Yup, traditional user research did tend to be kinda slow. Now, that may simply reflect how much slower things were back in the day, but it also definitely reflects how much academia influenced research way back when. Indeed, there was a time when all researchers had PhDs, wore white lab coats, worked in on-site labs, and wrote 30-page papers for each month-long test they ran. But all that simply reflected how they had been trained academically. They just took what they knew and applied it to a different situation.
Usability engineering was, in fact, a reaction to some of the issues with that approach. The “engineering” part meant that researchers weren’t doing pure research anymore, and that practical applications – and means and methods – would give corporate clients a lot more bang for their buck. So, quicker, faster, more focused, more actionable, more affordable …
These days, though, that’s probably not enough. Overall, there is a huge emphasis on speed – in Agile, in Design Thinking, in Lean UX … heck, in life in general.
I guess the question here, to me at least, is whether things might be going a little too fast. I’m personally familiar with Design Thinking projects where research meant chatting a few people up at the local food court, and evaluation meant stopping people on the street to show them a couple of screens.
Yup, that’s cliff diving alright. Hope you’re a really skilled diver. That water looks like it’s a long way away. And those rocks sure do look like they could hurt a body. You are a professional, right?
Hopefully, one day, the pendulum will be a little more in the middle. Who knows, though. By that time, something else will come along the pike, and the pendulum will be swinging in a completely different direction.
Joe's been doing UX for 30 years,
and is currently working at Enterprise
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