User Research

The final section of chapter 2 focuses on the design cycle and user research.

Objectives

After completing this assignment, students should be able to

• Define, identify, and explain the differences among these user-research techniques: surveys, interviews, focus groups, and field studies (42-45)
• Identify the user-research techniques shown in the assigned segments from Merchants of Cool
• Define, identify, and explain the differences among these different tools for guiding design decisions: personas, goal analysis, and scenarios (45-47)
• Define, identify, and explain the differences among these different tools for evaluating design decisions: wireframes, prototypes, usability testing, and analytics (47-53)
• Summarize the importance of including people with disabilities in research activities (50-51)

Reading

• Horton and Lynch, 42-53

Viewing

The linked segments below should open in Films on Demand after you enter your SWAN username and password.

• Merchants of Cool (Douglas Rushkoff, 2001)
  • “What is Cool, Anyway?” (segment 4)
  • “Spending Money to Make Money” (segment 5)
  • “Sprite’s Anti-marketing Marketing Campaign” (segment 6)
  • “Ethnography Study” (segment 10)

If you have trouble accessing the segments, try one of these two options:

1.  Access the film directly  through Films on Demand. First, log into Galileo and then follow Galileo > Browse by Type > Multimedia > Films on Demand. Once at Films on Demand, search for “Merchants of Cool.”
2.  The full program is also available on the PBS.org web site.