how to present ux research findings

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A complete guide to presenting UX research findings

In this complete guide to presenting UX research findings, we’ll cover what you should include in a UX research report, how to present UX research findings and tips for presenting your UX research.

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User experience research sets out to identify the problem that a product or service needs to solve and finds a way to do just that. Research is the first and most important step to optimising user experience.

UX researchers do this through interviews, surveys, focus groups, data analysis and reports. Reports are how UX researchers present their work to other stakeholders in a company, such as designers, developers and executives.

In this guide, we’ll cover what you should include in a UX research report, how to present UX research findings and tips for presenting your UX research.

Components of a UX research report

How to write a ux research report, 5 tips on presenting ux research findings.

Ready to present your research findings? Let’s dive in.

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There are six key components to a UX research report.

Introduction

The introduction should give an overview of your UX research . Then, relate any company goals or pain points to your research. Lastly, your introduction should briefly touch on how your research could affect the business.

Research goals

Simply put, your next slide or paragraph should outline the top decisions you need to make, the search questions you used, as well as your hypothesis and expectations.

Business value

In this section, you can tell your stakeholders why your research matters. If you base this research on team-level or product development goals, briefly touch on those.

Methodology

Share the research methods you used and why you chose those methods. Keep it concise and tailored to your audience. Your stakeholders probably don’t need to hear everything that went into your process.

Key learnings

This section will be the most substantial part of your report or presentation. Present your findings clearly and concisely. Share as much context as possible while keeping your target audience – your stakeholders – in mind.

Recommendations

In the last section of your report, make actionable recommendations for your stakeholders. Share possible solutions or answers to your research questions. Make your suggestions clear and consider any future research studies that you think would be helpful.

1. Define your audience

Most likely, you’ll already have conducted stakeholder interviews when you were planning your research. Taking those interviews into account, you should be able to glean what they’re expecting from your presentation.

Tailor your presentation to the types of findings that are most relevant, how those findings might affect their work and how they prefer to receive information. Only include information they will care about the most in a medium that’s easy for them to understand.

Do they have a technical understanding of what you’re doing or should you keep it a non-technical presentation? Make sure you keep the terminology and data on a level they can understand.

What part of the business do they work in? Executives will want to know about how it affects their business, while developers will want to know what technological changes they need to make.

2. Summarise

As briefly as possible, summarise your research goals, business value and methodology. You don’t need to go into too much detail for any of these items. Simply share the what, why and how of your research.

Answer these questions:

• What research questions did you use, and what was your hypothesis?
• What business decision will your research assist with?
• What methodology did you use?

You can briefly explain your methods to recruit participants, conduct interviews and analyse results. If you’d like more depth, link to interview plans, surveys, prototypes, etc.

3. Show key learnings

Your stakeholders will probably be pressed for time. They won’t be able to process raw data and they usually don’t want to see all of the work you’ve done. What they’re looking for are key insights that matter the most to them specifically. This is why it’s important to know your audience.

Summarise a few key points at the beginning of your report. The first thing they want to see are atomic research nuggets. Create condensed, high-priority bullet points that get immediate attention. This allows people to reference it quickly. Then, share relevant data or artefacts to illustrate your key learnings further.

Relevant data:

• Recurring trends and themes
• Relevant quotes that illustrate important findings
• Data visualisations

Relevant aspects of artefacts:

• Quotes from interviews
• User journey maps
• Affinity diagrams
• Storyboards

For most people you’ll present to, a summary of key insights will be enough. But, you can link to a searchable repository where they can dig deeper. You can include artefacts and tagged data for them to reference.

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4. Share insights and recommendations

Offer actionable recommendations, not opinions. Share clear next steps that solve pain points or answer pending decisions. If you have any in mind, suggest future research options too. If users made specific recommendations, share direct quotes.

5. Choose a format

There are two ways you could share your findings in a presentation or a report. Let’s look at these two categories and see which might be the best fit for you.

Usually, a presentation is best for sharing data with a large group and when presenting to non-technical stakeholders. Presentations should be used for visual communication and when you only need to include relevant information in a brief summary.

A presentation is usually formatted in a:

• Case studies
• Atomic research nuggets
• Pre-recorded video

If you’re presenting to a smaller group, technical stakeholder or other researchers, you might want to use a report. This gives you the capacity to create a comprehensive record. Further, reports could be categorised based on their purpose as usability, analytics or market research reports.

A report is typically formatted in a:

• Notion or Confluence page
• Slack update

You might choose to write a report first, then create a presentation. After the presentation, you can share a more in-depth report. The report could also be used for records later.

1. Keep it engaging

When you’re presenting your findings, find ways to engage those you’re presenting to. You can ask them questions about their assumptions or what you’re presenting to get them more involved.

For example, “What do you predict were our findings when we asked users to test the usability of the menu?” or “What suggestions do you think users had for [a design problem]?”

If you don’t want to engage them with questions, try including alternative formats like videos, audio clips, visualisations or high-fidelity prototypes. Anything that’s interactive or different will help keep their engagement. They might engage with these items during or after your presentation.

Another way to keep it engaging is to tell a story throughout your presentation. Some UX researchers structure their presentations in the form of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey . Start in the middle with your research findings and then zoom out to your summary, insights and recommendations.

2. Combine qualitative and quantitative data

When possible, use qualitative data to back up quantitative data. For example, include a visualisation of poll results with a direct quote about that pain point.

Use this opportunity to show the value of the work you do and build empathy for your users. Translate your findings into a format that your stakeholders – designers, developers or executives – will be able to understand and act upon.

3. Make it actionable

Actionable presentations are engaging and they should have some business value . That means they need to solve a problem or at least move toward a solution to a problem. They might intend to optimise usability, find out more about the market or analyse user data.

Here are a few ways to make it actionable:

• Include a to-do list at the end
• Share your deck and repository files for future reference
• Recommend solutions for product or business decisions
• Suggest what kind of research should happen next (if any)
• Share answers to posed research questions

4. Keep it concise and effective

Make it easy for stakeholders to dive deeper if they want to but make it optional. Yes, this means including links to an easily searchable repository and keeping your report brief.

Humans tend to focus best on just 3-4 things at a time. So, limit your report to three or four major insights. Additionally, try to keep your presentation down to 20-30 minutes.

Remember, you don’t need to share everything you learned. In your presentation, you just need to show your stakeholders what they are looking for. Anything else can be sent later in your repository or a more detailed PDF report.

5. Admit the shortcomings of UX research

If you get pushback from stakeholders during your presentation, it’s okay to share your constraints.

Your stakeholders might not understand that your sample size is big enough or how you chose the users in your study or why you did something the way you did. While qualitative research might not be statistically significant, it’s usually representative of your larger audience and it’s okay to point that out.

Because they aren’t researchers, it’s your job to explain your methodology to them but also be upfront about the limitations UX research can pose. When all of your cards are on the table, stakeholders are more likely to trust you.

When it comes to presenting your UX research findings, keep it brief and engaging. Provide depth with external resources after your presentation. This is how you get stakeholders to find empathy for your users. This is how you master the art of UX.

Need to go back to the basics and learn more about UX research? Dive into these articles:

What is UX research? The 9 best UX research tools to use in 2022

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What is UX Research: The Ultimate Guide for UX Researchers

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How to write and present actionable UX research reports

Regardless of how thorough or valuable your user research is, it quickly becomes meaningless if you’re unable to succinctly put it together and present it in a digestible UX research report.

UX research reporting is a skill just as valuable as being able to conduct the research in the first place. It lets you showcase methodology and findings of your research, and ensure a product’s user experience delivers with the first iteration.

Luckily, how to write and present UX research reports is something you can learn. What’s more, this chapter will guide you through it (and provide free templates for your UX report).

What is a UX research report?

A user research report is an easy-to-digest summary of a user research project that aims to update product stakeholders on results, inform product decisions with user data, and harmoniously guide a product build or iteration.

Once upon a time, UX research reporting was a cumbersome, dreaded box to tick. It was notorious for resulting in unnavigable reports that product teams would rather leave at the bottom of their inbox than try to consume.

The word 'report' conjures images of lengthy word documents, a PDF one-pager, or hour-long presentation with an occasional GIF—but a research report doesn't have to mean that.

Kevin Rapley , Senior User Researcher at Justice Digital, explains a UX report as being “about arming our teammates with data that allows them to decide on the direction of a product or service.”

A useful UX report includes:

• The research goals and research process
• Research questions the report is hoping to answer
• A recap of the UX research plan
• What UX research methods were used and why
• Quantitative and qualitative data sets and conclusions
• Key insights & actionable takeaways
• An expanded data appendix

Why do you need a user research report?

Product teams need a user research report to reflect on research activities and accurately guide a product’s scope with key insights. A UX research report helps sort information, defend research, and affirm (or disprove) a hypothesis. No matter how well-organized your research repository is, sometimes simply having the research results available is not enough. A succinct report will align entire teams in one sitting by presenting findings in a unique way.

In short, a research report helps to:

• Positively influence UX design
• Make sense of data sets and explain complicated graphs or other quantitative research results
• Provide actionable recommendations on next steps
• Summarize key findings, so they can be translated into every role and responsibility of the product team

Where UX research enables product teams to understand the user, prove or disprove hypotheses, and prioritize and generate ideas, a UX research report ensures the user is at the center of every product decision. Presenting that UX report then aligns team members on goals and priorities, and provides authentic user insights to inform every product decision.

We’ve covered what a research report is , but what is it not ? A UX research report is not a static, one-time document that your team reads once. It’s an ongoing reference point; the guardrails and guiding insights that guarantees the entire build stays on track.

How to write an effective UX research report: the essential elements

No matter how you choose to present your research study, there are a few elements that every report needs to include for it to be both useful and effective. Let’s look at how to create a report.

Introduction

Your introduction should lay out your research goals, plan, and scope. It should cover your product team’s pain points, and give a clear study overview. You need to answer what you did and why. The introduction can go on to include sales support data and competitive product analysis that inspired or guided this research project.

It’s a good idea to set up how this research helps to support and answer related company goals, team-level goals, and product-dev goals: so all stakeholders know it’s got something for them.

You can include questions from your UX research strategy you had originally hoped to answer, even if your results have gone on to answer other questions as well. Now’s also a good time to introduce research stakeholders: your fellow research team members.

As a secondary step to your introduction, ensure you’re including the approach you took to your UX research process : i.e. what research methods you used, as well as participant profiles and your user personas .

Don’t feel you need to spend too much time on this, says Charlie Herbozo Vidal , Senior User Experience Researcher at CVS Health. “As researchers, it’s not uncommon to dwell on the methodology for longer than needed. While interrogating methods might be valuable to other researchers, business partners might be disengaged by them.”

Ultimately, while methodology is important, it’s the results that most people are here for.

Key findings

This is where you get people on the edge of their seats! Give an overview of your findings, before breaking them down into more detail. Remind your audience ‘what we thought’ vs. what you actually learned.

Artifacts to use are:

• User personas built
• Insights from customer interviews
• User journey maps
• Prototype testing
• Storyboards
• Feedback & satisfaction reports

At the end of this section, and continuing throughout your presentation, you can pepper relevant atomic research nuggets.

Make sure you champion the user's needs throughout, and make special notes of 'offhand' comments users make. Often, it's the random comments that provide the most insight—they must not be forgotten about when writing the report.

Jack Dyer , Designer at Interactive Schools

Summarize your quantitative and qualitative research , and how they’ll both impact your product design and growth. Lay out opportunities versus risks, good-to-knows versus must-knows. Here you’ll want to convey the impact of each suggested step, roadmap designs, and figure out the long and short-term project scope. A few things to cover in your next steps are:

• Long and short-term goals
• ICE framework (Impact, confidence, ease)
• Roles and responsibilities for each task
• A timeline of events and project map
• A request for resources
• Desired outcomes

No matter how you’re presenting your research, be it asynchronously or not, you’ll need to include a Q&A. These can be subjective (based on what you think your team is likely to ask), pre-collected ahead of the presentation, answered live, or an opportunity to build an FAQ later.

What’s important is to acknowledge and be open to receiving questions. After all, questions are a positive thing—it means people are actually listening!

It’s easy to overlook the appendix after putting together a detailed report, but all that glorious research data needs to be accounted for and referenced clearly. Plus, you never know to what extent your team will want to dive into it. Your appendix is also where you’ll want to include secondary research that didn’t make the cut but backs up your research.

9 Ways to present UX research findings

UX research reporting will look a little different depending on your internal personas and organizational culture. First, ask yourself: who is your audience? Who needs to see the report, and who will benefit from seeing it? This will help determine how to present your user research report.

A few things to consider:

• Are you working with internal or external stakeholders? Tool limitation and file-sharing will differ for both.
• Are you working with an in-office, fully-remote, or hybrid team?
• Are you sitting in the same time zone or not?
• What are the knowledge levels like within your team?
• How does your team communicate daily/weekly/monthly?
• Are there any predetermined knowledge bases or tools your team is comfortable with?

The most common players across a UX team that need to understand your UX research report are:

• Product Designers (UX/UI)
• Fellow Product Researchers
• UX/UI Writers

However , it doesn’t stop at your product decision-making team. More often than not, there will be other stakeholders that can benefit from your research presentation. Your marketing, finance, sales, and even C-suite executives will massively benefit from your findings too. If you can tailor versions of your report or provide key summaries for each collective, even better!

Psst 👉 This is much easier to do when you have a research team that can host stakeholder interviews ahead of your research process.

Now, let’s get into the report formats to consider:

1. Workshops: for real-time, collaborative reports

First up, workshops. Workshops are a unique way of keeping your report interactive and engaging. They can be held remotely or in-person, but are almost impossible to hold asynchronously—so time zones are a big factor here.

You’ll also want to consider workshopping tools if you’re hosting digitally—a few to consider are: Miro, Mural, FigJam, and Gather.

A plus with workshops is that your stakeholders will actively have a say early on in the product development process , allowing you to foster more diverse inputs, minimize research bias you may have accumulated in your summaries, and build a sense of responsibility for the product’s success early on.

A negative of workshops is that they can be culprits to in-the-room or bandwagon bias. People are quick to ride on the coattails of a strong conclusion, without fully understanding or trialing another (less popular) conclusion or suggestion.

