “recipe” needs to be amended to produce that result. Rarely is that a pleasant experience for anyone -- especially the one consuming the product. Process exists for a reason.

Ultimately We Eat with Our Eyes First

And it’s important to note that all of the techniques in the world won’t matter if you don’t have the artistic chops to make something look good. Plating makes a huge difference because we eat with our eyes. Understanding how food looks on a plate, contrasting colours and textures, all combine to create a positive first impression, which will hopefully be supported by the quality of the food.

It’s no different for UX work. All the research in the world doesn’t matter if you don’t have skilled developers and designers who can take those ingredients and transform them into something that’s pleasing to the end consumer.

Focus on for Whom You’re Cooking

Whether or not you feel this analogy is half-baked or overdone, the point is that we’re creating products for an end user. We need to understand what they want, what they like, and what they need, then use our skills -- either in the kitchen or online -- to deliver a solution that is right for them. And making sure you have the right ingredients, use the right tools, and follow a well-designed process is a recipe for success.