By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader Understanding how users organize information is crucial for creating intuitive designs and effective navigation systems. One method that has gained attention for its flexibility and depth is the hybrid card sort . This approach combines elements of both open and closed card sorting, offering a balanced way to gather user insights. This post explores what hybrid card sorting is, how it works, and why it can be a valuable tool for designer

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader Understanding how users organize information is key to creating clear and intuitive navigation and content structures. One effective method to gather this insight is the closed card sort . This technique helps designers and researchers test how well predefined categories work for users and identify potential improvements in labeling or grouping. Person performing a closed card sort with labeled cards on a table What is a Closed Card Sort

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader Understanding how users organize information is key to creating intuitive websites and applications. One effective method to gather this insight is the open card sort . This technique helps designers and researchers uncover how people naturally group content, which can guide navigation, labeling, and overall structure. Open card sorting invites participants to categorize items in a way that makes sense to them, without predefined groups.

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader MaxDiff analysis is a powerful method used to understand preferences by asking people to choose the most and least important items from a set. This technique helps reveal what truly matters to customers, employees, or any group being studied. Unlike traditional rating scales, MaxDiff forces clear choices, making the results more reliable and actionable. Understanding MaxDiff analysis can help businesses, researchers, and decision-makers

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader Understanding what drives customer choices is a challenge for many businesses. Conjoint analysis offers a practical way to uncover how people value different features of a product or service. This method helps companies design offerings that better match customer preferences, leading to improved satisfaction and sales. Survey form showing product attributes and customer ratings What Is Conjoint Analysis? Conjoint analysis is a research t

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader Cognitive modeling helps us understand how people interact with systems, tools, and interfaces. One of the most effective methods to analyze and predict user behavior is the KLM-GOMS model. This approach breaks down tasks into basic actions and estimates the time needed to complete them. If you want to improve user experience or design more efficient interfaces, understanding KLM-GOMS is essential. KLM-GOMS model applied to user interfac

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader Effective UX research drives product success, but teams often struggle to manage incoming research requests and decide what to prioritize. Without a clear system, research efforts can become scattered, delayed, or misaligned with business goals. This post explores practical frameworks for UX research intake and prioritization that help teams stay focused, deliver timely insights, and support better decision-making. Organizing UX research

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader User experience (UX) research has always played a key role in shaping products that meet user needs. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming this field, shifting UX research from a purely tactical function to a strategic driver of innovation and business growth. This change affects how teams gather insights, make decisions, and design experiences that truly resonate with users. UX researcher reviewing AI-driven insights AI En

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader Understanding how users interact with a product or service is essential for making smart business choices. UX metrics provide clear, measurable data that reveal how well a design meets user needs. When used correctly, these metrics can guide strategic decisions that improve customer satisfaction, increase engagement, and boost overall success. This post explores how to use UX metrics effectively to shape strategy. It covers key types of

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader User experience (UX) research often generates valuable insights, but connecting those insights directly to business outcomes remains a challenge for many organizations. Without clear key performance indicators (KPIs), UX efforts risk being seen as abstract or disconnected from company goals. This post explains how to build KPIs that link UX research to measurable business impact, helping teams demonstrate the value of their work and guid

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader Creating a clear and actionable UX research roadmap every quarter is essential for teams aiming to improve user experience effectively. Without a structured plan, research efforts can become scattered, priorities unclear, and outcomes less impactful. This guide walks you through the process of building a quarterly UX research roadmap that aligns with business goals, addresses user needs, and drives meaningful design decisions. A UX resea

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader Aligning research goals with business goals is essential for companies that want to make informed decisions and drive meaningful growth. When research efforts connect directly to what a business aims to achieve, the results become more actionable and valuable. This post explains how to create that alignment clearly and practically. Researcher analyzing data charts to align goals Understand the Business Goals Clearly Before setting resear

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader User experience (UX) research shapes how products and services meet real user needs. When done well, it drives better design decisions, improves satisfaction, and boosts business outcomes. Yet many UX research efforts fall short because they lack a clear foundation. Building a high-impact UX research practice requires focus on five key pillars that guide every step from planning to delivery. This post breaks down those pillars and offers

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader Executive leaders face constant pressure to make decisions that drive business success. They rely on clear, reliable information to guide product development, customer experience, and strategic planning. UX research can provide this information, but only if it meets the specific needs of these leaders. Understanding what executive leaders truly want from UX research helps teams deliver insights that influence decisions and create real im

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader Ambiguous problem statements often block progress in research projects. When the problem is unclear, teams struggle to focus their efforts, wasting time and resources. Turning vague questions into clear, strategic research objectives is essential for meaningful results. This post explains how to break down unclear problems and build focused research goals that guide effective investigation. Transforming unclear problems into clear resear

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader When every task in UX research seems urgent and important, deciding where to focus can feel overwhelming. Teams often face tight deadlines, multiple stakeholder demands, and a long list of potential research questions. Without clear priorities, research efforts can scatter, wasting time and resources while missing critical insights. This post offers practical strategies to help you prioritize UX research effectively, ensuring your work d

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader User experience (UX) research often gets boxed into the role of a service team that delivers usability tests or user feedback on demand. This limits its potential and undervalues the insights it can provide. To truly benefit from UX research, organizations need to position it as a strategic partner that shapes product direction, business decisions, and customer understanding. This post explores how to shift the perception of UX research

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader User experience (UX) research often struggles to make a real impact on product decisions. Teams collect data, run surveys, and conduct interviews, but the insights rarely translate into meaningful changes. The problem is not the research itself but how the strategy is built and integrated into the product development process. This post explains how to create a UX research strategy that drives clear, actionable decisions and improves your

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader User experience (UX) plays a crucial role in the success of any product or service. Measuring UX effectively helps teams understand how users perceive their offerings and identify areas for improvement. The UMUX-Lite (Usability Metric for User Experience - Lite) is a concise and reliable tool designed to benchmark user experience quickly and efficiently. This post explores the UMUX-Lite benchmarking template, explaining its purpose, stru

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader Understanding how much mental effort a person uses during a task is crucial for designing better learning experiences, improving user interfaces, and enhancing workplace productivity. Traditionally, time on task has served as a simple way to estimate cognitive load. However, relying solely on how long someone spends on a task can be misleading. This post explores why measuring cognitive load requires more than just tracking time and off