2. Slack channels: for an asynchronous and interactive research repository

Slack is a great option (especially if you’re already using it) if your research team needs to deliver insights to a fully-distributed collection of stakeholders. Slack tends to be the go-to channel for startups and creative companies, and there’s some key features you can tap into:

• Canvas: Store files, images, videos, and more in one place
• Huddles: Jump on a quick chat to fill in any gaps
• Clips: Post audio, video, or screen-sharing clips
• Connect: Team up with freelancers and agencies working on the project with you
• Workflow: Build drag-and-drop processes from your findings
• Knowledge sharing: Tag your data accordingly so it's easy to find later

3. Knowledge bases: for self-serve UX research reports

Knowledge bases can be a great home for your research presentation, and work especially well for distributed teams working across different time zones.

However your team is set up, research repositories are incredibly valuable. Sharing your report in a centralized location, regardless of the other ways you distribute findings, can democratize research , showcase the impact of your work, and disseminate valuable insights throughout your entire organization.

Keep in mind that knowledge bases can be tough to navigate if poorly organized or tagged. If you’re storing your UX research report in a knowledge base, ensure you provide clear instructions on how someone can find it, and how to navigate through the report itself.

If you have the time, run a card sorting test with an internal focus group to see how you can logically sort your research for those who are going to be looking for it.

4. Presentations / slide decks: great for the PAS framework

Live presentations tend to be the most impactful, but do risk being short-lived if you don’t have a follow-up plan for after your presentation.

While they’re great for sharing metrics and visuals, and can provide a beautiful overview of your research project, presentations can be a little one-sided. This one-way presentation style can prevent collaboration and innovation from the rest of the team. Consider how you can make your presentation interactive or engaging, whether it’s taking questions throughout or doing a ‘choose your own adventure’ session and asking people which sections they want to review first.

Kevin Rapley , Senior User Researcher at Justice Digital, recommends presenting slides using the PAS framework:

• Problem: State the problem you set out to overcome
• Agitate: Detail the impact or opportunity missed by not meeting the problem
• Solution: Offer a route forward from the research findings and insights, the next steps, and likely outcomes by solving the problem

Kevin explains that the PAS framework cuts to the detail people are invested in: “Stakeholders want to know the path forward: Are we on the right track to build this service? Have we uncovered user engagement or uptake issues? Have we learned that our assumptions are incorrect and we now have a better understanding of user needs? Presenting slides in this way delivers what’s needed.”

5. Written reports: for direct and simple sharing

If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. A written report is probably the idea that jumped to the front of your mind when you read the title of this chapter. For many, this may seem like the ‘OG’ of UX reports.

These types of reports often come as a PDF or a word document, making them static, reluctant to change, and resulting in low engagement or re-reads. Delivering a written report via email also means you can’t guarantee your audience is going to read it. On the other hand, written reports can be incredibly detailed, scanable for different stakeholders, and include all kinds of results from visual data to qualitative findings.

For many teams this method still works, especially if you’re trying to communicate findings to a distributed, asynchronous team. Written UX reports enable people to go through things in their own time—and come back to it when they need to.

6. Atomic research nuggets: to eliminate ‘bad research memory’

Deriving from an atom—the smallest unit of matter—atomic UX research nuggets are minute and succinct conclusions from data points. They’re always aligned and tagged with a product direction. Formalized by Tomer Sharon and Daniel Pidcock , it’s described as “the concept of breaking UX research down into its constituent parts”:

Experiments: “We did this…” Facts: “…and we found out this…” Insights: “…which makes us think this…” Conclusions: “…so we’ll do that.”

Atomic research nuggets help to fight ‘bad research memory’—the idea that knowledge gets lost or forgotten amid the depths of a larger report. These nuggets are accessible, usable, and searchable. They can be delivered (or accessed) throughout an entire product build, serving as North Stars for micro goals. Research nuggets can be a firm reminder your team is, or isn’t, taking the right action.

7. Pre-recorded video: for better knowledge retention

People retain 90% of the information they receive via video versus text. There’s no question that, for many, video is a better way of onboarding and remembering information. At the same time, it can be easier to share information via video if your UX researchers aren’t the most confident of writers.

Although pre-recorded video is an easy way to share a UX research report with a team, as with other formats on this list, you’ll need to ensure people actually watch it.

Loom can be a great screen-sharing video recording tool. Some of their features and paid plans will enable you to see who from your team has watched your video, as well as spark conversation and engagement opportunities throughout the video. Alternatively, you can share the video as a watch-along during a synchronous meeting and discuss afterwards, while still sharing the video with those who can’t attend live.

8. Case studies: for sticky storytelling

Case studies aren’t just for winning potential customers. At their very core, case studies are put together to convince someone of something due to a real-life story. This is why they can be great if your UX research report needs to convince a diverse or largely cautious selection of stakeholders.

What’s more, case studies tend to rely on storytelling tactics and a strong narrative to get their point across. They can pull from user personas to further a point and make it more relatable for your design team. Muhammad Ahmad , UX Designer at VentureDive, shares the value presenting reports as case studies holds:

“Case studies show how you think. As a UX Researcher or Designer, how you percieve problems and what framework you use to evaluate them matters a lot. Your case studies are supposed to show just that.”

9. Maze reports: for all-in-one research and reporting

Automate your reporting with Maze. Maze automatically generates a report for each test you run, turning it into an easy-to-navigate dashboard. Add comments to generate conversation, highlight key responses and generate usability scores for your prototype testing .

If you’re working with moderated research, Maze AI can speed up the reporting process with automated sentiment tagging, project naming, and even generating summaries and identifying critical learnings from user interviews . So you can sit back, and let Maze take care of the data processing.

When you’re happy with your report, generate a custom link that you can share with your team, and further internal and external stakeholders.

Using Maze reports will enable you to share:

• Introduction and mission slides
• An analysis of each UX research method: From card sorting to live website testing
• In-depth breakdowns of research data
• Overviews of the report metrics: From misclicks to bounce rates and time-on-screen
• A usability score

These reports will also allow you to download CSV files of your data, and customzie filters and views to bring your stakeholders the numbers they need, fast. Your team will be able to collaborate in a comments section and let AI identify key themes and takeaways if you’re struggling to spot them.

Overall, UX research tools with in-built reporting are a great way to translate and share all of your research into visual data sets that can be digested by the rest of the team in a few clicks.

7 UX research report templates

There are some fantastic research report templates to help get you started on your journey. Here are some of our favorites to help you better present those deliverables, key learnings, and everything in between.

Maze: Usability testing report

Hosted on Pitch, this report template is clear, simple, and follows a lot of the design and framework best practices shared in this chapter.

Access the template here

Aadil Khan: UXR report with examples

A straightforward report template is designed by Aadil Khan , UX Researcher at IBM, who says: “I made this template based on tons of mentoring calls I’ve been in with people looking to land UXR jobs where we discuss how to present UXR case studies during interviews and such. Oftentimes their case studies were too lengthy and lacked some sort of narrative structure to make it easier to present.”

EaTemp: Key findings report

A beautifully-designed template hosted on Figma. Get access to personas, empathy maps, and card sorting. All colors, fonts, and shapes are customizable.

Miro: Research repository template

Build a centralized research hub on Miro. Connect your team in a few clicks and allow them to collaborate with this free template. Note: you’ll need to sign up for a (free) Miro account.

Furquan Ahmad: UX research report template

A sleek and vibrant presentation, this template was created by Furquan Ahmad , Product Designer at Meta, “to help people focus their energy and time on the insights they're providing rather than worry about what the presentation will look like. I'm always shocked at how many people have benefited from the community.”

Estefanía Montaña Buitrago: Atomic UX research canvas

Beautifully designed on FigJam, this canvas by Estefanía Montaña Buitrago , UX Designer at Globant, has been used by over 7,000 people and now comes with several useful remixes too.

Muhammad Ahmad: UX research kit

Muhammad Ahmad , UX Designer at VentureDive, shared this minimalistic template. Here you’ll get 60+ customizable templates in both light and dark modes. There’s a free version, or a (paid) premium version which may be worth the investment for you.

Best practices for writing an effective UX research report

The functionality of your research report will come down to how you write it. Sitting down and being faced with copious amounts of data can make UX reporting feel like a daunting task—here’s some techniques and tips to help you along the way.

Take a leaf from your UX design book with user-friendly copy

No matter the format, you want your UX report to be as accessible and skim-able as possible for your audience. It’s a good idea to mimic some of the same mentalities you would use in UX design.

Gestalt grouping principles are good to consider for UX report writing. Think similarity , proximity , and common-region for grouping relevant information.

Similarly, UI design principles such as the figure-ground and focal point will help direct your readers’ eyes to the most important information first, as well as make for a more accessible read.

Lastly, Gestalt’s continuity principle is a great one to apply to your UX report. Readers naturally follow patterns for easier flows in information, so if you’re including stylistic elements like bolding, italics, asides, indenting, or something else, ensure these run consistently throughout your report.

At the same time, think about the structure, layout, and formatting of your written report. Are you leaving enough negative space for your reader to process information? These are especially important for readers with dyslexia, but will generally lift your readability on the whole:

• Is all of your copy aligned left?
• Is your font choice clear with a good amount of spacing between letters and words?
• Are you bolding important words and sentences rather than underlining them?
• Are you peppering your report with enough headings and subheadings?

Release oxytocin: Follow storytelling tactics

A Forbes article reported that “immersive storytelling releases the empathy-related chemical oxytocin in our brains.” If you’re not familiar with oxytocin, it’s known as a natural ‘feel-good’ chemical, promoting feelings of trust and attachment.

Why else do you think case studies are so effective? They rely on storytelling: they have characters, plots, beginnings, endings, peaks, and pits. User research reports that mimic storytelling threads and tactics are more likely to create sticky data points, as well as hold your readers’ attention throughout. This is why the PAS framework works so well, but whatever format your report takes, bear in mind a story-like structure with a beginning, middle, and end.

Ask your editor to edit your research presentation with the three Cs in mind

Clear , Concise , Compelling . These core principles exist everywhere the written word does, but it can be hard to spot them when editing your own work. Just because something is clear, concise, and compelling for you, doesn’t mean it is for someone else—ask a colleague to read your report (or, better yet—a content editor).

Failing that, if you don’t have access to an editor or are in a time crunch, here are some tools to help you edit your own work.

• Grammarly: Good for catching those little typos and grammatical errors
• Hemingway Editor: Gives a readability score and helps to simplify sentences

Consider your reader, and rethink the jargon

Tailoring your report to meet the needs and knowledge level of each stakeholder is a balancing act. Many will tell you to avoid jargon, acronyms, and technical language at all costs. But, that’s not always the case. Sometimes, using industry jargon is the most direct way of getting your point across, and if you know your reader understands it, go for it.

However, keep in mind that if your report is going to other teams: sales, C-suite, finance, etc, then you may need to find alternative terms that aren’t department-specific—or provide a glossary or acronym dictionary within the report.

Muhammad shares more: “Typically UX folks (or even product folks) are not that well-equipped with research terminologies. So giving them the summary of the research in plain language is the approach that works best for me.”

Wrapping up how to present user research findings

There you have it, a complete guide on how you can write and present your user experience research in a way that everyone can benefit from it.

Remember, be conscious of your audience, your format, and your language. Different stakeholders and team cultures require different reporting styles, it’s up to you to curate the information into a report that delivers the insights you’ve uncovered.

Generate UX reports that have impact

From AI-generated summaries of your user interviews, to usability scores for your prototype tests, automate UX research reporting with Maze.

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The User Research and Insights Tool for Design and Product Teams

How to Present UX Research and Turn Insight to Action

Most companies know the importance of UX research in building sustainable and user-friendly products that meet the needs of their audience.  

However, conducting the research is one-half of the equation. Presenting UX research in a way that compels stakeholders to take action is the second half.

Without adequate reporting, research is just a pile of data. Reporting, by way of presentation, makes your data actionable. By adopting effective UX presentation techniques such as storytelling, visualization, and slides, you ensure that your research influences the development process instead of ending up in storage without being used.

In this article, we’ll discuss:

• What is a UX research presentation
• Why UX presentations are important 
• The challenges of presenting UX research
• 9 Tips to Improve Your Research Presentations

What Is UX Research Presentation? 

A UX research presentation is sharing insights from your user research findings with stakeholders. You make recommendations for product improvement and capture decisions from research methodologies and testing phases. 

UX research presentations require you to condense your research notes , insights, and recommendations into 8-10 captivating slides that justify the research and compel stakeholders to take action. Sharing your research findings can help the design and product teams to:

• Make design decision
• Refine existing user needs
• Prioritize their workflow
• Develop a product roadmap based on your recommendations
• Write new user stories
• Improve usability of your product

Why Is UX Presentation Important?

Make Sense of Your Research Findings

Research presentations are an opportunity to share your findings in an easy way for stakeholders to understand. A good presentation fulfills the following:

• Describes the goal of the research and gives context about what happened during the UX research process . For example, you may have made some assumptions about your target audience, encountered bias, or failed to include a user group during the planning phase
• Explain the why behind each research outcome that rationalizes why research participants liked or didn’t like a feature of your product
• Inform decision making for the product team to help them prioritize resources during development

Quickly Relay Findings

Sharing research findings ensures that nothing slips through the cracks and decisions are relayed quickly with the team. In this scenario, a presentation is not a 60-page document. Instead, it’s a UX research nugget made up of high-priority action items that require immediate attention.

Capture Insights and Make Informed Recommendations 

The most essential element of a good UX presentation is sharing the right insights and making recommendations that lead to a successful product launch. Research repository tools like Aurelius allow you to analyze large batches of raw research data faster. This way, it’s easy to draw insight and make recommendations that lead to product success.

Document Your Process for Future Use

You can document processes that didn’t work as insights and explain the why behind methods that worked. It ensures that you don’t repeat the mistake in the future. In addition, your team can use your presentation as a reference to make smarter design decisions and as a background for product update research.

Improve Your UX Research Process

You can’t move forward if you don’t learn from the past. A UX research presentation is an opportunity for the product team and stakeholders to reflect on the decisions made during the product development. It’s hindsight that ensures designers will avoid patterns that underperform or overperform in testing. 

What Are the Challenges of Presenting UX Research?

Lack of trust in qualitative data .

This mostly happens with stakeholders who have a background in data science. They do not trust results from qualitative research because they say that findings are not statistically significant and do not hold any value. For example, you’ve interviewed 20 people as part of your research, but your audience is squirming because they think that’s a small sample size.

One way to get past this constraint is to be upfront about limitations in your UX research. Skeptics are more likely to trust you when you admit to the shortcomings of qualitative research.

Another way is to explain that qualitative research may not be statistically significant, but it is often statistically representative of your larger audience.

Keeping Bias Out of the Results

It’s not enough to be aware of your bias as a researcher. It’s also important not to fuel bias among your audience. 

