Evaluative research is all about validating your concepts, testing your prototypes, and knowing whether or not your project is on the right track.
Evaluative research allows you to test a solution and collect valuable feedback that can help you refine and improve the user experience. Findings from evaluative research are key to assessing what works and what doesn't and identifying areas of improvement.
Evaluation research should definitely start early–before anyone gets too attached to a specific design or implementation of a concept.
The goal of the evaluative research methodology is to test your existing solution to see if it meets people’s needs, is easy to access and use, and is hopefully even enjoyable. This type of research should be conducted throughout the development lifecycle, from early concept design (think rough sketches or prototypes) to the final site, app, or product.
There a few of evaluative methods—which include both qualitative and quantitative methods—to answer questions about conceptual fit and the usability of a product.
- Qualitative usability testing, a popular UXR method in which participants think aloud as they interact with a prototype or product.
- Preference testing. This method is used to find out which version of a design people like better.
- Surveys, a deceptively simple process for collecting data from respondents through a questionnaire.
- Tree testing, a technique for testing your information architecture (IA). Tree testing often follows card sorting.
- First click testing, which is just what it sounds like. First click studies help assess the usability of a product by whether users are able to efficiently complete a task.
- Task analysis. This method, which is often paired with other methods, helps you understand user goals and the steps they take to achieve them.
- A/B testing, for when you need to know which version of your product performs better in a test.
If you and your company are interested on this methodology don't hesitate on contact me.
