Designing With Data
Not all data is created equally. Designers use data and observation to make design decisions. But what data is useful? Google Analytics can give us bounce rates and time on page, for example, but what do the numbers actually tell us? We need to understand the why behind the numbers. Why did someone click on a link? What do people find confusing in the design? These are questions that analytics can’t tell us, and we need to understand them to improve the user experience.
But we do have tools to investigate these questions. Customer Journey Maps help us see an experience and a product through the eyes of the user. Qualitative findings derived from user research can and should drive quantitative analysis. Quantitative and qualitative research should be essential tools that we blend together in our work to make informed design decisions that improve the user experience.