Be careful how you draw insights from research. Share the research findings, tell the audience what the study doesn’t show, and advise how to use the results to make changes. 

Remind your audience that the objective of UX research is to collect information, not create absolute truth. So, you form a hypothesis and try to prove it, but it’s not perfect as some may wrongly assume.

Properly Conveying the Participant’s Perspective to Stakeholders 

Empathy is a huge part of conducting research. It’s understanding the frustrations and emotions of research participants and conveying these unique viewpoints in a way that your audience understands. 

Using visuals such as video or audio recordings during your presentation is a great way to communicate emotion in a genuine and unfiltered way. 

Inspiring Action

Perhaps the biggest challenge for UX researchers is turning research insight into action. You’ve collected feedback through multiple UX research methods , made recommendations, and given an excellent presentation. But it’s all meaningless if stakeholders don’t take action.

Apart from the reasons we’ve mentioned above, such as distrust in research data and lack of understanding, scientists found that personal trust between audience and researcher plays a role in convincing stakeholders to take action. 

Trust-building is a crucial skill for every researcher. It’s easier to drive action when you have a relationship with stakeholders. 

How to Create Better UX Research Presentations

1. know your audience.

You’re better able to capture and retain audience attention when you speak directly to their interests. One of the biggest mistakes first-time researchers make when presenting research is not reading the room and just going through your slides. It’s impossible to make an emotional connection with an audience you don’t know.

When you know your audience, you can tell a story that immediately connects you to your audience and sets the tone for the rest of your presentation. You can also tailor your deliverables and recommendations to the interest and needs of your audience. 

For example, if you’re speaking to C-level executives, you’ll discuss how the research findings could increase conversion rate, revenue, and customer retention. For the product team , you’d focus on how research could improve user experience and remove obstacles that customers previously faced. 

2. Opt for Quick Findings Over Detailed Reports 

One of the debates for teams when presenting UX research is choosing whether to share a full report or quick findings.

A detailed report is long-form. It gives you the freedom and space to describe your findings in detail and make comprehensive recommendations. It usually ends up being 30-40 pages long.

In reality, a CEO or C-suite executive on the move won’t have time to sit through a 30-slide presentation. Instead, they want something quick, efficient, and concise. You can achieve this goal through UX research nuggets .

Making your research presentation efficient forces you to eliminate fluff and stick to the most essential information to help stakeholders take action.

Include the original goal of the research and 4-6 key insights. Then, attach recommendations and next steps to key i nsights.

3. Embrace Storytelling

Stories are the fastest way to connect with a cold audience. According to researcher Paul Zak , stories cause the brain to produce oxytocin, a feel-good chemical related to empathy and a desire to cooperate. 

In another research, Princeton University Neuroscientist Uri Hasson researched the effect of storytelling on the brain . He found that listeners’ brain activity synced on a deep level with the storyteller’s brain activity when telling a story. Intentional stories that have a tie-in with the research topic move the audience to take action.

A few tips to guide you when using storytelling during presentations include:

• Tell a story your audience can relate to
• Use details to transport the reader to the scene so they can experience it
• Make it personal
• Ensure the story relates to the research topic

4. Use an Inverted Pyramid

With the inverted pyramid, your most important information sits at the top. The first section of your presentation contains:

• What is the problem I want to solve?
• Who am I speaking to? (teammates, manager, decision-makers, engineers)
• Why am I speaking? (What is the desired action you want the audience to take)

Use a high-level overview slide to cover the first section. Your audience is more likely to sit through your entire presentation if they understand the value at a glance.

The second section is the body covering the argument, controversy, evidence, and supporting visuals. The final part is the tail that summarizes the presentation and includes any additional information.

5. Simplify Data with Visualization 

Vision is our primary sense for understanding the world around us. The human brain processes and retains visuals faster than text. Your presentation should have more visuals than text. Always remember the golden rule – show, not tell.

Large blocks of text are boring. Visual aids such as infographics, videos, screenshots, gifs, and charts break up text and engage your audience. Where text can quickly become complicated, visuals clarify information and make information easier to digest and remember.

A few visualization tips to remember:

• Use consistent fonts, colors, and icons when designing your presentation
• Use graphs and charts to present data
• Do not add multiple graphics in one slide. One message per visual
• Use the right graph type to communicate clearly
• Edit ruthlessly
• Use muted colors

6. Keep it Short

The human mind can only store 3-4 things at once. So, focus your research outcomes on three to four key insights and recommendations you want your audience to take away.

Keep your presentation within 20 minutes. I know it’s hard, but you shouldn’t share everything you learned in the study during the presentation, or you’ll overwhelm your audience. 

Share high-level information during the presentation and send the research report as a PDF or email so everyone can look further into the research. In addition, you can use Aurelius to share a live link of an automatically generated report with your audience.

7. Use Slides During Presentations

Split your slides presentation into three sections:

• What we did – discuss your research process
• The finding slides – Key Insight slides
• What to do next – Recommendation slides

Each slide should have a heading that summarizes an important finding and explains the impact with visuals. Use quotes taken from research participants to support key insight.

When using video clips, you don’t have to share the entire recording. Instead, trim it down to the key scenes or combine several sequences about the same key insight into a 30 seconds reel.

Ensure you’re using images taken during the research process (ethnography, observation, usability testing sessions) to show participants in action with the product. Again, it’s more likely to elicit an emotional response than using generic images.

Focus each key insight slide on the user. It should distill their personality, behavior, needs, use of your product, and what happened during user testing. Then, prioritize the most critical information into five slides.

8. Give Recommendations and Next Steps

Your UX research presentation should include recommendations based on key research insight. For every problem, have a recommendation. Then, tell your audience how the research should be incorporated in design or product updates .

Also, don’t forget to demonstrate the value of your research. Show your audience how the recommendations will support your company’s goals and impact the product roadmap.

9. Ask Listeners to Save Questions Until After the Presentation 

You can either allow your audience to ask questions during or after the presentation. Asking questions during the presentation will enable you to clear any confusion on the spot and carry everyone along. 

However, it’s distracting each time you’re interrupted during the presentation. You’ll also risk losing the audience if the question isn’t relevant to the specific section you’re talking about.

The second approach is better. You ask your audience to save questions until the end of the presentation. This method ensures that you maintain a great flow throughout the presentation and answer all questions at once.

10. Share Your Research

Your UX presentation only contains high-level recommendations you want your audience to implement. However, you still have great insight that provides context, and you couldn’t share those during the presentation due to time constraints. 

You can create a more enriched report in Aurelius and share it with key stakeholders after the presentation to make it stick.

However, sending emails, PDFs, or a link isn’t enough. People are busy. Emails get buried, and attention span is low. 

If you want your research to be implemented, send follow-up emails and reach out personally to the executives. Share the report in your company’s internal knowledge base with a relevant title and tags, so it’s easy to find. 

If you have a departmental or company Slack, share it there, so they see the presentation in multiple places. In addition, you can integrate Slack and Jira with Aurelius to share your findings with other teams.

Focus on Showing Value That Stakeholders Want to See

Congratulations! You’ve created a value-driven UX research presentation. But it’s not ready yet. Read through your slides again. Does your presentation reflect the goals you promised stakeholders when you set out on the research journey? Have you demonstrated value in a way that even non-UX audience members would understand?  

These are questions to answer as you wrap up your UX presentation slides. Be ruthless when trimming the fat from your presentation. Just because your discovery is exciting to you doesn’t necessarily mean it’s valuable to stakeholders. 

Find out how Aurelius can improve UX research presentations

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UX research report: Write & present your UX research findings

Bridge the gap between research & action! Dive into our expert guide to writing & presenting UX findings that deliver valuable insights.

Uncovering valuable insights through UX research is just half the battle for UX researchers. The challenge lies in effectively communicating those findings to stakeholders.

Many researchers struggle to craft a compelling and clear presentation, hindering the impact of their work. Understanding this frustration, our article empathizes with UX researchers seeking a straightforward solution to write and present their research findings.

We provide practical tips and a step-by-step guide, empowering researchers to convey their insights in a way that resonates with diverse audiences. Get the most out of your UX research by learning how to craft and deliver impactful research reports.

What is a UX research report?

A UX research report is a document summarizing findings from user experience studies. It shares insights gained through observing and interacting with users during product testing. 

The report aims to inform design decisions by presenting user preferences, pain points, and behavior patterns. It typically includes a brief overview, methodology, key findings, and actionable recommendations. 

This aids UX researchers in communicating discoveries to stakeholders and team members. The report's simplicity ensures accessibility for non-technical audiences, fostering collaboration and driving user-centered design. 

By distilling complex data into understandable insights, the UX research report empowers teams to create more effective and user-friendly experiences.

Now that we've laid the foundation, let's delve into the significance of having a user research report in your toolkit.

Why do you need a user research report?

A user research report is not just a formality; it plays a pivotal role in enhancing the design process. This section will shed light on the importance of having a well-crafted user research report:

1) Positively influence UX design

User research reports serve as a compass, guiding designers toward creating user-friendly experiences. 

By understanding user behaviors, preferences, and pain points, designers can tailor interfaces that resonate with the target audience. 

A well-crafted research report ensures that design decisions align with user needs, enhancing overall user satisfaction. 

Without a user research report, designers may miss crucial insights, leading to designs that may not effectively address users' expectations and preferences.

2) Make sense of data sets and explain complicated graphs or other quantitative research results

User research often involves complex data sets and quantitative results. A user research report plays a pivotal role in simplifying this information. 

It acts as a translator, breaking down complicated graphs and quantitative findings into easily digestible insights. 

This ensures that the entire product team, including non-researchers, can comprehend and act upon the data effectively. 

Without a user research report, valuable quantitative insights may remain inaccessible or misunderstood, hindering informed decision-making within the product development process.

3) Provide actionable recommendations on the next steps

User research reports go beyond presenting findings; they offer actionable recommendations for the next steps. 

By distilling insights into clear, practical suggestions, these reports empower the product team to implement improvements. 

This ensures that the team doesn't just identify issues but also knows how to address them. 

Without a user research report, the path forward may be unclear, and the team may struggle to translate research findings into tangible actions that drive positive change in the product.

4) Summarize key findings, so they can be translated into every role and responsibility of the product team

A user research report serves as a comprehensive summary of key findings, making it accessible to every role in the product team. 

It distills complex information into straightforward takeaways that can guide decision-making across various functions. 

This inclusivity ensures that everyone, from developers to marketers, can grasp the user insights relevant to their responsibilities. 

Without a user research report, critical information may remain scattered, hindering the team's ability to work collaboratively and align efforts towards a user-centric product.

Now that we've established the "why," let's explore the "what" by dissecting the structure of a UX research report.

What is the structure of a UX research report?

To unlock the full potential of a UX research report, it's crucial to comprehend its underlying structure. This section breaks down the components that make up a well-organized report, providing a roadmap for UX researchers:

Executive summary:

A good UX report format begins with a concise Executive Summary, offering a snapshot of the report's essence. It encapsulates the primary insights, enabling stakeholders to quickly grasp the key takeaways. Keep it brief, focusing on the most critical findings and recommendations.

Clear overview:

• Provide a brief overview of the research objectives.
• Summarize the key findings in a few sentences.
• Highlight the main recommendations that emerge from the research.

Relevance to stakeholders:

• Tailor the executive summary to address the concerns and interests of diverse stakeholders.
• Ensure clarity in language, making it accessible to non-technical readers.
• Emphasize the business impact of the findings and recommendations.

Visual representation:

• Incorporate visual aids like charts or graphs for a quick visual understanding.
• Use bullet points to list the main points, enhancing readability.
• Maintain brevity – aim for a concise summary that can be absorbed at a glance.

Actionable Insights:

• Clearly outline how the key findings translate into actionable insights.
• Align recommendations with business goals, emphasizing their practical implications.
• Strive for a balance between depth and brevity in presenting the executive summary.

Accessibility:

• Ensure that the executive summary serves as a stand-alone document.
• Craft a compelling narrative that prompts further exploration of the full report.
• Use plain language, avoiding unnecessary technical terms.

Background:

The background section sets the stage by providing context for the UX research. It serves as a foundation for understanding the study's purpose and the environment in which it unfolds.

Research objectives:

• Clearly define the goals and objectives of the UX research.
• Offer a brief historical context if relevant to understanding the research scope.
• Ensure that the background aligns with the overall business context.

User demographics:

• Include a snapshot of the user demographics to contextualize the findings.
• Emphasize any significant shifts or patterns observed in user behavior.
• Keep demographic information succinct and relevant to the study.

Previous insights:

• Briefly mention any prior research that informs the current study.
• Highlight how previous findings influenced the current research questions.
• Maintain focus on relevance, avoiding excessive detail.

Business context:

• Integrate the UX research background with the broader business context.
• Explain the importance of the research in addressing business goals.
• Clarify how the study aligns with strategic objectives.

Conciseness:

• Aim for brevity in presenting the background information.
• Prioritize key details that directly contribute to understanding the research.
• Use simple language to enhance accessibility.

Methodology:

The methodology section outlines the approach taken in conducting the UX research. Clarity and transparency are paramount to instill confidence in the UX research process .

Research design:

• Clearly articulate the research design, whether qualitative, quantitative, or a mix.
• Detail the methods employed, such as surveys, interviews, or usability testing.
• Provide a rationale for the chosen approach and methods.

Participant recruitment:

• Describe the criteria used for participant selection.
• Specify the sample size and any relevant demographics.
• Highlight any challenges faced during participant recruitment.

Data collection:

• Outline the tools and techniques used for data collection.
• Clarify the duration of the research and any specific considerations.
• Emphasize adherence to ethical guidelines throughout the process.

Analysis approach:

• Explain the analytical methods applied to interpret the collected data.
• Showcase how themes or patterns were identified.
• Avoid technical jargon and provide clarity in presenting the analysis.

Limitations and mitigations:

• Acknowledge any limitations in the research design or execution.
• Discuss strategies employed to mitigate potential biases or challenges.
• Maintain transparency regarding the study's boundaries.

Key findings:

The key findings section serves as the heart of the UX report, presenting the discoveries made during the research process in a clear and digestible manner.

Top-line discoveries:

• Begin with a concise presentation of the most impactful findings.
• Use bullet points or numbered lists to enhance readability.
• Prioritize findings based on their significance to the research objectives.

User insights:

• Dive into user behaviors, preferences, and pain points.
• Support insights with direct quotes or anecdotes from participants.
• Organize findings into categories for easy comprehension.

Usability challenges:

• Identify specific usability issues encountered by users.
• Prioritize challenges based on their severity and frequency.
• Offer concrete examples to illustrate each usability concern.

