Change is the only constant, right? Well, in the UX world, design teams are often assigned redesign projects ranging from a complete makeover to minor refinements according to the evolving user expectations and behaviors. UX designers have an amazing instinct to identify what actually works and stand their ground to prioritize design and experience-related changes over metrics-driven improvements.
From Spotify, Google, Meta (formerly Facebook), Instagram, and Airbnb, to Mastercard, Visa, Apple, and many more, designing user experience has played a pivotal role in helping them innovate, retain customers, and, more importantly, stay relevant.
During a redesign project, even the most experienced UX teams find it challenging to determine the approach and wonder which UX research method will capture accurate user insights, improving product performance in the long run.
This article addresses this barrier by highlighting some of the key research methods that have worked for designers worldwide.
Redesign with research, not just instincts
We get it. The combination of your past redesign experiences, skills, and design instincts can easily lead you to believe what is likely to work for your upcoming redesign project. However, redesigns are not that straightforward, and only work when you have clarity about what your users want, rather than what you think they need.
Therefore, it is essential to evaluate your approach and pick the right techniques that uncover precious user insights. These include detailed insights about how your users interact with your product, their pain points, and a few parameters that are high on their priority list.
While your redesign project aims for freshness, it should build on the past groundwork (if any) and existing product knowledge. Keep an eye on the key parameters by leveraging tools, including Google Analytics, dashboard analytics tools, and sales funnel KPIs to determine where users drop off, which features are driving conversions, etc.
It is also worth noting that historical qualitative studies, including user interviews, also provide vital insights, including historical trends, user patterns, etc. Therefore, it is a good idea to revisit your previous research to make informed redesign decisions.
This helps teams validate their assumptions, identify key areas of improvement, and most importantly, avoid wrong redesign choices.
Effective UX research methods for flawless redesign
Let’s now explore some of the most effective UX research methods that will redefine your redesign process and take it to the next level.
1. UX analytics
In today’s digital age, redesign decisions should be strongly backed by quantitative data on user behaviours on the current product. There are plenty of analytical techniques and tools available today that can help you and your team members uncover important trends, such as drop-off stages, device usage trends, engagement, etc.
You can also use heatmapping tools to verify the analytics you are working with and get a clear understanding of where users click, scrolling patterns, and more. These insights allow you to make data-driven redesign decisions.
2. Usability testing
Usability testing is arguably one of the best UX research methods at your disposal while redesigning a product, since it gives a clear picture of what is working and what isn’t. Usability testing enables your design team to gather first-hand insights from users as they perform tasks assigned to them. Additionally, your team can also evaluate the various navigation barriers, confusing sections of the product, and various other UX friction points.
Usability testing comes in various forms, including moderated, unmoderated, remote, and in-person. The best part? Pick the most suitable approach, depending on your requirements and objectives.
The idea behind usability testing is to validate your design at the initial phase of the redesign process and tackle key issues before diving deep into the redesign process. While redesigning a product, it becomes very important to compare the before and after results during usability testing since it validates your new design’s impact.
Best for: Minimise drop-offs, validating UX modifications, and assessing task flows
3. User interviews
Although evaluating the product experience is crucial, your research efforts during a redesign should be able to capture a user’s relationship and perception about the product. This helps teams identify loyalty drivers and tap on existing opportunities to strengthen loyalty.
While usability testing allows you to set a solid foundation for your redesign project, uncovering the “what” and “why” behind certain user behaviours, user interviews and surveys complement your efforts by helping you scale those insights. In other words, interviews offer valuable qualitative insights into the user’s requirements and frustrations.
These interviews help design teams go a step above surface-level observations, revealing emotional responses and context-of-use scenarios that impact product decisions.
Best for: Getting a better understanding of your users’ frustration points
4. A/B testing
As you progress into your redesign journey, it is always a good idea to compare different versions of your user interfaces based on their performance. This is where A/B testing enters the scene, allowing you to statistically validate your efforts rather than solely relying on stakeholder opinions and assumptions.
A/B testing is typically used by design teams to refine and optimise revenue-generating or high-traffic sections of your product, including landing screens, pricing pages, checkout process, etc.
Best for: Comparing different redesign versions, improving conversions
5. Tree testing
The nature of your redesign project will determine whether you need tree testing. That said, tree testing is a key UX research method during a redesign project that primarily involves restructuring the product’s navigation or information hierarchy, allowing design teams to assess how users are categorising content.
Tree testing also helps designers confirm whether the redesigned navigation and information architecture (IA) helps users find what they need faster than the previous version. This UX research technique is particularly useful when you want to ensure the redesigned IA improves intuitive discovery.
Best for: Enhancing discoverability, navigation-related redesign projects.
Wrap up
It is worth noting that redesigning isn’t just a makeover or a cosmetic update, but a data-driven opportunity to build a product that aligns with what users really want. That said, the process should be driven by a perfect mix of UX research, design instincts, and tools that provide the important insights necessary to make informed product decisions.
From UX analytics, usability testing, tree testing, and other research methods mentioned in the article, you can ensure your redesign endeavor is validated with data and designed to make a positive impact.
UserQ enables designers to create tailored research methods and workflows to uncover accurate and improved user insights. Designers can leverage the various research methods available on our platform, eliminating guesswork from their redesign projects and making user-driven decisions.
Get started for free today.
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