| name | ux-research |
| description | Use when conducting user research, usability analysis, or validating design decisions. Covers user personas, journey mapping, usability heuristics, A/B testing, feedback analysis, and research methodologies. |
| user-invocable | false |
| allowed-tools | ["Read","Write","Edit","Grep","Glob"] |
UX Research -- Validating Design Decisions with Evidence
1. User Persona Template
## Persona: [Name]
**Role**: [Job title] | **Experience**: [Novice/Intermediate/Expert] | **Tech Comfort**: [Low/Med/High]
**Uses system**: [Daily/Weekly/Monthly] | **Device**: [Desktop/Tablet/Mobile]
### Goals
1. [Primary goal] 2. [Secondary goal] 3. [Tertiary goal]
### Pain Points
1. [Frustration] 2. [Inefficiency] 3. [Missing capability]
### Scenarios
- **Happy path**: [Typical successful workflow]
- **Edge case**: [Unusual but important scenario]
- **Failure recovery**: [What happens when things go wrong]
Example: Sarah (Accounts Manager) -- Processes 30-50 invoices/day, prefers keyboard shortcuts, pain points: multi-screen switching, slow reports, poor search. Ahmed (Warehouse Supervisor) -- Uses tablet, needs large touch targets, simple forms, high contrast.
2. Journey Mapping
## Journey Map: [Task Name]
**Persona**: [Name] | **Goal**: [Outcome] | **Duration**: [Time] | **Trigger**: [Event]
| Stage | Action | Thinking | Feeling | Pain Points | Opportunities |
|-------|--------|----------|---------|-------------|---------------|
| 1. Navigate | | | | | |
| 2. Fill form | | | | | |
| 3. Review | | | | | |
| 4. Complete | | | | | |
Map the emotional journey (1-5 scale) alongside actions. Identify the lowest-satisfaction moments as design priorities.
3. Nielsen's 10 Heuristics (Enterprise UI)
| # | Heuristic | Good Example | Bad Example |
|---|
| 1 | Visibility of status | Loading spinner: "Generating report..." | Form submits with no indicator |
| 2 | Match real world | "Invoice", "Due Date" | "Sales Document Type A", database column names |
| 3 | User control | Undo after delete, cancel with unsaved warning | Permanent deletion without confirmation |
| 4 | Consistency | Same icon/position for edit across modules | Save button left in one form, right in another |
| 5 | Error prevention | Disable submit until valid, date picker constraints | Free-text date field, no validation until submit |
| 6 | Recognition > recall | Recent customers in selector, breadcrumbs | Must remember customer codes |
| 7 | Flexibility | Keyboard shortcuts, bulk actions, saved filters | Every action requires multiple menu clicks |
| 8 | Minimalist design | Progressive disclosure, summary cards | 20+ KPIs visible at once, 30-field single-page form |
| 9 | Error recovery | "Invoice date cannot be in the future. Select today or earlier." | "Error 422" |
| 10 | Help | Tooltip: "Days from invoice date until payment is due" | No help text anywhere |
Evaluation Template
Rate each heuristic 0-4 (0=no problem, 4=catastrophe). Score >= 3 must fix before release.
4. A/B Testing
Hypothesis Template
IF we [change/add/remove] [specific element],
THEN [metric] will [increase/decrease] by [amount],
BECAUSE [reasoning based on research/data].
Test Spec
- Primary metric: Task completion time / conversion rate / error rate
- Guardrail metrics: Must not decrease (e.g., completion rate)
- Sample size: Calculate via power analysis. Min detectable effect: 10%
- Confidence level: 95% (p < 0.05)
- Duration: Minimum 7 days to account for day-of-week effects
- Segmentation: By role, branch size, experience level
Result Template
| Metric | Control | Treatment | Difference | p-value | Significant? |
|---|
| [metric] | [val] | [val] | [+/-X%] | [val] | Yes/No |
Decision: Ship / Iterate / Abandon -- [Reasoning]
5. Feedback Analysis
Classification
| Category | Subcategory | Example |
|---|
| Bug | Functionality/Display | "Save button broken on Firefox" |
| Feature Request | New/Enhancement | "Export invoices to QuickBooks" |
| Usability | Navigation/Clarity | "Cannot find tax settings" |
| Performance | Speed/Responsiveness | "Report takes over a minute" |
Prioritization Matrix
High Frequency
Quick Wins (P2) | Must Do (P0/P1)
Low Impact -------|------- High Impact
Deprioritize (P3)| Strategic (P2)
Low Frequency
6. Usability Testing Script
### Introduction (2 min)
"We are testing the [feature], not you. Think aloud as you work."
### Tasks (15-20 min)
**Task 1: [Name]**
Scenario: "[Realistic description]"
Success criteria: [What constitutes completion]
Observe: Found starting point? Understood labels? Errors? Time: ___
### Post-Task (5 min)
1. Ease rating 1-7 (Single Ease Question)
2. Most confusing part?
3. What would you change?
### SUS Questionnaire (3 min)
10 alternating positive/negative statements rated 1-5.
Score: (odd items: score-1, even items: 5-score) * 2.5 = 0-100.
80-100=Excellent, 68-79=Good, 50-67=Needs improvement, <50=Unacceptable.
7. Task Success Metrics
| Metric | Definition | Target |
|---|
| Task completion rate | % who complete | >90% |
| Time on task | Avg completion time | Varies |
| Error rate | % with at least one error | <10% |
| Learnability | Improvement attempt 1 to 3 | >30% faster |
| SEQ (post-task) | Ease rating 1-7 | >5.5 |
8. Information Architecture
Card Sorting
Use open sort to discover natural groupings. Report similarity matrix (e.g., Invoice+Credit Note+Payment grouped by 85% of participants).
Tree Testing
Validate navigation structure. Measure success rate, directness, and time per task. If success <70%, restructure that path.
9. Analytics-Driven UX
| Metric | Insight |
|---|
| Bounce rate per page | Pages that confuse users |
| Funnel drop-off | Where users abandon workflows |
| Search queries | What users cannot find via navigation |
| Session recordings | Actual behavior patterns |
| Click heatmaps | Where users click and miss |
Funnel Template
| Step | Users | Drop-off % |
|---|
| 1. Open form | 1,000 | -- |
| 2. Fill fields | 920 | 8% |
| 3. Submit | 780 | 15% |
| Biggest drop-off: Investigate which fields cause abandonment. | | |
Monthly UX Scorecard
| Metric | Target |
|---|
| Task completion rate | >90% |
| Avg SUS score | >75 |
| Support tickets (UX) | <20 |
| Feature adoption (new) | >40% |
| Form error rate | <5% |