Positive feedback:

• Highlight positive aspects of the user experience.
• Showcase elements that resonate well with users.
• Provide evidence, such as positive comments or success stories.
• Integrate visual aids, such as graphs or charts, to convey key findings.
• Use visuals to complement textual descriptions.
• Ensure clarity and simplicity in visual representation.

Opportunities & recommendations:

Concluding the UX report, the Opportunities & Recommendations section outlines actionable steps based on the key findings, aiming to drive positive change in the user experience.

Opportunities for improvement:

• Summarize the opportunities identified for enhancing the user experience.
• Link each opportunity to specific key findings for context.
• Emphasize the potential impact on user satisfaction and engagement.

Prioritized recommendations:

• Provide a concise list of actionable recommendations.
• Prioritize recommendations based on their potential to address key issues.
• Align each recommendation with specific findings for clarity.

Implementation roadmap:

• Outline a practical roadmap for implementing the recommendations.
• Include a suggested timeline and key milestones.
• Consider resource implications and potential challenges.

Stakeholder roles:

• Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in implementing recommendations.
• Highlight the collaborative nature of the proposed changes.
• Foster a sense of shared ownership for UX improvements.

Measurable outcomes:

• Specify measurable outcomes to gauge the success of implemented recommendations.
• Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) aligned with business goals.
• Foster a results-oriented mindset among stakeholders.

Now that we've outlined the blueprint, let's roll up our sleeves and discuss the art of crafting a good UX research report.

How do you write a good UX research report?

Crafting a good UX research report is an art that involves presenting data with clarity and impact. This section will provide practical tips on how to write an effective UX research report, ensuring that your insights resonate with stakeholders:

Step 1: Understand your audience

Identify stakeholders:

Know who will read your report—designers, developers, product managers. Tailor your language and focus to meet their specific needs.

Speak their language:

Avoid jargon. Use terms familiar to your audience, ensuring everyone can grasp the insights effortlessly.

Step 2: Establish clear objectives

Define purpose:

Outline the goals of your research. Are you solving a specific problem, testing a new feature, or evaluating the overall user experience?

Set clear questions:

Craft concise, specific research questions that guide your investigation and provide focused outcomes.

Step 3: Plan methodologically

Choose methods wisely:

Select UX research methods that align with your objectives. Whether it's interviews, surveys, or usability testing, ensure they address your research questions.

Create a timeline:

Establish a realistic timeline for your research activities. This ensures efficient data collection and analysis.

Step 4: Collecting data

Be observant:

During user interviews or testing, pay attention to both verbal and non-verbal cues. Capture meaningful insights that go beyond what participants explicitly express.

Organize data effectively:

Create a system to categorize and store data. This facilitates seamless analysis and report writing.

Step 5: Analyze with purpose

Identify patterns:

Look for recurring themes and patterns in your data. Connect the dots between participant responses to derive meaningful conclusions.

Stay objective:

Keep your analysis unbiased. Stick to the facts and avoid injecting personal opinions.

Step 6: Communicate findings clearly

Use plain language:

Express findings in simple, straightforward terms. Minimize complexity to enhance understanding.

Visualize data:

Leverage graphs, charts, and diagrams to present data visually. Visual aids enhance comprehension and engagement.

Step 7: Structure your report effectively

Start with a summary:

Begin with a concise overview of your key findings. This primes your audience for the detailed insights to follow.

Organize by themes:

Structure your report around key themes or categories. This helps readers navigate through the information seamlessly.

Step 8: Craft actionable recommendations

Connect findings to action:

Clearly link your insights to actionable recommendations. Provide practical steps that can be implemented to improve the user experience.

Prioritize recommendations:

Highlight the most impactful changes that will yield significant improvements. Prioritization aids in resource allocation.

Step 9: Include user quotes

Humanize your report:

Incorporate direct quotes from users to add a human touch. This not only reinforces your findings but also helps stakeholders empathize with the user experience.

Ensure anonymity:

Protect user privacy by keeping quotes anonymous. Use identifiers like 'Participant 1' instead of names.

Step 10: Review and iterate

Seek feedback:

Before finalizing your report, gather feedback from colleagues or stakeholders. This ensures that your insights are clear and resonate with the intended audience.

Iterate for clarity:

Refine your report based on feedback. Clarify any ambiguous points and ensure that the report is accessible to a wider audience.

With the writing skills honed, let's put theory into practice by exploring real-life examples of UX research reports.

UX research report example

In this section, we'll delve into the examples of UX research reports. The following examples illustrates diverse approaches to reporting, sharing insights into the way reports are structured by different projects and teams:

Example #1: UX report example of a food ordering app

Executive summary.

Our UX research on the recently launched "Eats Now" food delivery app revealed both positive user experiences and areas for improvement. Users praised the platform's sleek interface and efficient ordering process, but highlighted challenges with location accuracy, limited payment options, and unclear information about restaurant wait times. This report outlines key findings and actionable recommendations to optimize the app and enhance user satisfaction.

"Eats Now" is a new food delivery app aiming to provide a seamless ordering experience for busy individuals. We conducted this research to understand user pain points and optimize the app for wider adoption.

Methodology

We employed a mixed-method approach:

• Quantitative surveys: 100 users completing an online survey after using the app to assess overall satisfaction, identify specific usability issues, and gather demographic data.
• Qualitative interviews: In-depth interviews with 20 users to explore their motivations, expectations, and experiences while using the app.
• Usability testing: Observing 15 users navigating specific core tasks within the app to identify friction points and potential improvements.

Key Findings

• Positive aspects: Users found the app's design to be visually appealing and easy to navigate. The ordering process was generally considered efficient and intuitive.
• Pain points: Major frustrations included unreliable GPS location detection, leading to incorrect restaurant suggestions and delivery delays. Users also requested additional payment options beyond credit cards and improved transparency regarding restaurant wait times.
• Unmet needs: Users expressed a desire for personalized recommendations based on their order history and dietary preferences. Many also wished for a "reorder favorites" feature for frequently chosen meals.

Opportunities & Recommendations

• Geolocation optimization: Integrate more reliable location tracking services to ensure accurate restaurant suggestions and delivery routing.
• Payment flexibility: Introduce diverse payment options, including digital wallets and cash on delivery, to cater to broader user preferences.
• Wait time transparency: Display real-time restaurant wait times within the app to manage user expectations and improve order planning.
• Personalization features: Develop algorithms to suggest restaurants and dishes based on users' past orders and dietary preferences.
• "Reorder favorites" function: Implement a user-friendly option to quickly reorder frequently chosen meals, streamlining the ordering process for loyal customers.

By addressing these key findings and implementing the recommended improvements, "Eats Now" can significantly enhance user satisfaction, build user loyalty, and establish itself as a leading food delivery platform.

Example #2: UX report example of an online grocery app

Our research aimed to understand the pain points users face during the login process in the "Fresh Bites" online grocery app. We conducted interviews and usability testing with 12 target users to identify friction points and potential areas for improvement. Findings revealed confusion around account creation, difficulty remembering login credentials, and frustration with login error messages. We recommend implementing a one-click login option, offering password management tools, and redesigning error messages for better clarity. These improvements can streamline the login process, reduce user frustration, and ultimately increase app usage and user retention .

Fresh Bites is a growing online grocery app that prioritizes convenience and user experience. However, user feedback and app analytics indicated a high drop-off rate during the login process, potentially hindering user adoption and retention. To understand the reasons behind this drop-off and identify opportunities for improvement, we conducted a UX research study.

We employed a mixed-methods approach:

• Interviews (5 participants): We conducted in-depth interviews with users to understand their overall app experience, specifically focusing on the login process. This helped us uncover their pain points, mental models, and desired functionalities.
• Usability Testing (7 participants): We observed users as they attempted to log in to the app, noting their interactions, hesitations, and frustrations. This provided valuable insights into the usability of the current login flow.
• Confusion around account creation: Users were unsure whether they needed to create an account or could use guest checkout. The "Create Account" button was not prominent and the instructions were unclear.
• Difficulty remembering login credentials: Many users struggled to remember their passwords or usernames due to the lack of password management tools and repetitive login screens.
• Frustration with error messages: Vague and unhelpful error messages led to confusion and frustration when login attempts failed. Users often felt unsure how to resolve the issue.
• Implement a one-click login option: Offer social media or email logins to eliminate the need for password creation and reduce friction.
• Integrate password management tools: Allow users to save login credentials securely within the app, reducing the need for memorization.
• Redesign error messages: Provide clear and actionable information in case of login failures, guiding users towards solutions.
• Simplify the login flow: Streamline the login process by reducing the number of steps and ensuring a clear visual hierarchy.

The next step is to prioritize these recommendations based on feasibility and impact. We propose A/B testing different login flow variations to measure their effectiveness and user satisfaction. By implementing these improvements, we can create a more seamless and user-friendly login experience for Fresh Bites app users, potentially boosting user engagement and retention.

Alternatively, explore these sample presentations for inspiration:

1) Template for Presenting User Research Findings (Slide Deck) — Offered by User Interviews: Slide decks, known for their adaptability as both synchronous and asynchronous documents, are a popular choice for communicating user research findings. They provide flexibility to incorporate mixed-media elements such as charts and videos, catering to the depth or brevity required.

2) Example of a User Research Report (Debrief) — Created by Steve Bromley: Witness a presentation utilized by User Researcher Steve Bromley to debrief stakeholders on research findings. Steve Bromley, also featured on Awkward Silences, shares insights through this illustrative example.

3) Template for Summarizing Findings (with Examples) — Presented by Condens: Condens's blog offers an effective structure for presenting research findings, complete with a downloadable example deck.

Now that we've seen the reports in action, it's time to discuss the art of presentation in the final section.

How to present a UX research report: 5 ways

Presenting your UX research findings is a crucial aspect of the research process. This section will outline five effective ways to present a UX research report, ensuring that your insights captivate and resonate with your audience:

1) Workshops: for real-time, collaborative reports

In UX research, workshops provide an ideal setting for sharing findings. Conducted in real-time, these sessions enable collaborative engagement. 

Team members actively participate, fostering discussion and brainstorming. Use interactive tools like whiteboards for visual aids. 

This approach encourages collective understanding and immediate product feedback . It's efficient and ensures that insights are comprehended in a group setting, enhancing the potential for actionable outcomes.

2) Knowledge bases: for self-serve UX research reports

Building a knowledge base is crucial for self-serve accessibility. Centralize your UX research reports in an easily navigable repository. 

Categorize findings logically, making it effortless for team members to access information independently. This method promotes autonomy, as individuals can retrieve insights as needed, reducing dependence on centralized presentations. 

Regularly update the knowledge base to keep information current and relevant, ensuring team members stay informed without constant assistance.

3) Presentations/slide decks: great for the PAS framework

Utilize presentations or slide decks for a clear and structured approach, aligning with the Problem-Agitate-Solution (PAS) framework. 

Begin by highlighting the identified problem, stirring engagement. Agitate by presenting user pain points, creating a shared sense of urgency. Finally, propose solutions, aligning with research findings. This format simplifies complex information, aiding comprehension. 

Ensure visuals are clear and concise, emphasizing key insights. Presentations are an effective way to guide teams through the research journey, fostering understanding and facilitating informed decision-making.

4) Pre-recorded video: for better knowledge retention

Leverage pre-recorded videos to enhance knowledge retention. Delivering insights through a visual medium reinforces key points. 

Break down findings into digestible segments, ensuring clarity. Videos allow team members to revisit information at their pace, aiding comprehension. Incorporate real user interactions and interviews to provide a human touch. 

This method accommodates diverse learning styles and allows for flexibility in consumption. Pre-recorded videos contribute to a comprehensive understanding, fostering a deeper connection with the research outcomes.

5) Direct and simple sharing

For quick dissemination, opt for direct and simple sharing methods. Share findings through concise messages, avoiding unnecessary complexity. 

Utilize channels like email, messaging apps, or project management tools. Direct sharing ensures information reaches relevant stakeholders swiftly. Keep communication straightforward, emphasizing key takeaways. 

This approach is especially effective when time is of the essence, enabling teams to stay informed without delays. By embracing simplicity in sharing, you streamline the distribution process, maximizing the impact of your UX research reports.

In conclusion, crafting a compelling UX research report involves clear writing and effective presentation. 

Present insights using simple language, ensuring accessibility for all team members. Remember, the goal is to convey information without unnecessary complexity. 

When delivering your findings, focus on key points and actionable recommendations. A well-crafted report not only communicates your research effectively but also enhances collaboration within the team. 

Keep it concise, emphasize user-centric insights, and foster a user-friendly experience not only in your research but also in how you share it.

FAQs related to UX research report

How do you write a research statement for ux.

To craft a research statement for UX, clearly define the problem you aim to solve. Start with a concise overview of the project, followed by the research objectives. Briefly outline the target audience and their needs. Be specific about the methods and tools you'll use. Clearly state the expected outcomes and benefits. Keep it focused and straightforward, ensuring it serves as a roadmap for your UX research.

How do you summarize UX research?

Summarizing UX research involves distilling key findings into a digestible format. Begin with a brief introduction, highlighting the research goals. Present the methods used and provide context for the study. Share the main insights discovered during the research process. Include user quotes or anecdotes to add depth. Conclude with actionable recommendations. Keep the summary concise, emphasizing clarity and relevance for stakeholders who may not be familiar with the detailed aspects of the research.

What are the five steps of UX research?

1) Define objectives: Clearly outline the goals of your research, specifying what you aim to achieve.

2) Plan methods: Choose appropriate research methods based on your objectives. This may include surveys, interviews, or usability testing.

3) Collect data: Execute the planned methods, gathering relevant data from users to inform your research.

4) Analyze findings: Evaluate the collected data, identifying patterns, trends, and insights that address your research objectives.

5) Report and recommend: Communicate your findings in a comprehensive report. Include actionable recommendations to guide design improvements. Ensure your report is accessible and easily understood by diverse stakeholders.

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A Guide for Presenting UX Research Findings to Clients

Estimated Reading Time:

For some UX/UI designers , presenting UX research findings is the most challenging part of the job. You’ve gathered all your information and spent countless hours conducting tests and interviews…how do you turn all that data into an action plan that gets your clients on board?

Several things could get in the way of a good presentation. Too many glaring problems with the digital product , harsh user feedback hurting some feelings, unclear next steps, lack of confidence in public speaking, or a meteor could crash into your house and land directly on your computer (weirder things have happened).

