User Model Research
Understanding how a user thinks and how a user will behave is the key principle behind user centered design. Our philosophy has always been that you do not have to change the way you think in order to use technology, it should work like you think it works. User Model Research allows us to ensure that your product takes advantage of knowledge that users already posses and allows them to apply it in a straightforward manner.
Timing
Typically, we do user model research during the Visioning stage to allow us to build a comprehensive understanding of the users and their thought processes, illuminating how they will and do behave with various prototypes.
Methodology
We use a variety of techniques that allow users to drive and influence the information architecture and or navigation of a product. Card sorting is a powerful example of user model research. User observation and other methods allow us to create a comprehensive picture of user groups, their characteristics and the contexts of use that they operate in.
Benefits
- Insight into the users' mental model.
- Accurate organization of information, proper jargon, nomenclature and taxonomy.
- Reveals more about how users behave rather than opinion
- Allows for fast testing of various prototypes
- Provides an excellent tool for "tweaking" designs
Duration
A typical round of user model research will take about 1 to 2 weeks, depending on the methods used.