Requirements Gathering
In requirements gathering, usability researchers gather information to inform design and lay groundwork for additional research. During requirements gathering, researchers investigate the tasks and goals of your target audiences—both to establish product requirements and to identify usability objectives for the product or website. The qualitative data from this phase is richer and more detailed than information from traditional marketing methods alone.
The following methods uncover user requirements and unmet needs:
- Ethnographic Interviews—A research method that helps researchers understand how the context of use affects users’ approaches to tasks.
- Contextual Inquiry—With this research method, researchers observe people performing their usual tasks or activities in their own offices or homes to collect concrete data rather than users’ summaries or memories.
- Focus Groups—A research method to explore product concepts and explore product designs with a group of people with similar characteristics.
- Participatory Design—A design method in which a team of users, designers, developers, and other stakeholders work together to create product designs. Including users on the team makes sure their requirements inform the design.
Requirements gathering occurs throughout the product lifecycle. Iterative design techniques (the spiral model of design) enable teams to respond more effectively to requirements as they emerge.