But to start the design on the right foot, you need a slam-dunk presentation to get the ball rolling. How do you lay out the facts, engage your client, gain their trust, and compel them to act? Unfortunately, we’re not psychic apes (as cool as that sounds). We don’t have a crystal ball to look into your future and tell you exactly how the presentation will go. 

What we do have is TONS of experience with UX evaluations and presenting our findings to clients. Whenever there’s been a curveball, we’ve found a way to meet it head-on and knock it out of the park.

In this article, we’ll outline a few potential challenges you may encounter when presenting UX research findings. Rest assured, for every challenge, there is a CreateApe solution!

What We'll Cover

• Keeping stakeholders engaged
• Combatting bias
• Aligning with the user and stakeholder goals
• Keeping presentations short and sweet
• Turning insights into actions
• Using visuals effectively ‍

Why Presentations Are an Essential Part Of Your Project

Communication is paramount for any collaborative project between a vendor and a stakeholder.

No client is ever going to hand you a project and say “Go nuts!” Their company is vital to them and they are investing too much time and money into a product that puts them on the map. To us, gaining our clients' trust means they need visibility every step of the way.

UX presentations are our way of pulling back the curtain, giving the client a glimpse of the unknown. A UX evaluation shows specific problems that need to be fixed to keep their business on the right track, and the presentation gets everyone on the same page.

But it’s not just for the clients! Think of a UX presentation as an outline for a big speech. It helps you make sense of your findings and lay them out in a way that really tells a story. The facts and user feedback are compelling on their own, but it’s up to you to turn them into something tangible.

It also gives you time to plan your next steps before starting the design. You can lay out your priorities in order of importance, pick the low-hanging fruit, and improve your own processes for the next presentation.

How To Present UX Research Findings To Clients

Now that we’ve convinced you of how AWESOME UX research presentations are, you probably think you’re going to go in there, crush the meeting, and not run into any trouble.

You totally could! But, things can always go wrong. We’ve all had a flat tire on our way to work or spilled coffee on our favorite pair of pants — things happen, it’s a fact of life.

Presentations never go 100% flawlessly without questions or pushback. Here are just a few ways you can streamline your presentation, engage your audience, and prepare for roadblocks.

Challenge: Keeping Your Audience Engaged

Meeting with creative teams is exciting for clients, but going over numbers and data usually isn’t. How often have your eyes glazed over while listening to speakers go over metrics and charts?

While numbers aren’t typically engaging on their own, the data you gather during a UX evaluation are the eye-openers clients need to improve their products. You can’t do a UX research presentation without hard-hitting data.

Solution: Know Your Audience

As the kids say: “Read the room.”

You’re not connecting with your audience when you’re just clicking through slides and reading off numbers. Your presentation needs to appeal to their interests, whether it’s increasing their conversions or improving their branding to reach a new demographic.

Presenting UX research findings to clients gives you an opportunity to flex your storytelling skills. Understanding your client’s desires is as critical as understanding the user’s goals.

“Your target users were visiting your website, ready and rearing to request a demo of your SaaS system. But they don’t have time to scroll through your whole website to find the form they need. Your users became frustrated when they couldn’t find it right away — and as a result, 95% of them abandoned ship.” How much more interesting does that sound than “95% of the users leave the website before starting the conversion process”? Demonstrate the problem by emphasizing the user’s journey.

Challenge: Combatting Bias

We’ve all seen an article online that didn’t agree with our point of view and gave it a quick scoff or eye-roll before scrolling by. Don’t lie, bias is just a part of our human nature.

Sometimes clients can be a little stuck in their ways without knowing how much it’s hindering their product. But as tech evolves, so do best practices. What worked best in 2002 definitely isn’t going to work in 2022.

Solution: Present Qualitative and Quantitative Data

It’s up to us UX professionals to show clients the way, and the numbers don’t lie. Both qualitative and quantitative data show the value of your work while breaking down the processes that lead you to your conclusion. 

Quantitative data is the “what”, while Qualitative data is the “why.” The client needs to understand the weight of both before they confront their own bias.

After all, we’re the experts. This data lends us authority and gives us the know-how to create a successful product. If the client can visualize what’s not working and why it’s driving away their users, they’ll be more inclined to make the changes the product desperately needs.

Challenge: Meeting In the Middle Of the User And Client Goals

For many clients, their profit is their bottom line. If they’re investing in UX design, then they already understand that satisfying the user’s needs is the way to continue growing and making money.

Unfortunately, the user and business goals don’t always intersect perfectly. The user could be looking for a feature that is out of the business’ capabilities or a cheaper solution that would not benefit the client. How do you find compromises that appease both stakeholders?

Solution: Lead With Empathy

Empathy is the name of the game in UX design , for both users AND clients. All our stakeholders need to know we have their best interests at heart for us to gain their trust.

It’s also super helpful in battling the confirmation bias we mentioned earlier. The client needs to understand that when we present findings that don’t mesh with their methods, it’s all in the name of helping their bottom line.

When we empathize with both the client’s and the user’s goals, it’s much easier to think critically and present solutions that serve both stakeholders.

Challenge: Keeping Presentations Short And Sweet

UX presentations are only a short part of our client’s day. We gather plenty of data during UX evaluations (sometimes enough for an hours-long presentation), but we only get a limited amount of time to go over our findings and address questions and concerns before kickoff.

As much as we’d like to spend our whole day doing a collaborative working session with our clients, they’re just too busy. How do we show them that their product is in capable hands without presenting every single piece of data we collected?

Solution: Focus On Three To Four Key Findings

Target data points that capture the big picture. No matter how much information you collect, chances are that presenting UX research findings can be summed up in a few main points. The rest of your findings will likely fall under the same umbrella as the main ones.

It’s all about how you structure your presentation. You can’t just rattle off all your data points and expect your audience to be invested all the way. Keep it tight by focusing on the three or four most compelling points, and lump supplemental findings under those talking points.

User feedback also helps you illustrate the problem by letting the client see things from their user’s perspective. You can present tons of data about why something isn’t working, but nothing hits home quite like the user telling them “This navigation makes absolutely no sense.”

Challenge: Turning Insight Into Action

Gathering all the data and putting the presentation together is the hard part…now comes the next steps. You know what’s working and what’s not, how do you actually tackle the problem?

The client needs to know exactly what the next steps are to be fully on board. Give them the confidence they need with creative solutions and a solid plan of attack.

Solution: List Your Recommendations

At CreateApe, everything we do is backed up by research and findings from past projects. It gives us the validation we need to know we’re making the right changes.

Your clients are trusting that you’re the expert when it comes to user experience. Come armed with a plan that shows you’re invested in the project and prepared to make it a raging success.

Address the easy fixes first to get the ball rolling. Things that can be remedied quickly to improve the existing experience without having to wait for the final project. Then, lay out your long-term plans (new onboarding flows, features, total website face-lift, etc).

Challenge: Show, Don’t Tell

Even the most engaging and exciting speakers still need visual aids. Think of the last TedTalk you watched…was the speaker just standing there waving their arms around or did they have slideshows or props to help bring their words to life.

Sometimes visuals say so much more than words ever could. Not only do they illustrate the problem you want to solve, but they also provide more value to your presentation by giving your audience something to chew on in between numbers and written content.

Solution: Using Visuals Effectively

“75% of your users didn’t scroll past the top section of the page” is an eye-opening statistic on its own, but how much more effective does this look?:

Here, the client can see the activity on the page and where users are trailing off. This is the wake-up call they need to restructure the content of the page and lead with the user’s main goal. Bing, bang, boom…problem solved.

You can also get creative while presenting UX research findings. Think about including some before and after shots to show off your design chops. Give them a little taste of what’s to come. Abstract data visualization is also super hot right now, so incorporating some out-of-the-box charts and interaction design couldn’t hurt either.

Knock Your Presentation Out Of the Park!

It's not enough to convince your client of the value of UX. They need to visualize the product's pain points and see a solid action plan before they confidently invest their time and money.

Knowing what to present is half the battle. When all of this important ground is covered, all that's left is letting your personality and UX-pertise shine. Pace yourself, lean on data, gain the client's trust, and kick your partnership off right!

Want to see what a UX/UI facelift can do for your site? Need some help convincing the higher-ups of the benefits of UX? Start a project with us today or swing into our jungle for a UX evaluation !

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It’s a jungle out there — let the Create Ape experts help you traverse the wilds as we take your project to new heights.

How to Present User Research Insights to Different Audiences

As UX researchers, we know about the pain points, challenges, and experiences of the people we research. This is because we heard them struggle to accomplish a task or saw them light up when speaking about a memory. Yet how can we convey our learnings to those we work with in the right depth?  

Oftentimes presenting the results of user research is a crucial moment to convey what you've found to other team members and help them make the right decisions. We already discussed how to create an engaging user research presentation (with a slide template). However, to increase the impact of UX research, it's best to tailor your presentation to different audiences. This topic was recently discussed in our UX Research Munich Community talk with Moira Mastrone, a senior UX researcher from MediaMarktSaturn. She shared valuable pieces of advice on how to present user research insights and make them stick with your audience. Taking inspiration from Moira's talk, this article explores the question of how to present UX research learnings to different audiences in more detail.

Tips to keep your audience engaged

#1 define your audience and presentation goals, #2 use relevant language and examples, for designers, for developers, for managers, #3 plan your presentation’s logistic, watch recording 🎥.

The same presentation would not engage every listener. If you want to deliver the value of your research findings, an essential step to take is adapting your presentation to your audience and preparing in advance.

Read our 3 tips to make sure you are confident when sharing your research insights in front of any company role.

As a first step, take some time to think about to whom you are presenting your findings. Are you planning to talk to product managers, UX designers, developers, or a different audience? What if your listeners come from various roles? Knowing that in advance will help you set your presentation goals. You might aim for informing your audience, sharing insights, convincing them, building credibility, or revealing your expertise. As a result, the type of audience and the presentation goals should guide your storytelling.

„Trying to target general audiences, such as “all stakeholders”, will often result in muddled communications.“

First step when building a storyline, consider how much the people you are talking to know about your topic already. It's always useful to briefly explain the topic because not everyone's familiar with it. Then, come back to the goals of your talk and think of the main takeaway for your audience that you would like them to remember. Knowing that will help you stay focused during your presentation.

Here is a short checklist on what to aim for with your UX Research presentation:

Easy to understand : Make sure your audience understands your findings as quickly as possible.

Easy to care : Try to increase their empathy so that your audience feels motivated to act.

Easy to action : Make them go straight to the solution once they understand the problem.

Easy to share : Sharing and accessing research findings should be easy. Then there's simply no excuse for not seeing them.

When your audience is defined, think of how you can speak to them in their language. Don’t forget about empathy, communication, and culture when you are presenting. Simply put, don’t use too many technical terms in front of a non-technical listener. Instead, try to double down on the strength of your qualitative research and use interview quotes as illustrative examples to drive audience engagement. See the one below, where a user struggles to reach a button:

Apart from communication, be sure your slides are adapted to suit your audience. The information you include is as important as how you present it. That means your presentation, including slides or other deliverables, should contain different sections based on the audience's goals because people in different roles don’t look for the same levels of evidence.

Let’s jump straight into examples of how to make a UX Research presentation stick with 3 different audiences:

Imagine you give a talk in front of UX designers and present them with your latest research insights. As Janet M. Six already stated, understanding the why's of users' needs and behaviors would be the most important finding for UX designers to have a holistic view of users when creating designs for them. 

This is when you should go beyond the surface meaning of your data analytics. It’s even better to involve designers in the planning and research session even before the presentation. If not possible, share your research insights with a focus on the following elements to provide the most valuable learnings:

users’ characteristics and knowledge, 

the tasks they are trying to perform (why, when, and where?), 

users’ pain points,

the technology they are using.

Consider summarizing those findings in typical UX research deliverables, such as Personas or Journey Maps. Let your presentation walk the audience through the elements of your artifacts and make this the starting point for a deeper discussion.

If you are presenting your UX research findings to developers, focus on the information that might affect the implementation of their current project. For example, design or workflow changes. To get a better understanding of engineers’ perspectives, read the learnings from interviewing several software developers about their involvement in UX research by Taylor Palmer. In a nutshell, the author observed that sharing research insights with developers leads to better technical solutions, creating user advocates, and establishing emotional connections. Again, we think it’s always better to involve all stakeholders, including developers, to observe research sessions and get in touch with research data besides the presentation, if there’s a possibility.

In your slides, stick to a common user-centric vocabulary and highlight the relevant information. You can have a high-level summary of your learnings and explain the main findings nearby. In that way, the development team can go back to your presentation notes later and easily navigate through key insights. 

However, more detailed data might also be very useful if it can help an engineer understand the user during implementation. Share a condensed version of your interview notes or short video recordings along with your presentation. The most involved engineers will get a holistic view of your research and be fully informed about its outcomes.

Sooner or later, every UX researcher presents their findings to managers, let it be a product, a project manager, or even a C-level executive. Typically, they wouldn’t have much time, so you need to be concise and illustrate how the UX research findings might impact the business goals. In short, identify all research issues that you can explain clearly, and present the main ones. 

„Once you have hooked them into the problem and they are asking questions, that's the time to go into more detail or complex variants.“

Don’t spend too much time on the methodology section, unless you’re asked to do so. Instead, go strictly to the point and try to tie your findings to the company objectives or KPIs.

Make your data arguments compelling and strong for the managers to understand why they should consider your research when making decisions. 

If relevant, enrich your qualitative findings with some quantitative metrics: maybe you notice a high user bounce rate or low user retention. Visualize your findings and include simple charts, graphs, or even some creditable statistics from secondary research in your presentation. As many business roles work with numbers and statistics every day, such visualizations may be an easy read for your audience.

At the same time, don’t fall into the trap of quantifying UX Research findings (no matter what!). Make sure to include video fragments from the interview. For example, you can easily create highlight reels , showing real users talking about having problems. Paired with metrics, this helps to convey your insights in the best way.

Double down on the emotional depth of UX research findings

The last stage you should plan when preparing your presentation is how it will happen. Don’t forget about the basics. If you’re giving a talk in person, try making eye contact and remember that your body language is as important as your voice. If presenting remotely, make sure your listeners can hear you clearly, and that your slides are easily readable from the screen. 

At the same time, communication before and after your talk plays a big role. When you send an invitation for your presentation, give your reader a hint to attract their attention and ask them when they can see the rest. Put some time pressure to stress the value of your research results. Moira suggests revealing a snippet of your research insights to make the audience interested in hearing more:

After giving a talk, you would probably want to share the presentation slides with your audience. Here are some tips on how to create good follow-up communication: 

Start with a short introductory text, reminding when the meeting took place and what slides or deliverables were presented

Briefly explain the topic of your UX research project

Provide project background and objectives

Finally, give a summary of the main findings (though we hope your detailed presentation will be opened and explored in more depth, of course) 

If available, also attach the recording of your talk

Last but not least: the presentation slides you share. Create a separate version for sharing and include additional explanations, which your audience might read on their own. Still, often the slides won’t be enough. Most probably, you will be asked to share some research notes or interview video snippets. 

