• The 4 Phases
  • All Methods
    • Phase 1Observation
      • 5 Whys
      • 6 Thinking Hats
      • AEIOU Framework
      • Card Sorting
      • Collage
      • Competitive Analysis
      • Content Audit
      • Contextual Inquiry Plan
      • Crazy Eights
      • Eisenhower Matrix
      • Empathy Map
      • Field Study
      • Focus Groups
      • Future Trends
      • How Might We
      • Hypothesis Testing
      • Jobs-to-be-done (JTBD)
      • Journey Mapping
      • Knowns and Unknowns Framework
      • Lessons Learned
      • Mental Models
      • Mind Mapping
      • Moodboards
      • Mystery Shopping
      • Netnography
      • Observation
      • Personas
      • Poems
      • Poster Session
      • Product Love Letters
      • Stakeholder Map
      • Surveys
      • World Café
      • Worst Possible Ideas
    • Phase 2Creation
      • 6 Thinking Hats
      • 6-3-5 Brainwriting
      • Bodystorming
      • Brainstorming
      • Business Model Canvas (BMC)
      • Card Sorting
      • Challenge Assumptions
      • Click Dummy
      • Collage
      • Could, Should, Must
      • Crazy Eights
      • Dark Horse Prototype
      • Eisenhower Matrix
      • Emotional Journey Map
      • Empathy Map
      • Field Study
      • Focus Groups
      • How Might We
      • Hypothesis Testing
      • Innovation Board
      • Jobs-to-be-done (JTBD)
      • Journey Mapping
      • Knowns and Unknowns Framework
      • Low-Fidelity Prototyping
      • Mental Models
      • Mind Mapping
      • Mobile Diaries
      • Moodboards
      • One-Minute-Pitch
      • Personas
      • Pluralistic Walkthrough
      • Poster Session
      • Product Love Letters
      • Remote Usability Test
      • SCAMPER
      • Service Blueprints
      • Stakeholder Map
      • Storyboards
      • Surveys
      • SWOT Analysis
      • User Testing
      • Value Proposition
      • Walt Disney Method
      • Wizard of Oz
      • World Café
      • Worst Possible Ideas
      • Wow-How-Now Matrix
    • Phase 3Implementation
      • A/B Testing
      • Business Model Canvas (BMC)
      • Could, Should, Must
      • Eye Tracking
      • Golden Circle
      • High-Fidelity Prototype
      • Innovation Board
      • Low-Fidelity Prototyping
      • Mobile Diaries
      • One-Minute-Pitch
      • Pluralistic Walkthrough
      • Product Love Letters
      • Remote Usability Test
      • Service Blueprints
      • Storyboards
      • SWOT Analysis
      • User Interviews
      • User Stories
    • Phase 4Validation
      • A/B Testing
      • Competitive Analysis
      • Concept Testing Plan
      • Contextual Inquiry Plan
      • Eye Tracking
      • HEART Framework
      • High-Fidelity Prototype
      • Hypothesis Testing
      • Innovation Board
      • KPI Tracking
      • One-Minute-Pitch
      • Pluralistic Walkthrough
      • Remote Usability Test
      • SCAMPER
      • Search-Log Analysis
      • Service Blueprints
      • Social Media Monitoring
      • Surveys
      • User Interviews
      • User Stories
      • User Testing
  • Workshop Bundles
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  1. UX Toolkit
  2. Observation

observation

In this phase, we’re aiming to collect real information about potential users, their behaviour and their way of thinking.

Gallery View
Participant Count
Duration
34 methods found.
AEIOU Frameworkobservation
1+ Participants
45 – 80 min

Give your observations and field research structure by getting to know the problem's environment.

Card Sortingobservation
4 – 12 Participants
30 min

Structure information into reasonable groups.

Collageobservation
2+ Participants
60 – 95 min

Let users express their feelings through collages.

Competitive Analysisobservation
1+ Participants
35 – 90 min

Evaluate the competition.

Content Auditobservation
1+ Participants
60+ min

Get to know existing content and become able to rate it.

Contextual Inquiry Planobservation
3 – 10 Participants
30 – 120 min

Plan and organize when, where, and who is to be observed to obtain information.

Crazy Eightsobservation
2+ Participants
5 – 15 min

Quick generation of a large number of ideas.

Eisenhower Matrixobservation
1+ Participants
25 – 45 min

Sort tasks by importance.

Empathy Mapobservation
1+ Participants
45 – 90 min

Collect information about how the emotional and mental world of your user looks like.

Field Studyobservation
2+ Participants
1 – 2 d

Dive into the user's life.

5 Whysobservation
1 – 2 Participants
5 – 15 min

This is a very simple method for digging deep into the mind and background of users and their behaviour.

Focus Groupsobservation
5 – 8 Participants
45 – 90 min

In-depth insights from different perspectives.

Future Trendsobservation
2+ Participants
45 – 90 min

Discuss and assess topics that may become trends in the future.

How Might Weobservation
2+ Participants
30 – 60 min

This method is used to summarize research insights in a constructive way. By starting the phrases with “How might we“, it is implied that there is a solution to the problem but not what the solution actually is.

Hypothesis Testingobservation
2+ Participants
3 – 5 d

Making hypotheses and verifying their truthfulness to gain clarity about a product, a problem, or a group of people.

Jobs-to-be-done (JTBD)observation
1+ Participants
60 – 90 min

Find out why your customers are buying your product and what their social, functional and emotional needs are.

Journey Mappingobservation
1+ Participants
60 – 90 min

Get an overview of a certain process and its steps in relation to time.

Knowns and Unknowns Frameworkobservation
1+ Participants
20 – 30 min

Define the level of awareness and understanding of an idea.

Lessons Learnedobservation
1+ Participants
30 – 55 min

Reflect on what was learned from the experience of designing a product or service.

Mental Modelsobservation
1+ Participants
20 min – 2 d

Match with your user's expectations.

Mind Mappingobservation
1+ Participants
10 – 15 min

This method is great for warm-up sessions during ideation phases.

Moodboardsobservation
1+ Participants
60 – 90 min

Visualize your ideas fast and early in your research phase.

Mystery Shoppingobservation
5+ Participants
3 h – 2 d

Observe people having a shopping experience in a store while observing and understanding their behaviour.

Netnographyobservation
1+ Participants
4 h – 4 d

Observe different online communities and their behaviours.

Observationobservation
1+ Participants
30 – 180 min

Real insights from users in their natural environment.

Personasobservation
1+ Participants
30 – 90 min

Get to know the target group and have a foundation for future decisions.

Poemsobservation
1+ Participants
60 – 120 min

Poems (people, objects, environments, messages and services) is great to structure your field research during user and environment observations.

Poster Sessionobservation
5+ Participants
50 – 95 min

Present ideas, concepts, and insights in a visually appealing way.

Product Love Lettersobservation
10+ Participants
6 – 7 d

Invite users to write a letter to a product, that is either a love or a hate/break-up letter.

6 Thinking Hatsobservation
6+ Participants
45 – 90 min

Spot quality ideas after having generated a good amount of output.

Stakeholder Mapobservation
1+ Participants
4 – 8 h

Understand who can influence the product or could be affected by it.

Surveysobservation
50+ Participants
5 – 30 d

Method for collecting quantitive data on a certain topic.

World Caféobservation
12+ Participants
4 h – 5.5 h

Let people explore different approaches in a short period of time.

Worst Possible Ideasobservation
1+ Participants
25 – 30 min

The ultimate permission for having a terrible idea to come up with meaningful ideas in a fun way.

© Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, 2022.
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