By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader Designing products that truly meet user needs requires more than assumptions or surface-level feedback. Contextual inquiry offers a powerful way to understand users by observing and engaging with them in their natural environment. This method reveals insights that traditional interviews or surveys often miss, leading to better, more user-centered designs. Contextual inquiry is a research technique where designers or researchers observe u

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader Diary studies offer a unique window into people's daily lives, capturing behaviors, thoughts, and emotions as they happen. Unlike traditional research methods that rely on recall or one-time observations, diary studies collect data over time, providing rich, detailed insights. This approach helps researchers understand patterns and contexts that might otherwise be missed. Diary with handwritten notes and pen What Are Diary Studies? Diary

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader Understanding your users is key to building products that truly meet their needs. One of the best ways to gain this understanding is through user interviews. These conversations provide direct access to user thoughts, motivations, and pain points, offering insights that data alone cannot reveal. This post explains how to conduct user interviews that deliver clear, actionable information to improve your product. User interview setup with

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader User experience (UX) design shapes how people interact with products, websites, and apps. But creating a smooth, enjoyable experience requires more than just good visuals or intuitive layouts. It demands a deep understanding of user behavior—how people think, feel, and act when they engage with a product. This is where behavioral UX research plays a crucial role. By studying real user actions and motivations, designers can build experie

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader User experience (UX) shapes how people interact with products and services. When a design fails to meet user needs, frustration grows, and engagement drops. Evaluative UX research helps identify these issues by testing designs with real users. This process reveals what works, what doesn’t, and where improvements are necessary. Mastering evaluative UX research means creating products that truly serve users, leading to satisfaction and suc

Understanding what drives people’s choices, behaviors, and needs often requires more than just surface-level data. Generative discovery research offers a powerful way to uncover deep insights by exploring unspoken motivations and hidden patterns. This approach helps researchers, designers, and product teams create solutions that truly resonate with users. Generative discovery research focuses on exploring unknowns rather than testing known ideas. It encourages open-ended inqu

Discover the fundamentals of UX research and learn how to gather meaningful insights that drive better design decisions.

When I first dove into the world of UX design principles, I quickly realized how crucial they are for creating products that truly resonate with users. It’s not just about making things look good; it’s about crafting experiences that feel intuitive, efficient, and even enjoyable. Whether you’re leading a team or shaping strategy, understanding these principles can transform how your organization approaches design and research. Let’s explore the core ideas behind UX design pri

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader and AI Strategist When I first dove into the world of designing user experiences, I quickly realized it’s more than just making things look pretty. It’s about crafting meaningful interactions that resonate with users and drive real business outcomes. Whether you’re leading a team or shaping strategy, mastering the fundamentals is essential to building scalable, effective UX research practices that empower data-driven decisions. Let’s exp

The only constant in the world of UX is change. As we look ahead to 2025, several key trends are emerging that will shape the future of UX research. In this post, we'll explore the most significant of these trends and what they mean for UX professionals. Embracing Change in UX Research Change is inevitable in the world of user experience. As we move forward, it's essential to stay informed about the trends that will impact our work. Understanding these trends can help us adap

By Philip Burgess The Power of UX Research: A Guide for 2025 UX Research is the systematic study of users, their behaviors, needs, and motivations to improve product design and usability. It employs various research methods and techniques that gather insights through qualitative, quantitative, or mixed approaches to inform and optimize user experience design throughout product development. Key Aspects of UX Research The main purpose, and power of UX Research, is to understan

When I first encountered affinity mapping, I was struck by its simplicity and power. It’s a method that turns chaos into clarity, helping teams uncover patterns in user data that might otherwise remain hidden. If you’re looking to elevate your UX research and strategy, mastering affinity mapping is a game-changer. It’s not just about organizing notes on a wall; it’s about unlocking insights that drive smarter design decisions and measurable business value. Let’s dive into how

By Philip Burgess - UX Research Leader Finding the balance between business goals, time, and user understanding. 💬 Introduction: The Art of Choosing the Right Method One of the most common questions I hear from teams is, “What’s the right research method for this project?” It’s a fair question — but there’s rarely a single right answer.Choosing the right UX research method is part science, part art. It depends on what you need to know , how quickly you need to know it , and

By Philip Burgess - UX Research Leader By Philip Burgess – UX Research Leader 📧 phil@philipburgess.net  | 🌐 www.philipburgess.net Understanding the Foundation: What Is UX Research Card Sorting? Card sorting has been a cornerstone of UX research and information architecture (IA) for decades. It’s a deceptively simple method—participants group related concepts or “cards” into categories that make sense to them.The outcome?A clearer understanding of how users mentally organize

When I first dove into the world of user experience, I quickly realized it’s more than just making things look pretty. It’s about crafting meaningful interactions that resonate with users and drive real business outcomes. If you’re aiming to lead advanced UX research and strategy, understanding the core user experience principles is non-negotiable. These principles guide us in creating products and services that are not only usable but also delightful and effective. Let’s exp

By Philip Burgess - UX Research Leader Diary studies are one of the most underutilized but powerful methods in the UX researcher’s toolkit. They give us a window into users’ real lives—capturing behaviors, thoughts, and emotions as they unfold naturally over time. Unlike lab studies or one-off interviews, diary studies help uncover longitudinal patterns  and contextual insights  that are easy to miss in snapshot research. What Are Diary Studies? A diary study asks participant

# Building a Strong UX Research Foundation: The Essential Steps By Philip Burgess - UX Research Leader 1. The Business Case Defines the “Why” The business case sets the stage for our research. It answers essential questions: Why are we doing this research? What business decision or risk does it support? Example Customer service calls about claims submissions have increased by 30%, costing $250K per quarter. We need to understand what’s driving this friction to reduce costs a

By Philip Burgess - UX Research Leader At the heart of UX research lies a simple but powerful method: the user interview . Whether you’re exploring unmet needs, validating assumptions, or uncovering motivations, user interviews give researchers a direct line to the people behind the data. But like any method, user interviews are most effective when used with intention. Let’s explore what they are, when to use them, and the best practices that make them impactful. What Are Use

By Philip Burgess - UX Research Leader UX research is not only about what users do  but also about what they believe, prefer, and expect . While behavioral analytics reveals the actions people take, attitudinal analytics  uncovers the perceptions that drive those actions. Together, they give researchers the full picture: behavior explains the what , and attitudes explain the why . What Is Attitudinal Analytics? Attitudinal analytics is the structured measurement of user belie

By Philip Burgess - UX Research Leader In UX research, it’s not enough to know what users say — we need to understand what they actually do. That’s where behavioral analytics  comes in. By tracking clicks, navigation paths, drop-offs, and interactions, behavioral analytics helps researchers uncover hidden friction, validate qualitative findings, and quantify the real impact of design decisions. What Is Behavioral Analytics? Behavioral analytics is the process of collecting an