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Design Academy My progress

Stage 2 · Core · Beginner

UX research and problem definition

Learn what people need, test your assumptions and define the right problem before designing.

  • 13 lessons
  • about 7 h 5 min of reading and practice
  • in writing

Nothing to track yet. Lessons appear here as they are written.

About this stage

Most failed products did not fail because of bad visuals. They solved a problem nobody had, or solved the right problem for the wrong people. Research is how designers find out what is actually going on before committing time and money.

This stage teaches lightweight, ethical research you can run on your own: writing research questions, interviewing people, synthesising notes into themes, and turning findings into problem statements and success metrics.

Before this stage Stage 0: Orientation and design foundations

Learning outcomes

  • Separate assumptions from evidence and turn them into research questions.
  • Plan and run a short, ethical user interview without leading the participant.
  • Synthesise notes into themes with affinity mapping, and avoid over-claiming.
  • Write problem statements, opportunity statements and measurable success criteria.
  • Choose between interviews, surveys, desk research and analytics for a given question.

Lessons

The lessons in this stage are being written. Lessons marked “In writing” are listed so you can see the full scope; they are never counted towards your progress. The resource library and glossary cover these topics in the meantime.

  1. Understanding users and business goals In writing

    Why both matter, and how to find the overlap where good products live.

    In writing 30 min

  2. Research questions and assumptions In writing

    Writing questions that research can actually answer.

    In writing 30 min

  3. Desk research and competitive analysis In writing

    Learning from what already exists before talking to anyone.

    In writing 35 min

  4. User interviews and ethical research practice In writing

    Recruiting, consent, scripts, follow-up questions and staying neutral.

    In writing 45 min

  5. Surveys: when they help and when they do not In writing

    Good survey questions, sample bias, and why surveys cannot tell you why.

    In writing 30 min

  6. Qualitative versus quantitative research In writing

    What each kind of evidence can and cannot tell you.

    In writing 25 min

  7. Affinity mapping and thematic analysis In writing

    Turning a wall of notes into themes and insights you can defend.

    In writing 40 min

  8. Personas: useful applications and common pitfalls In writing

    Evidence-based personas versus fictional stereotypes.

    In writing 30 min

  9. Jobs to Be Done In writing

    Describing what people are trying to get done, independent of your product.

    In writing 30 min

  10. Empathy maps and user journey maps In writing

    Mapping what people think, feel and do across an experience.

    In writing 40 min

  11. Problem statements and opportunity statements In writing

    Framing the problem so the team agrees on what they are solving.

    In writing 30 min

  12. Hypotheses, assumptions and prioritisation In writing

    Ranking what to test first by risk and impact.

    In writing 30 min

  13. Defining success metrics In writing

    Choosing measures that show whether a design actually helped.

    In writing 30 min