<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\tA rule of thumb is for every one dollar invested in User Experience research you save $10 in development and $100 in post-release maintenance.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t<\/section><\/p>\n
How does this rule work? For example, say we conduct problem research that lasts several days and costs $1000. That investment allows us to collect information and define scenarios that help define a scope of work and reduce development cycles by avoiding the development of unnecessary features.<\/p>\n
How much time does a team of developers need to produce a feature or a set of features?<\/p>\n
A day, a week, maybe months? Will it cost another $1K or $10K?<\/p>\n
What if users don\u2019t really need the feature(s)? How can we know this without research? What if the product goes to market and the team finds out that nobody uses whole parts of the product or that the product is used for questionable purposes? Will the client lose $1K, $10K, or $100K?<\/p>\n
Minimizing risks: Discovering business and user needs<\/h3>\n What can we do to minimize the risk of developing the wrong solutions? Get as much information as possible for further analysis and synthesis.<\/p>\n
To start, talk to the business owner to understand their goals, vision, and core needs. My personal recommendation is to talk as often as possible with as many stakeholders as possible from the project\u2019s kick-off stage to full closure. In this manner, you\u2019ll have insights coming in at every stage of the process that allow you to fine-tune and introduce corrective measures on the go before the project goes into production.<\/p>\n
Tip 1:<\/b> Be curious, ask, double-check, specify, communicate \u2014 nothing good can be created in isolation.<\/em><\/p>\nIf we\u2019re talking about a product or a service where end users are humans, then we must talk to them; why would we develop anything for people and ignore them? Would you buy a new house or a vehicle that was built without consideration of the users\u2019 needs and experiences?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s na\u00efve to think that a business knows everything. It\u2019s even more na\u00efve to assume that you don\u2019t have the budget and time to go talking to the people for whom you\u2019re developing your product.<\/p>\n
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Many product owners think it\u2019s a waste of time to ask people what they need \u2014 and in some cases, not asking also works! But in my experience, it works in the rare exception of visionary entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\tWe can\u2019t ask people what they need, because they simply need faster horses.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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