how would you gather user needs data?

In human factors work, you need to gather data about software user needs before you begin to design (or redesign) software. As a user, what are your suggestions for getting the right kind of user needs information from prospective users?

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6 Responses to how would you gather user needs data?

  1. Paul says:

    Doc,

    I have a few ideas which might be considered useful in the information gathering. The first idea would be to either doing what you are asking now or to conudct a general after event market survey; which I am sure has also been conducted. The second idea would be to develop a database which monitors the usage of the in how the application is used versus the frequency in which it is used.
    Another idea may be to create a beta version, provide to whomever you are designing it for, then have a rep onsite to answer questions, and take ideas as the application is being used first hand. I hope that any of the ideas will assist in your information gathering.

    Paul

  2. Doc says:

    Thanks Paul for these varied and useful suggestions for gathering user data. Although I am particularly interested in ideas about how user needs might be measured before design begins, these ideas for testing prototypes (or beta versions of the final product) help us to consider varied ways in which we could followup on initial user needs studies with usability studies.

  3. Winnie Lara says:

    Hi Doc, I have a few suggestions for this… first, be sure to interview many different people. This way, you’re getting more than one view. Second, try to put yourself in the users shoes. If you can better understand what the user is feeling, you will have a better chance to meet their needs. Third, be sure to keep asking questions. Even after completing your initial interviews, it’s important to keep asking questions because you may receive feedback on something that was overlooked the first time.

  4. Steph Freymiller says:

    My suggestion is to see the actual needs that the consumer/customer has. It seems to me that if you ask what they need to do, some folks will admit things that they need out of software that they don’t even think to ask for. If you ask them what their thoughts are for making the right software for them, they don’t really speak the same language. I also noticed above that someone expressed how important it is to take care of the evolving business. Needs change. We need software that matches us and our businesses. We need designers who can see our process and decide what would work the best.

  5. The thing to remember, as Steph points out here, is that the business and the needs of the people it serves are constantly changing. Gathering requirements before you write a line of code is critical, but revisiting those requirements periodically is critical to managing risk and fostering adoption/use of the software.

  6. Alley Miller says:

    In my previous job I attended User Requirement Meetings, in person and webcast. I had to know what my group needed (information wise) and how they wanted to see it on the screen. I had to go back and forth between my team and our developers to make sure they were designing for our needs and not out of some box they already owned. We constantly re-evaluated our needs, internally, and as we rolled out certain screen rights to our customers, we re-evaluated their needs. It was a very rare case when all development stopped on a program. That meant the death of it and repeating this over again with another manufactuer and writing the code over again. There would never have been a way to create and roll-out a program without data gathering, measurement tools, evaluation levels, and room for growth.

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