To avoid having a huge email attachment with the video files and archives, you can simply include a link to a sharable research report . For example, you can use Condens as an internal research repository and provide access to research summaries, video snippets, charts, and other documents within one shareable page. Many stakeholders will appreciate and benefit from an easy-way to learn more about the research highlights and experiencing them by watching selected research highlights and user quotes in an engaging format.

As key takeaways, remember the following:

Always pay attention to your audience, from preparing the slides to planning the communication and language around your presentation. 

Think of a clear storyline, containing an intro, the main topic, and conclusions. 

Synthesize your raw notes into something meaningful to your target audience and include illustrative user quotes. 

Finally, give access to detailed research reports for those who want to build a full understanding of your study’s outcome. 

If you tailor your presentation to your listeners' group, you will have a greater chance of making an impact. 

This article is inspired by Moira Mastrone’s talk at UX Research Munich Meetup in November 2022. You can watch the full talk here:

Anna is a Product Marketing Specialist at Condens. Coming from a B2B tech startup and having an academic background in consumer technology adoption behavior, she is passionate about driving software products and exploring how people use them. Anna contributes to the UX Research community with content in all formats from long-form articles or snackable social media takeaways to organizing in-depth user research talks, always focused on finding new angles and providing useful input.

Moira Mastrone is a Senior UX Researcher at MediaMarktSaturn. She is supporting her team to learn about their users. Moira is also an active member of the Munich UX Research Community and a mentor for ADPList, where she is eager to exchange knowledge in the field and connect with research fellows.

Soft Skills

How to Present UX Research Findings?

Conducting UX research is only half of a complete job. The other half consists of presenting that UX research to your stakeholders in a way that will help them understand the data and motivate them to take action. But, this data might become irrelevant if you don’t learn how to present UX research findings. 

In this article, you’ll learn how to become a master in presenting UX research findings, so keep reading to discover explanations, benefits, and heaps of tips!

What is user (UX) research

User research (or UX research) is the process of learning about the problems and needs of your users and then utilizing these insights to create a functional design of a digital product that will help users solve these issues. There are different types of UX research: from testing prototypes and design concepts to testing how the users react to branding or messaging before the final launch of a digital product .

UX designers and UX researchers work to discover their users’ behavior patterns, motivations, and needs. Such data is crucial for building a successful UX design, so learning how to present UX research findings is essential. There are different UX research methods; designers can use one to uncover information and the other to initialize supporting activities. However, every research stage will bring something valuable to learn. 

UX research has numerous benefits: it helps UX designers and their businesses to comprehend how users experience digital products, such as websites and mobile apps, and discover new needs and business opportunities. Moreover, UX research can help designers find and fix any possible flaws in their digital product before launching it to the market. 

It can also help businesses to create a product with a better experience and surpass their competitors.

What is a UX research presentation?

Before we dive into how to present UX research information, let’s run you through what this presentation is. A UX research presentation is the final stage of UX research, where you share the obtained data with other stakeholders. During this presentation, after laying out the facts and findings, together you can work to come up with suggestions for improvements, make important decisions, and decide on the next steps. 

Since only some of your stakeholders might be UX designers or familiar with the UX field, it’s important to present what you gathered in an easy-to-digest manner. Moreover, you should include a captivating visual representation that will catch their attention, justify the resources spent for this research, and motivate them to take the steps you expect. 

A good UX research presentation will help your team to make the right design decisions, prioritize tasks, create a product roadmap, refine existing knowledge about your user, and improve the overall usability of your digital product.

When you learn how to present UX research findings, you’ll become more and more confident that you’re reaping all the benefits. Sometimes, your stakeholders fail to speak your language and can’t recognize what should come next. These UX research presentations are a unique opportunity to give the other stakeholders an insight into your world.

A good UX research presentation will:

• describe this research’s purpose and give context about the UX research process
• explain why the participants of a UX research liked or didn’t like some features of your digital product
• inform the decision makers and help you and your team prioritize tasks
• give a clear guideline for necessary resources

To have a “debt-free” product in the future, you must speak freely of possible constraints when you first stumble upon them in your research.

Tips for an excellent UX research presentation

Recognize your audience.

To present UX research findings properly, you must be aware of who your audience is. The more you know whom you’re talking to, the better you can transmit your message. One of the UX researchers’ worst mistakes is not reading the room before the presentation and simply scrolling through the slides. To ensure your UX research presentation will run smoothly, figure out how to establish an emotional connection with your audience. Once you create such a connection, you’ll set the right tone, and your audience will focus on what follows with more gist and motivation.

Another tip is to “personalize” your presentation according to the audience. If you’re presenting your UX research to other product designers, focus on highlighting the data that shows user experience and possible issues you’ll have to work on together. On the other hand, if your audience consists solely of marketers and other business-related executives, you should focus more on presenting the gathered data in a manner that’s actionable for them.

Combine qualitative and quantitative data

Use qualitative data when you present UX research findings to back up the quantitative part. For example, you can share the interviewees’ quotes to help build empathy with the target audience. Or, when discussing specific pain points, you should include visual representations of poll results, such as pie charts. That’ll be an excellent opportunity to combine different data, bring clarity, and showcase your deep understanding of the research conducted. 

As we already said, conducting thorough UX research isn’t enough. When you know how to translate different data into the language of other stakeholders, your UX research presentation will automatically become more understandable and of higher value to other team members.

Once they understand everything, they will be more ready to decide on the following steps.

Make some action!

You add value to the presentation when you engagingly present UX research findings. When you add more action to your presentation, your audience will gain a deeper understanding of the data and the market, and you’ll also boost their creativity and innovation. 

Here are some ways to make your UX research presentation more actionable:

• Share your presentation with the audience for the future reference
• Disclose the questions and the answers posed in the research
• Add your recommendation for future steps, especially design-related
• Create a to-do list for the audience
• Suggest additional research if necessary

Also, remember to remind your audience of this specific research and its results in the future – the data you gathered will use you on many future occasions, such as daily design meetings or kick-off meetings.

Keep it short

When you present UX research findings, it may seem as if everything from the research is essential and should end up in the final presentation. 

That might be true sometimes, but unfortunately, your audience, more often than not, will have no capacity to hear, remember, and proactively react to everything. So, limit your presentation to only a few significant insights. Also, ensure your presentation is up to 30 minutes long unless it’s the conclusion of a discovery phase, as those tend to last longer. 

If you want to make it easy for other stakeholders to dive deeply into the research, share the presentation and insights with them. Keep your report brief and include hyperlinks in an appendix to more detailed insights/summaries to save their precious time and attention. 

After all, most of the time, sharing every bit of the gathered data is unnecessary. The most important thing is to give your audience the answers they’re searching for right away. You can send everything else in a proper follow-up email or a detailed PDF report later.

Admit possible failures

You might get a slight pushback from your audience when you present UX research findings. Sometimes, they need more clarification regarding the participants interviewed, competitors analyzed, audience size, or specific questions from your UX survey . 

Don’t let that discourage you. On the contrary, speak freely and share your thoughts about constraints. If you want to showcase your professionalism, you must stay aligned with your rationales and know how to explain them every time to everyone who asks. 

Moreover, try to empathize with your audience as you would with your users: most of them don’t do such complex research, so explain your methodology. Highlight the reasons and benefits of specific actions of your research, and stay honest about the limitations of the UX research. Such an attitude will build trust among your stakeholders and fortify the overall value of the UX research you conducted.

So, this is our take on how to present UX research findings! 

As long as you keep it brief and engaging, you’re in the clear. Learn how to speak your stakeholders’ language, and share the insights for a deeper dive after the presentation. Work to help them resolve uncertainties and teach them how to empathize with your users. If you have any additional suggestions on how to master presenting UX research, feel free to share them with us via our Instagram profile !

For additional learning resources, visit our Learn section and discover all the valuable products and freebies that will help you skyrocket your product design career.

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World Leaders in Research-Based User Experience

UX Research Cheat Sheet

February 12, 2017 2017-02-12

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User-experience research methods are great at producing data and insights, while ongoing activities help get the right things done. Alongside R&D, ongoing UX activities can make everyone’s efforts more effective and valuable. At every stage in the design process, different UX methods can keep product-development efforts on the right track, in agreement with true user needs and not imaginary ones.

In This Article:

When to conduct user research.

One of the questions we get the most is, “When should I do user research on my project?” There are three different answers:

• Do user research at whatever stage you’re in right now . The earlier the research, the more impact the findings will have on your product, and by definition, the earliest you can do something on your current project (absent a time machine) is today.
• Do user research at all the stages . As we show below, there’s something useful to learn in every single stage of any reasonable project plan, and each research step will increase the value of your product by more than the cost of the research.
• Do most user research early in the project (when it’ll have the most impact), but conserve some budget for a smaller amount of supplementary research later in the project. This advice applies in the common case that you can’t get budget for all the research steps that would be useful.

The chart below describes UX methods and activities available in various project stages.

Each project is different, so the stages are not always neatly compartmentalized. The end of one cycle is the beginning of the next.

The important thing is not to execute a giant list of activities in rigid order, but to start somewhere and learn more and more as you go along.

When deciding where to start or what to focus on first, use some of these top UX methods. Some methods may be more appropriate than others, depending on time constraints, system maturity, type of product or service, and the current top concerns. It’s a good idea to use different or alternating methods each product cycle because they are aimed at different goals and types of insight. The chart below shows how often UX practitioners reported engaging in these methods in our survey on UX careers.

If you can do only one activity and aim to improve an existing system, do qualitative (think-aloud) usability testing , which is the most effective method to improve usability . If you are unable to test with users, analyze as much user data as you can. Data (obtained, for instance, from call logs, searches, or analytics) is not a great substitute for people, however, because data usually tells you what , but you often need to know why . So use the questions your data brings up to continue to push for usability testing.

The discovery stage is when you try to illuminate what you don’t know and better understand what people need. It’s especially important to do discovery activities before making a new product or feature, so you can find out whether it makes sense to do the project at all .

An important goal at this stage is to validate and discard assumptions, and then bring the data and insights to the team. Ideally this research should be done before effort is wasted on building the wrong things or on building things for the wrong people, but it can also be used to get back on track when you’re working with an existing product or service.

Good things to do during discovery:

• Conduct field studies and interview users : Go where the users are, watch, ask, and listen. Observe people in context interacting with the system or solving the problems you’re trying to provide solutions for.
• Run diary studies to understand your users’ information needs and behaviors.
• Interview stakeholders to gather and understand business requirements and constraints.
• Interview sales, support, and training staff. What are the most frequent problems and questions they hear from users? What are the worst problems people have? What makes people angry?
• Listen to sales and support calls. What do people ask about? What do they have problems understanding? How do the sales and support staff explain and help? What is the vocabulary mismatch between users and staff?
• Do competitive testing . Find the strengths and weaknesses in your competitors’ products. Discover what users like best.

Exploration methods are for understanding the problem space and design scope and addressing user needs appropriately.

• Compare features against competitors.
• Do design reviews.
• Use research to build user personas and write user stories.
• Analyze user tasks to find ways to save people time and effort.
• Show stakeholders the user journey and where the risky areas are for losing customers along the way. Decide together what an ideal user journey would look like.
• Explore design possibilities by imagining many different approaches, brainstorming, and testing the best ideas in order to identify best-of-breed design components to retain.
• Obtain feedback on early-stage task flows by walking through designs with stakeholders and subject-matter experts. Ask for written reactions and questions (silent brainstorming), to avoid groupthink and to enable people who might not speak up in a group to tell you what concerns them.
• Iterate designs by testing paper prototypes with target users, and then test interactive prototypes by watching people use them. Don’t gather opinions. Instead, note how well designs work to help people complete tasks and avoid errors. Let people show you where the problem areas are, then redesign and test again.
• Use card sorting to find out how people group your information, to help inform your navigation and information organization scheme.

Testing and validation methods are for checking designs during development and beyond, to make sure systems work well for the people who use them.

• Do qualitative usability testing . Test early and often with a diverse range of people, alone and in groups. Conduct an accessibility evaluation to ensure universal access.
• Ask people to self-report their interactions and any interesting incidents while using the system over time, for example with diary studies .
• Audit training classes and note the topics, questions people ask, and answers given. Test instructions and help systems.
• Talk with user groups.
• Staff social-media accounts and talk with users online. Monitor social media for kudos and complaints.
• Analyze user-forum posts. User forums are sources for important questions to address and answers that solve problems. Bring that learning back to the design and development team.
• Do benchmark testing: If you’re planning a major redesign or measuring improvement, test to determine time on task, task completion, and error rates of your current system, so you can gauge progress over time.

Listen throughout the research and design cycle to help understand existing problems and to look for new issues. Analyze gathered data and monitor incoming information for patterns and trends.

• Survey customers and prospective users.
• Monitor analytics and metrics to discover trends and anomalies and to gauge your progress.
• Analyze search queries: What do people look for and what do they call it? Search logs are often overlooked, but they contain important information.
• Make it easy to send in comments, bug reports, and questions. Analyze incoming feedback channels periodically for top usability issues and trouble areas. Look for clues about what people can’t find, their misunderstandings, and any unintended effects.
• Collect frequently asked questions and try to solve the problems they represent.
• Run booths at conferences that your customers and users attend so that they can volunteer information and talk with you directly.
• Give talks and demos: capture questions and concerns.

Ongoing and strategic activities can help you get ahead of problems and make systemic improvements.

