When to use what method?
In each step of the Visma UX Value Loop there are different methods and activities you can use depending on the needs, time, scope and your team. When you choose what methods to use we strongly recommend a mix of both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Quantitative methods are used to get indirect data / information about the users or the situation. For example statistical measurements what’s happening or larger scale surveys. You get answers to questions such as “What is happening, how often and by whom?”
Qualitative methods are used to get direct insights into behaviours and attitudes to your service. You will get a deeper understanding about “Why” things are happening, what the problem is and how to fix and improve things.
In the illustration below we recommend methods you can use in each step of the Visma UX Value Loop. Feel free to deviate from it if you find it leads to good results.
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1. Understand |
2. Define |
3. Prototype |
4. Build |
5. Validate |
6. Measure |
| What you should do, for who and why? Meet your users to understand the problem to solve and the opportunity to add value. | What is the goal and the best solution? Before you jump into solutions,define the optimal customer journey, explore ideas and set up goals. The key in this step is ideation and alignment. | How should the solution work? Time to visualize and test your idea and solutions with external users. Remember to iterate on feedback. | How do you design the best solution and user experience? Refine the details focusing on building a smooth user experience. Ensure that you have easy access to users and domain people for fast feedback loops. | How do you know that your solution and user flows is good? Validate your solution by usability testing and use MVP.s to learn. Iterate with users and respond to feedback. | When do you know that you have solved the right problem and that users are happy with the solution? Close the loop by measuring the outcome. |
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Field studies
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Diary studies
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| User interviews | |||||
| Impact Mapping | |||||
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Design sprint
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Stakeholder Interviews
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Market Research
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Focus groups
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Focus groups
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Thematic Analysis
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Thematic Analysis
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| Surveys | Surveys | ||||
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Behaviour Personas
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Behaviour Personas
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Customer Journey Mapping
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| User Story Mapping | |||||
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Empathy mapping
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Heuristic Evaluation
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Heuristic Evaluation
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Services Blueprinting
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Innovation Jams / Ideation
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| Prototyping | |||||
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Testing Hypothesis
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A / B Testing
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| Prioritization Methods | |||||
| MVP release model | |||||
| Usability Testing | Usability Testing | ||||
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Support ticket analysis
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Support ticket analysis
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Community activity
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Community activity
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| rNPS, pNPS | rNPS, pNPS | ||||
| Customer Effort Score (CES) | Customer Effort Score (CES) | ||||
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Behaviour Data Analysis (Data Mining, Google Analytics ++)
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Behaviour Data Analysis
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Services Usage Metrics
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Services Usage Metrics
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Change Announcements
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Reverting Back by Users
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The purpose of this recommendation
The goal with this “map” is to make sense and structure UX methods in this constantly expanding pool of different methods and tools. The goal is also for it to work inspiration for you to get familiar with methods that you may never have heard of before.
We will continuously update descriptions and “how-to” instructions for all methods. In the meantime you can search on the name of the method and get different templates and guides how to use them and what are the benefits.
Additional reading:
When to use which UX research methods – Nielsen Norman group
