Spirit Softworks can can help you to learn about the characteristics of your target users and how they currently perform the tasks that your digital products support by observing the work of and interviewing either

• people who are representative of users working in the task or information domains that your products support
• actual users of your current products or competing products

Ideally, we observe and interview your target users within the context of their normal working environments.

Benefits of User Research

The qualitative data that Spirit gathers during user research enables us to help you

• understand your target users’ needs, desires, preferences, and goals
• learn about your target users’ mental models and the terminology that they use
• become familiar with the context of your target users’ work
• learn how your target users currently perform their tasks and how your products can better support their tasks
• ascertain your users’ perceptions of your current products or those of your competitors
• identify usage patterns for your product or your competitors’ products
• determine what user needs, desires, and preferences your product must satisfy
• determine what unmet needs future versions of your products should satisfy

Other Methods of Gathering User Data

To obtain information from a broader range of current or potential users of your products, Spirit can also conduct Web-based surveys or focus groups for you. Through surveys or focus groups, we can ascertain current or potential users’ perceptions of your products and competing products.

For a Web project, Spirit can also analyze your site’s access logs and search logs to determine usage patterns for your site, ascertain what information site visitors find of interest, and learn the vocabulary that they use when searching for information. User research can tell you what information is most valuable to the people who visit your Web site.