Mastering User Research: Tools, Methods, and Real-World Case Study

01 Research Tools

1. Survey Research

Survey research is one of the most common methods, capable of collecting massive data. Because users have limited patience, questionnaires must be designed rationally. Questions can be qualitative or quantitative, and both types can be combined in a single survey.

2. Phone Interviews

Phone interviews are a higher‑cost but information‑rich approach. The process requires obtaining a large number of target users' phone numbers and then filtering for those willing to speak.

3. On‑site Research

On‑site research involves face‑to‑face interviews or direct observation of users' work, serving as a powerful tool for uncovering pain points and opportunities.

02 Research Outputs

1. User Experience Map

A user experience map visualizes research results by breaking the user journey into key behavior nodes such as acquisition, registration, service experience, payment, usage, after‑sale support, and repurchase. Each node can be described in terms of user thoughts, feelings, and context, allowing designers to pinpoint and improve problematic steps.

2. User Blueprint

When multiple roles are involved, the blueprint extends the experience map to include employee workflows and other stakeholder interactions, forming a comprehensive view of all participants.

3. On‑site Research Case Study

In a recent CRM 4.0 redesign, the design team conducted early‑stage user interviews. The following outlines the practical steps taken.

Preparation Outline

A clear research goal is essential; a detailed outline helps allocate resources and keep the study focused.

Project Background

"The legacy CRM lacked design and interaction input, resulting in unclear processes, unreasonable feature distribution, inefficient interactions, and cluttered interfaces. The technical refactor provides an opportunity to improve overall usability."

Research Objectives

"Conduct user visits, understand system functions, and perform on‑site research to map workflows, identify issues in the old system, and consolidate findings for design optimization."

Research Participants

"Beijing branch salespeople, sales managers, etc."

Research Content

User gender ratio

Primary device models and screen sizes

Daily work processes

Different work scenarios

System operation recordings

Existing system complaints

Data Metrics

Before a project starts, define evaluation metrics. Designers focus on experience improvement, while decision‑makers consider cost, value, and outcomes. Metrics can be grouped into production data, collection data, and analysis data. For back‑office projects, efficiency‑related metrics such as feature click counts, task completion time, and scenario coverage are typical.

Problem Outline

After defining content and participants, create a question outline that links topics and keeps the interview duration around one hour.

Workflow‑related questions:

"What is your daily sales workflow?"

"Which data and information do you focus on?"

"Which tasks consume the most time?"

"Which features do you use most frequently?"

User‑experience questions:

"What system notifications do you pay attention to?"

"Which parts of the current CRM are most frustrating?"

"Are there features that are hard to find?"

"Which features are rarely used?"

Competitive‑research questions:

"Which other CRM systems have you used?"

"What systems do you think are well designed?"

"Which functionalities could be referenced?"

"What features would you like to see added?"

By applying these methods, designers can arm themselves with solid research foundations, dive deep into business contexts, and deliver designs that create real value.