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Intercept Studies give you quick user feedback on your early ideas

Field studies are great for seeing real user behavior and pain points. It’s also important to get out and test your concepts “in the wild” before you get too invested in code. That’s what intercept studies are for.

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card sort design validation guerrilla technique observation online tools reverse card sort tree test

Test your navigation with a reverse card sort

Even with a good content management system it can be hard to re-arrange stuff after you’ve gone live. Take the time to test out your proposed navigation with a reverse card sort to quickly iterate to a working model.

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card sort guerrilla technique methods remote user testing

Happy users: information architecture via index cards

Users are happiest when your site’s structure – its information architecture – matches the way they think about the problem space. Get insight into their thoughts using a card sorting task. You’ll be surprised how different their perspective is from yours.

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guerrilla technique online tools remote user testing

Online tools for user testing

Online testing can give you fast feedback for very little financial outlay. The results might be less trustworthy than face-to-face sessions, but the technique fits well as a complementary tool. 

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design validation guerrilla technique planning user studies

Cheap, fast, reliable: you can have all three

Cost-effective, quick research techniques don’t always inspire confidence in your data. Perform many small incremental studies to build reliability over time. 

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design validation guerrilla technique heuristic evaluation inspection method methods

Heuristic Evaluation – no users required

Check your product is following simple rules of interface design. It’s fast and finds potential UI issues before your users do. 

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cognitive walkthrough guerrilla technique inspection method methods

Cognitive Walkthroughs put you in your user’s shoes

Stepping through your UI and asking two deceptively simple questions at each stage can give you great insights into the problems your users will face.

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One week to a user centered design

Spend just one week to get the information you need to build your product right first time. Use these techniques to plan your sprints or even to work out what product to bring to market.

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guerrilla technique methods paper prototyping

Paper prototype to get the right design

The cheapest, fastest way to mock up your interfaces is with pen and paper. The creation process involves the whole team, and the unfinished feel means you’re less attached to any one idea.

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design validation guerrilla technique observation user testing

Revolving door studies validate designs each sprint

Design validation is not a phase, it’s a continuous part of the process. Testing your designs tests your assumptions and lets you make quick course corrections.