• Find allies . It takes a coordinated effort to achieve design improvement. You’ll need collaborators and champions.
• Talk with experts . Learn from others’ successes and mistakes. Get advice from people with more experience.
• Follow ethical guidelines . The UXPA Code of Professional Conduct is a good starting point.
• Involve stakeholders . Don’t just ask for opinions; get people onboard and contributing, even in small ways. Share your findings, invite them to observe and take notes during research sessions.
• Hunt for data sources . Be a UX detective. Who has the information you need, and how can you gather it?
• Determine UX metrics. Find ways to measure how well the system is working for its users.
• Follow Tog's principles of interaction design .
• Use evidence-based design guidelines , especially when you can’t conduct your own research. Usability heuristics are high-level principles to follow.
• Design for universal access . Accessibility can’t be tacked onto the end or tested in during QA. Access is becoming a legal imperative, and expert help is available. Accessibility improvements make systems easier for everyone.
• Give users control . Provide the controls people need. Choice but not infinite choice.
• Prevent errors . Whenever an error occurs, consider how it might be eliminated through design change. What may appear to be user errors are often system-design faults. Prevent errors by understanding how they occur and design to lessen their impact.
• Improve error messages . For remaining errors, don’t just report system state. Say what happened from a user standpoint and explain what to do in terms that are easy for users to understand.
• Provide helpful defaults . Be prescriptive with the default settings, because many people expect you to make the hard choices for them. Allow users to change the ones they might need or want to change.
• Check for inconsistencies . Work-alike is important for learnability. People tend to interpret differences as meaningful, so make use of that in your design intentionally rather than introducing arbitrary differences. Adhere to the principle of least astonishment . Meet expectations instead.
• Map features to needs . User research can be tied to features to show where requirements come from. Such a mapping can help preserve design rationale for the next round or the next team.
• When designing software, ensure that installation and updating is easy . Make installation quick and unobtrusive. Allow people to control updating if they want to.
• When designing devices, plan for repair and recycling . Sustainability and reuse are more important than ever. Design for conservation.
• Avoid waste . Reduce and eliminate nonessential packaging and disposable parts. Avoid wasting people’s time, also. Streamline.
• Consider system usability in different cultural contexts . You are not your user. Plan how to ensure that your systems work for people in other countries . Translation is only part of the challenge.
• Look for perverse incentives . Perverse incentives lead to negative unintended consequences. How can people game the system or exploit it? How might you be able to address that? Consider how a malicious user might use the system in unintended ways or to harm others.
• Consider social implications . How will the system be used in groups of people, by groups of people, or against groups of people? Which problems could emerge from that group activity?
• Protect personal information . Personal information is like money. You can spend it unwisely only once. Many want to rob the bank. Plan how to keep personal information secure over time. Avoid collecting information that isn’t required, and destroy older data routinely.
• Keep data safe . Limit access to both research data and the data entrusted to the company by customers. Advocate for encryption of data at rest and secure transport. A data breach is a terrible user experience.
• Deliver both good and bad news . It’s human nature to be reluctant to tell people what they don’t want to hear, but it’s essential that UX raise the tough issues. The future of the product, or even the company, may depend on decisionmakers knowing what you know or suspect.
• Track usability over time . Use indicators such as number and types of support issues, error rates and task completion in usability testing, and customer satisfaction ratings, to show the effectiveness of design improvements.
• Include diverse users . People can be very different culturally and physically. They also have a range of abilities and language skills. Personas are not enough to prevent serious problems, so be sure your testing includes as wide a variety of people as you can.
• Track usability bugs . If usability bugs don’t have a place in the bug database, start your own database to track important issues.
• Pay attention to user sentiment . Social media is a great place for monitoring user problems, successes, frustrations, and word-of-mouth advertising. When competitors emerge, social media posts may be the first indication.
• Reduce the need for training . Training is often a workaround for difficult user interfaces, and it’s expensive. Use training and help topics to look for areas ripe for design changes.
• Communicate future directions . Customers and users depend on what they are able to do and what they know how to do with the products and services they use. Change can be good, even when disruptive, but surprise changes are often poorly received because they can break things that people are already doing. Whenever possible, ask, tell, test with, and listen to the customers and users you have. Consult with them rather than just announcing changes. Discuss major changes early, so what you hear can help you do a better job, and what they hear can help them prepare for the changes needed.
• Recruit people for future research and testing . Actively encourage people to join your pool of volunteer testers. Offer incentives for participation and make signing up easy to do via your website, your newsletter, and other points of contact.

Use this cheat-sheet to choose appropriate UX methods and activities for your projects and to get the most out of those efforts. It’s not necessary to do everything on every project, but it’s often helpful to use a mix of methods and tend to some ongoing needs during each iteration.

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Guides » UX Research Basics » UX Research Presentation

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UX Research Presentation

Learn how to design and structure an effective ux research presentation to showcase your research findings to teams and stakeholders..

Last update 03.07.2023

After you’ve created your research plan , recruited participants, conducted and analyzed the study results, it’s finally time to present your findings to colleagues, stakeholders and other people involved in the project. 

But how to make sure you nail the presentation, make it engaging, structured and most importantly – convincing?  

Read further to find our best tips for presenting the results of your UX research together with the collection of some of the best UX research presentation templates out there!

Key Takeaways: 

➡️ A UX research presentation is used to showcase your research findings to colleagues and stakeholders.

❗ It helps to influence decision-making , inspire action and generate empathy towards users and their problems.

✅ A research presentation is an alternative to a UX research report .

🧠 You don’t have to create a presentation from scratch, there are many free templates available online.

What is a UX research presentation? 

A UX research presentation is the process of presenting research findings to colleagues and relevant stakeholders. The goal of conducting the UX research presentation is to communicate results of the research activities you’ve performed, share relevant insights and critical problems you’ve uncovered and propose ideas for solving them.

It can also be described as an alternative to a user research report . However, while user research reports are often presented in a form of long complicated documents, UX research presentation is a faster and more convenient way to present your findings in an easy to understand and visually appealing way.

The goal of a UX presentation

The primary goal of a UX research presentation is to effectively communicate your research findings to other people involved in the project. However, apart from that, it holds several other benefits:

• Generate empathy : a good and engaging UX research presentation can help you explain user’s problems, needs and expectations to other team members and, therefore, generate empathy. This helps to humanize the user experience and shows its value even to people who may not understand it.
• Influence decision-making : by demonstrating the findings of your research, explaining their value and importance, you get an opportunity to prioritize specific design changes and convince stakeholders to invest in UX . 
• Facilitate collaboration : a UX presentation explains your research activities and their results in a way that is comprehensive for everyone, even the ones not involved in the product design process. This makes collaboration between teams easier, helps to spread awareness about the products, users and necessary changes. This collaborative approach encourages discussion and helps you come up with better solutions to users’ problems.
• Inspire action: The ultimate goal of a UX presentation is to drive action and implementation of the research findings. You should not only explain the problem, but also your ideas and recommendations on how to solve them.

How to create engaging UX research presentations

Let’s take a look at our 5 go-to tips on how to present research data in UX presentation:

1. Keep it short

Resist the urge to share every single detail of your research. Make your presentation relatively short and straight to the point. Focus on explaining the key insights and keep in mind your audience’s short attention spans. If you make the presentation too long, you risk boring them and losing their attention. 

Try to avoid putting any unnecessary information in your presentation and distill your research findings into clear, concise messages.

2. Show, don’t tell

The key in putting together a good UX Research presentation is making it highly visual. Empathize with your managers, stakeholders and other team members who haven’t been a part of your research process. They probably only have a vague understanding of the problem and presenting them with a few slides of plain text won’t make it much better. 

Your goal here is to create a clear and convincing showcase of the research process , the problem you’ve uncovered and your proposed solutions. To do that, focus on showing rather than telling . 

Imagine you’re talking about a specific problem users encounter, for example filling out the registration form. Instead of talking about it for 5 minutes straight, show a quick clip of a user experiencing that problem during a usability test. This will help to understand the problem better, empathize with the user and will save you time on long boring explanations.

3. Use storytelling

Make sure to use compelling visuals in order to support the story you’re telling.

4. Make it actionable

The main goal of your presentation is to highlight critical problems users face and present potential solutions. Therefore, after your presentation your audience should have a clear idea what needs to be done, how it will help and who is going to work on making the changes. 

Avoid being vague and unclear in your recommendation statements and focus on explaining and supporting your solutions with relevant data .

5. Encourage discussion

Encourage discussion among your audience as well as vocalizing any other questions , comments or concerns that arise. This will help to engage them even more and promote a better understanding of your research findings. 

And not only that! The biggest benefit of encouraging communication during your presentation is that by listening to their opinions and concerns you’re able to fine-tune your solutions to the problems, come up with better ones and overall just generate more effective ideas for improvement.

Things to avoid in a user research presentation

When preparing a user research presentation it’s important to keep in mind potential pitfalls that can influence its effectiveness. Here’s a list of mistakes to avoid when presenting the results of your research:

• Using too much jargon and technical language : remember, that not everyone in your audience is familiar with complex UX terms and internal jargon. Use a simple language, maybe even a conversational tone to make sure everyone understands what you’re talking about.
• Lack of structure: going back to the topic of storytelling, try to organize the information you’re going to present in a structured manner and give it a logical flow. 
• Cluttered slides: don’t overload your slides with information. Use concise bullet points, key phrases, and compelling visuals to convey information effectively. Make sure your presentation’s design is not too flashy, so that it doesn’t distract the audience. 
• Getting lost in details : avoid focusing on little details that don’t matter and instead try to explain how your research findings and their implications can benefit the bigger picture and the product overall.
• Lack of preparation : your presentation should be easy to listen to. Practice before you present and make sure that you don’t run through the slides, stutter or forget anything. A confident delivery will assure that the audience hears and understands you, instead of getting distracted by your poor presentation skills.

UX research presentation example

Now that you know the keys to effective research findings presentation, let’s take a look at an actual UX research presentation example. The UX research presentation example you see below is created by Visme and can be also used as a template, which we’ll also leave a link to.

This presentation is a great example of how you can provide an informative delivery of key insights and actionable recommendations.  

The structure of your UX research presentation can vary based on the objectives and the main information you want to convey, however, most of the times all presentations will follow a similar structure, same to the one in this UX research presentation example:

• Research Methodology
• Participant Profiles
• Key Findings 
• Recommendations

See full UX research presentation example .

UX Research Presentation Example. Source .

This example is great because it presents information in a quick and easy to understand manner, together with the clean minimalistic design. Therefore, the audience is able to gauge all the necessary details about the research in just a couple of slides. The only thing that it is lacking is more application of the “show, don’t tell” principle . 

Depending on the research method , we’d recommend adding some powerful quotes from the user tests , as well as video recordings of participants facing their primary problems with the product. This would help to generate empathy and help the audience understand users better. 

UX research presentation templates

1. ux research presentation template by visme.

A customizable colorful template that will help you condense the findings of your UX research into small bits and present them in a digestible way.

📥 Get the template

2. UX Presentation Template by Miro

A template by one of the most popular whiteboarding platforms that is available on their free plan and is perfect for presenting your user research findings to the team.

3. User Research Presentation Template by Furquan Ahmad

A beautifully designed report template available to anyone in the Figma community. The author of the template even provides a video explaining the step-by-step process of creating a good UX research report.

4. UX Research Presentation Template by Decoding Research

This is a paid template with 25+ slides to help you present your research findings. The template is available for download as PowerPoint and Keynote in English and Spanish.

5. Research Findings Presentation Template by Salman Farsi

A template created in Miro by an experienced Product Designer to speed up the report/finding presentation process and focus more on the content.

6. Usability Testing Results Presentation

A customizable template specifically to help you present your usability testing findings in a clear and visually appealing way.

📥 Get the template  

Wrapping up

Now that you know how to put together a UX research findings presentation, it’s time to take action! Conduct your study, empathize with users and do your best to solve their problems with your product.

And for the research part of it, UXtweak is always here and ready to help. Leverage our numerous UX tools, analyze data and generate custom PDF reports for your research presentations! Create a free account and start today!

Give a Try to Our UX Research Tools!

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FAQ: UX Research Presentation

You can structure your research findings presentation in the following way:

• Context: explain the problem and the background
• Research Goals: describe what you were trying to achieve
• Methods: what research methods did you use
• Findings: Present the key insights
• Analysis and recommendations: Interpret the findings and provide actionable next steps

When presenting UX research findings, consider the following tips:

• Keep it short
• Show, don’t tell
• Use storytelling
• Make it actionable
• Encourage discussion

UX Research Framework

Ux research bootcamp, topics: ux research basics.

• 01. UX Research Basics
• 02. Remote User Research
• 03. UX Research Plan
• 04. UX Research Questions
• 05. UX Research Methods
• 06. Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research
• 07. UX Research Process
• 08. UX Research Report
• 09. UX Research Framework
• 10. UX Research Presentation
• 11. UX Research Bootcamp

UX Research Basics

Remote user research, ux research plan, ux research questions, ux research methods, quantitative vs. qualitative research, ux research process, ux research report.

• Card Sorting
• Tree Testing
• Preference Test
• Five Second Test
• Session Recording
• Freeform Interviews
• Study Interviews
• Mobile Testing
• First Click Test
• Prototype Testing
• Website Testing
• Onsite Recruiting
• Own Database
• Documentation
• Product features
• UX Glossary
• Comparisons

• Reviews / Why join our community?
• For companies
• Frequently asked questions

How to Visualize Your Qualitative User Research Results for Maximum Impact

When thinking about visualization of research results, many people will automatically have an image of a graph in mind. Do you have that image, too? You would be right in thinking that many research results benefit from a graph-like visualization, showing trends and anomalies. But this is mainly true for results from quantitative user research . Graphs are often not the best way to communicate the results from qualitative user research methods such as interviews or observations. Frequently, the number of participants in these types of studies is too low to create meaningful graphs. Moreover, the insights you will want to communicate sometimes don’t translate to a clean number. Let’s show you how to visualize more subjective and fuzzy data from qualitative user research methods, in a way that communicates the essential insights to other stakeholders , so they don’t have to plow through voluminous research reports.

“The purpose of visualization is insight, not pictures.” — Ben Shneiderman, Distinguished university professor in computer science

When you’re sharing results from qualitative user research efforts, you’re most likely focusing on creating an understanding for the lives people lead, the tasks that they need to fulfill, and the interactions they must effect so as to achieve what they need or want to do. This holds true whether you’re using the research in the beginning phases of a design process (getting to know what to design), or using it in the final stages (understanding how well a design is meeting its targets). Depending on the people you’re communicating with (such as your design team or a client) and the type of understanding you need them to have (in other words, a deep empathy for the user needs or a global feeling for the context in which a product will be used), you need to determine what type of visualization suits your results best.

