Why is Product Research Necessary?

Product research, grounded in the scientific method, is essential for understanding the nature and properties of the world around us, especially from a commercial perspective. The primary goal of product research is to increase revenue or reduce business costs. Here are some examples of where research can be beneficial:

• Testing hypotheses in the development of new products and directions.

• Understanding why customers use the company’s products, identifying what works, what doesn’t, and where improvements can be made.

• Determining what can help retain customers, increase their loyalty, and maximize the value they bring.

• Assessing the mood within the company to identify existing issues.

• Auditing processes to uncover strengths, weaknesses, and areas for growth.

Research is crucial for creating a successful product. It not only provides insights into the customer experience but also sheds light on internal company dynamics. Regardless of the focus, research involves testing hypotheses and examining cause-and-effect relationships, making it a reliable approach for addressing any business challenge.

The basic steps of a simple study include understanding the problem, forming hypotheses, conducting experiments, and testing those hypotheses.

Truism

A truism is an obvious or self-evident truth that doesn’t require research or validation. It is a well-established pattern or fact that is universally accepted and doesn’t need to be tested. Recognizing truisms can save time by focusing efforts on areas that genuinely need exploration.

Research Report

A research report is a document that outlines why a study was conducted, how it was carried out, what was discovered, and what conclusions were drawn. It is the key artifact that provides an overview of the research process and its findings. Ideally, a research report offers practical recommendations that can be implemented.

However, if a study doesn’t yield reliable conclusions, it’s important not to present speculative or unfounded information. Drawing incorrect conclusions can lead to misguided decisions. It’s crucial to remain objective, distinguishing between actual data and data that simply confirms your preconceived notions without proper verification.

The Research Report Contains

• 1

  Problem Statement and Study Purpose

• 2

  List of Formulated Hypotheses

• 3

  Criteria for Evaluating Hypotheses

• 4

  Description of the Research Method

• 5

  Respondent Requirements

• 6

  The course of the Experiment

• 7

  Research Conclusions

This is not an exhaustive or mandatory list. Sometimes, a formal report may not be necessary when the goal is to quickly gather information or verify something minor.

Problem Statement and Study Purpose

The purpose is the desired outcome you aim to achieve. The goal should be to advance your project, protect against unverified decisions, or expand your knowledge base. For example, recommendations should be provided to improve the receptionists’ user experience during the registration process. Such research can help streamline the process and reduce errors.

List of Formulated Hypotheses

A hypothesis is an assumption that guides the discovery of new knowledge. This statement must be tested and either proven or disproven through experimentation. A useful approach is to challenge your hypotheses, actively seeking to disprove them. This helps ensure objectivity in decision-making.

Criteria for Evaluating Hypotheses

After formulating hypotheses, you need to define the conditions under which they will be confirmed. Common criteria include direct feedback, in-person observation, scenario completion, task execution speed, learning curve, and error rate. For example, if the hypothesis is that a secretary can register a visitor without a prior application, the criterion might be direct observation of this event.

Research Method

The choice of research method depends on what you need to learn and the resources available. The primary decision usually lies between qualitative and quantitative methods.

Quantitative Methods

Quantitative research focuses on gathering data from a large number of respondents, often through online surveys. While these methods are quick and cost-effective, they may not provide deep insights due to the difficulty in verifying the respondent’s identity and the accuracy of their responses. Examples:

• Online surveys

• Paired comparison method

• Card sorting

• A/B testing

Tools: SurveyMonkey, Google Forms

Qualitative Methods

Qualitative research prioritizes the depth and quality of the information gathered from respondents. This often involves in-depth interviews or face-to-face conversations, allowing for a better assessment of the respondent’s relevance to the study and the reliability of the data obtained. These methods are typically more time-consuming and expensive than quantitative methods. Examples:

• In-depth interviews

• Observations

• Usability testing

Tools: Figma, Axure, Proto.io

How Many Respondents Should Be Interviewed?

This topic is often debated, so instead of diving into various calculations, I’ll share what I’ve found effective in practice for obtaining valid, actionable results.

• In Qualitative Research

  According to NNGroup’s methodology, interviewing 5-8 people from your target group will reveal about 80% of insights. After interviewing this number of respondents, you’ll likely start hearing repetitive information. However, if a new insight emerges from just one participant that hasn’t been mentioned by others, you should expand your sample by another 5-8 people to explore it further. In practice, this approach usually works, as respondents tend to encounter similar issues and provide comparable feedback.

• In Quantitative Research

  It’s generally recommended to survey 1,000-3,000 respondents or more. However, the actual number depends on the context. For example, if your respondents are company employees and there are only 100 of them, you’ll need to adjust accordingly.

Respondent Requirements

Consider the key characteristics of your target audience when selecting respondents for testing. If you mischaracterize your audience, you might end up with irrelevant data and draw incorrect conclusions. Typically, respondents are selected based on criteria such as prior experience with the product, whether they are current customers, and their role, position, and age.

Avoid making your criteria too detailed. I’ve seen respondent descriptions that include gender, age, education, gadget proficiency, and monthly spending, which didn’t align with the study’s objectives. Often, these descriptions were more of a guess. If you’re unsure who your respondents should be, conduct preliminary research to find out. It’s important to include both experienced and inexperienced users. There can often be a conflict: the interface needs to be accessible to inexperienced users, which may lead to the inclusion of many hints, but this could slow down experienced users as they go through the scenario.

The Course of the Experiment

This section outlines the experiment’s process. This might include face-to-face meetings, audio and video recordings of interviews, screen recordings, or any other methods used to capture and describe the information-gathering process.

Research Conclusions

Research conclusions are derived from the data collected to determine whether the hypotheses were confirmed or not. Besides confirming or refuting the hypotheses, the conclusion should include actionable results, typically in the form of practical recommendations, which were the primary goal of the research. If the study fails to yield useful insights, this should also be noted in the conclusions.