3 UX Researcher-Backed Tips for a Successful Sprint

Every product decision doesn’t require a marathon-level research endeavor. Sometimes, you just need a quick answer to keep the product moving. That’s where UX research sprints come in.

They help you make a discovery that drives the direction when there isn’t one. You can also use them to continuously iterate on ideas.

For instance, maybe your company makes phones, and you want to improve the current photo experience. In one UX research sprint, you might interview participants to find out what they don’t like about the current camera. Based on that feedback, you discover they don’t know how to change the settings to take the best photos. Your designers may hear this feedback and get inspired to create a smart capture coach. For the next sprint, they focus on questions about producing better photos. In this example, each sprint resulted in insights that informed the next sprint, like stepping stones to a better product.

Ready to warm up for your own sprints? Read on for three tips from industry experts to improve your next UX research plan.

Start with a “sniff” test to ensure the sprint leads to usable research.

Your time is valuable. You don’t want to waste it on research that’s already been done or that won’t lead to valuable insights. To filter out those requests, cross-check new queries against your UX research repository.

Are there any existing insights that could answer the question? If not, schedule a stakeholder scoping call to better understand the motivation behind the query.

“The number one thing I really try to understand is not just the research question, but why is it even being asked?” said Microsoft Senior User Researcher Conner Joyce in our recent report "The Modern Research Workflow."

On the scoping call, clarify the problem, validate whether it’s worth solving, and if so, define goals. 

“The role of a manager is to conduct the sniff test before a researcher dives into something to say, ‘Yeah, this is a good spot’ or ‘No, the reality is, this is a problem, but it's not going to get solved anytime soon,’” Conner said. “So you don't want to go and spend a month on a research project only to deliver amazing insights and have no one listen because they're incentivized to do the opposite thing.“

Stay agile during sprints with modifiable templates    

Sprints should be fast. To hit the ground running, you need a structured system that’s ready to deploy. Create flexible templates and lists like research sprint checklists, participant requirements, project timelines, and discussion guides. 

When Microsoft’s team set out to build the world's first empirically-based responsible AI Maturity Model, the research team needed a discussion guide that worked for its diverse pool of 47 AI specialists. Each participant had a different background and level of expertise. Some answered questions with in-depth examples, while others provided high-level strategies. Using Marvin, the team was able to quickly iterate the interview guide templates based on real-time feedback.

After the first 10 interviews, they had a good idea of how the guide should be structured.

“(Part of it) was acknowledging how diverse the participants were, and having to adapt our interview guide template to match,” said Amy Heger, Microsoft User Experience Researcher.

Synthesize findings and share them in sprint reviews

One of the most important aspects of a sprint is sharing the results as you go. Think of it like passing the baton in a relay. You want to do your part as quickly as possible and get the baton to the next person so they can go.

The research team at Pantheon struggled with that when providing insights to their 400+ employees. The hand-off took too long because of a disconnected tech stack.

"I was working across Google Sheets, Miro, Zoom, and Google Drive, because that's where we were storing all of our Zoom recordings,” UX Researcher Jenna Harmon said. “These were Google Slides because that's where I was putting together reports. So that's five different tools I was using to do this work that now can literally all be done in Marvin."

Our AI-powered platform can help you synthesize findings and analyze them in minutes. Once you have that, schedule sprint reviews for cross-functional brainstorming and action planning. Cloud-based task management tools, like Asana, can then help you create reminders and track progress.  

Strengthen your product decisions with UX research sprints

UX research sprints give teams the clarity they need to make decisions quickly.

They should always have a framework, timeline, templates, defined communication method, and a team working together toward a shared end goal.

They surface fast, meaningful insights that product development can act on right away, while helping your team work more efficiently and stay in sync. Once you find your rhythm, you can complete sprints in just a couple weeks, especially if you already have templates in place.

And the best part? 

Every sprint wraps with concrete, actionable takeaways that make it simple to turn your findings into strategic business decisions.

Want to learn more about driving user-centric product decisions with research? Request a demo of HeyMarvin today!