Imagine that you’ve conducted several interviews with people from your target group: overworked and worried informal caregivers of seniors with early signs of dementia. They have shared some essential information with you, regarding the fears they have about a new product that’s supposed to help them be more independent in the care they provide to their loved ones. You used a thematic analysis technique with lots of Post-it notes to make sense of the data, and you found four categories of fears that are relevant to consider when designing the new product: changes in the relationship, a constant feeling of worrying, lack of competencies , and lack of personal time. You need to share your insights with your design team—so that everyone is on the same page and continues the design process with the same level of empathy for this fragile target group. Also, you need to communicate these insights to your clients: the management team of a healthcare organization. They are hoping to engage informal caregivers more into the care process, since they need to reorganize their budgets and unburden their employees. How would you go about communicating the results that you found? Would you simply give them that short list of four fears? Would you give them a pie diagram, showing how often a certain category of fears was mentioned in the interviews? We would argue that this does not lead to the deep understanding you’re aiming for. A list is not immersive enough to trigger any type of empathy. Here, we’ll show you three ways of visualizing your results that are much more effective.

Affinity Diagram

By using Post-it notes for the thematic analysis technique to come to your conclusions on the four main fears that your target group struggles with, you’ve already used a visualization method that we would recommend: an affinity diagram. You have taken quotes and notes from the interviews and have written each of them on a separate Post-it. Then, you started to reorganize them according to similarities, creating themes as you went along. There’s a tremendous amount of information present in the diagram you’ve created as an analysis tool. However, you will need to clean up this diagram so that it better reflects the insights you want to communicate.

You can quickly decide that the categories should reflect the four main fears that you discovered. You then need to ask yourself what pieces of information will help your fellow designers and your client understand what these fears entail. What impact do they have on your users’ lives? When is this fear most prominent? What triggers this fear? Do you have some insight into what can reduce this fear? All this information will already be present in the Post-it notes you collected within a theme. Now you simply have to filter out the most important ones, and present them in a clear and visually appealing way to accommodate the people you’re communicating this to. You can use quotes or keywords, and—if you happen to have made some observations as well—illustrate them with pictures or drawings. The image below shows what an affinity diagram for this purpose could look like.

© Teo Yu Siang and Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Want to learn more about how to create an affinity diagram? Read our article “Affinity Diagrams – Learn How to Cluster and Bundle Ideas and Facts” , or download our affinity diagram template below:

Empathy Map

An empathy map is a great way to create a clear overview of four major areas that we as designers should focus on so as to gain empathy for our target group: what people said , did , thought , and felt . This is also very relevant for our client in the case of informal caregivers—the management team of a healthcare organization—as they might have some preconceptions based on the usual interactions they have with the target group. The empathy map has the potential to trigger discussion within that management team, and force them to admit that they often have to adjust their perspective. In healthcare (but this holds true for many other contexts as well), professionals feel that they can speak for the patient or their family, as their main job is to take care of them. They tend to forget that they only have a limited view on their lives, and therefore might not understand all their needs as well as they would need for a design process.

To create an empathy map based on the findings from your interviews, you go through the notes and other materials that you have from your qualitative user research. For each quadrant—or each focus area—you select the relevant quotes and images, or you synthesize the appropriate insights based on them. As you can see in the image below, the resulting empathy map draws on the same data as the affinity diagram we created before, but communicates different insights. Both visualizations can be relevant in our design case.

Want to learn more about how to create an empathy map? Read our article “Empathy Map – Why and How to Use It” , or download our empathy map template below:

User Journey Map

Let’s revisit the design case we used to illustrate how to visualize your qualitative user research results. You’re creating a new product to help informal caregivers of seniors with mild dementia symptoms to be more independent in the care that they provide. Your client is the management team of the healthcare organization involved with these seniors. One of the subjects that you are likely to have focused on during your user research is the context in which informal caregivers provide their care. You might have asked yourself questions like: Which tasks do they perform? When do they perform these tasks? What other activities do they have before and after performing these tasks? How do they feel while providing care to their loved ones? What is relevant in your results is not only the straightforward answers to these questions but also the flow that they create throughout the lives of these informal caregivers. For example, it’s important to know whether the care they provide can be planned well in advance, or if people are often disrupted by other activities. A very powerful way to communicate this flow over time involves making a user journey map.

The user journey map you see in the image below shows a period of one day. You can choose this period according to what makes sense in your project; sometimes a week or a month would be more appropriate. You can map out the steps involved in taking care of a senior throughout a typical day, by creating separate paths for the doing, thinking, and feeling elements that you also used in your empathy map. Furthermore, you should indicate any touchpoints with the current service provided by the healthcare organization, or any other entity involved. Focus on showing the motion of a user through the different touchpoints across the day, and how the user feels about each interaction on that journey. Ultimately, you should be able to communicate to your team and the client which interactions should change, disappear, or be introduced.

Want to learn more about how to create a user journey map? Read our article “ Customer Journey Maps – Walking a Mile in Your Customer’s Shoes” here.

The Take Away

Information visualization is a powerful technique to communicate the results from qualitative user research to your fellow designers or the client. There are three types of visualizations you could use. Affinity diagrams resemble your data analysis outcomes most, but you must rework them to provide more clarity to the people who need to understand the insights. Empathy maps give your audience a great overview of four relevant areas of user understanding: what people say, do, think, and feel. Finally, user journey maps introduce user flow over time. You can use these three visualizations side by side to elicit the deep feeling of empathy that will bring your design project to the next level.

References & Where to Learn More

Read this insightful article on how to use affinity diagrams to collaboratively clarify fuzzy data here .

Learn more about empathy maps here .

For more on journey mapping and how it is done in the industry, refer to this research here .

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User Research Report: Key Components and Best Practices

Learn about a user research report and its important components. Understand the best practices for writing a report and presenting it effectively.

Written by Ramotion Feb 21, 2023 18 min read

Last updated: Feb 25, 2024

The field of UI/UX design relies heavily on research and analysis. Whether it is gathering useful data from the users to understand their needs, conducting market research to identify trends, working on collaborative reports, or presenting findings of the analysis, designers have to cover all the aspects of research. When the research team has gathered and analyzed the data, it is also important to organize and present the findings in a way that the information is helpful and can be acted upon to create effective solutions for the target audience.

One of the most frequently conducted research by UI/UX designers deals with the users, such as understanding their expectations, highlighting their concerns, and recommending solutions that can better meet their needs. The end goal of UX research is to produce a usability report which can then help in improving the designs of products and services. For UX researchers, it is important not only to conduct user research but also to learn the art of creating an effective research report.

User Research in Practice ( Udacity )

In this article, we introduce UX research reports and discuss them in detail. This article starts with an introduction to UX research reports. We then cover all the major components of a UX research report, followed by the art of writing an effective report and the best practices to present the research findings.

Read along as we talk about this essential skill for all designers and learn how you can create effective user research reports.

What is a UX research report?

A UX research report – also referred to as a user research report – is a comprehensive document developed to present and explain the findings of the extensive work conducted by the design team. A UX research report includes all the important information about the purpose of the research, the methods used to gather data from the target audience, the major findings and takeaways, and recommendations that can help in improving the design. It is important to be clear about the purpose of conducting UX research and to clarify that in the report. Additionally, methods such as surveys, user testing, and interviews, need to be specified and explained in the report.

What should be included in a user research report?

A user research report includes a thorough discussion of the methods used to conduct the research, followed by the key learnings and recommendations. The purpose of the report is to highlight actionable items that can be taken up to improve the user experience.

User research reports serve various purposes. On the one hand, these reports help in understanding the shortcomings of a design and the needs of the users, thus providing recommendations to improve the products and services. On the other hand, these reports also serve as guiding documents for designers and researchers working on similar projects in the future. Leading design firms and consultancy providing user experience design services rely heavily on the findings of user research, thus improving their process along the way.

What is User Experience Research Report ( Optimal Workshop )

If the researchers do all the work without properly documenting the findings and recommendations, it will not be possible to understand the entire process and methodology, thus leaving huge gaps between research and its application. A research report fills this gap, serving as an excellent resource for the organization and the students of design. For all aspiring designers, it is important to understand how to effectively write a research report. In the next section, we discuss the important components of a UX research report, providing a better understanding of the document.

Components of a UX research report

UX research reports are formal documents that are not always restricted to the design team or the executives of an organization. For example, if you’re working on a public project, the report, or key findings, might be shared on social media and other public platforms. There are some standard elements necessary to create an effective research report. These elements provide a template to present the findings in an understandable manner. If a user researcher gathers data without such guiding principles, the quality and impact of findings will get impacted.

What are the major components of a UX research report?

A UX report contains the following major components.

Executive summary

Introduction, goals and objectives, methodology, recommendations.

The following elements are considered to be essential elements for any research report.

Components of a UX Research Report

An executive summary, as the name indicates, is created for the executives in an organization. It is an essential part of any formal report, where the purpose of the research, methods, key findings, and recommendations are neatly summarized.

The purpose of an executive summary is to provide a quick and comprehensive overview of the entire report. This part comes right after the table of contents, making sure that the audience interacts with this section first. An executive summary can leave a very good impression on the readers by preparing them for the entire report, and also saving them from a lot of technical details.

Like any report, a UX research report starts with an introduction. This is the section where all the background information and context are provided. In the introduction, it is a good practice to introduce the product or service that is being tested.

Additionally, a mention of the organization’s values helps in understanding the purpose of the research. The information in the introduction section helps in laying the foundation for all the technical content that follows. Understanding a research report without an introduction could be quite challenging.

To add more value to, and provide context for, the user research report, the goals and objectives for the entire study must be clearly stated. The overall research goals can be as simple as understanding the pain points of the users and getting their feedback for improving the design of the product or service. These goals give a clear idea of the research plan and indicate that all the designers and researchers are on the same page.

It is also a good practice to refer to the research question – or questions – when talking about the goals and objectives. This way the readers know what the entire report is about and what the major questions will be answered as they move along with the analysis.

In order to find the answers to the research questions and meet the objectives, UX researchers need to follow certain methods and techniques . It is important to discuss those methods in a clear and concise manner when writing research reports. These can include a variety of qualitative methods, such as interviews and focus groups, and quantitative techniques, such as surveys and correlational studies. It is a good research practice to explain these methods in a way that the general public can comprehend the information.

The value of UX research is strictly determined by the types of research methods involved in the process. If wrong methods are used, the findings can be misleading. Additionally, it is also important to discuss these methods for future researchers and aspiring designers, so they know which techniques are appropriate to achieve their goals.

Methodology in UX Research ( SciSpace )

The results section of any UX research report is, arguably, the one that gets the most attention. This is where all the research findings are presented in an understandable manner, so the audience can understand the key takeaways, thus getting a better idea of the needs of the target audience. The research findings do not include any discussions or opinions of the UX designers. Instead, this is where facts are reported based on the data gathered from user research.

Leaving a report merely by reporting the research findings does not help anyone, let alone the decision-makers. Good reports are the ones that do not leave the audience stranded but provide information on the next steps. This is where recommendations come into play. The recommendations section in a UX research report is the one that includes guidance on how to improve a design.

These recommendations must always be backed by the findings. Additionally, the recommendations must always be actionable and realistic. Ideal solutions that seem to solve all the problems are not helpful for the design team. It is also a good idea to identify the limitations and indicated areas where additional research is needed.

When conducting UX research, several materials are created. These can include survey questionnaires, interview scripts, observation sheets, and a lot more documents. These materials can be extremely helpful for future researchers working on similar projects, particularly those working in the same organization.

Providing all of these materials in the body of the report can be overwhelming and confusing for the audience as a user research report is not only read by UX designers. Therefore, it is important to consider providing this information in the appendices – something that interested readers can access if needed.

How to write a UX research report

Writing a research report can always seem to be a daunting task. On the one hand, there is all the background work that goes into conducting research, gathering the data, analyzing the results, and providing meaningful recommendations. On the other hand, there is the process of writing itself, where the information needs to be presented in a way that is clear, easy to understand, and helpful. The components of a UX research report mentioned above serve as a good template for the writing process.

What are some best practices to write a UX research report?

The best practices for writing a UX research report are as follows.

Define your goals

Understand your audience, use plain language, explain your methods, focus on findings, discuss and analyze the results, always provide recommendations, state your limitations.

There are certain best practices that can help in creating effective research reports.

Effective UX Research Report Writing ( Romania Journal )

Like any UI/UX design project , writing a research report has to start with the goals. Before even starting the user research, it is important to identify and clarify research goals. These goals are decided in a way that they coincide with the overall vision and mission of the organization, and also cater to the needs of the target audience. Individuals from different teams, such as product development, marketing, design, and other related personnel need to be involved in the process, to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Once the goals have been defined, it gets easier to define the research questions and write a report that is more focused.

Considering the audience of a research report is extremely important. UX research reports are read by designers, but they are not the only target audience group. These reports play a significant role in decision-making and, therefore, make their way up to the executive offices. Similarly, other teams involved in the design process also benefit from the user research reports. This means that not everyone will be able to understand the design processes, methods, and technical aspects of the report. Therefore, it is important to consider the varying needs of these audience groups to write effective reports.

Different Audiences for UX Research Report

One of the key aspects of good reports is that they are easy to read and understand. Whether it is the technical information in the methods section or the more interesting UX research findings and recommendations, it is always beneficial to explain things in a simple manner.

The use of plain and clear language ensures that non-researchers and the general public can also make the most out of these otherwise complicated documents. All UI/UX designers should get some training and experience in the principles of clear and effective writing so that they can add more value to their reports.

As mentioned above, the methods section can always be tricky to understand, particularly for individuals who do not have a background in UX research and design. There are several steps that designers can take to explain their methods in a better way. One of those is to be specific with their research questions and to state them in a clear manner.

Another important research practice is to provide as many details about the research methods as possible. These details can be as simple and trivial as the need for technology, such as laptops and mobile phones, in conducting the research, and as sophisticated as eye-tracking software. If the readers know about all the techniques, they will be better able to understand the overall goals and findings of the research.

The section containing UX research findings demands a lot of attention and care when writing a report. This is where designers bring all the data and insights together, to present their findings from the extensive research. When writing about research findings, it is important to be clear and specific.

Any ambiguity in reporting the findings can confuse and overwhelm the audience, thus jeopardizing the overall goals of the UX research report. It is also essential for designers to leave their biases aside when reporting the findings. The opinions of the design and research teams should not be mixed with the results, as this can be misleading for the target audience. Remember, the goal of user research is to get insights from, and about, the users, in order to improve the design.

All good research reports include some sort of discussion on the results and insights obtained from the data. One of the best practices, when writing a report, is to shed some light on the research findings.

The most effective way to analyze and discuss results is to tie them back to the research questions and goals of the study. This practice keeps the memory of the audience refreshed, and adds to their understanding. Discussion of results in a user research report also helps other researchers in understanding the thought process behind the overall process.

Discuss the Results Comprehensively ( Pexels )

One of the sections of a user research report that often gets overlooked is recommendations. Many quality reports, sometimes, do not give attention to this aspect, and, thus, leave the audience hanging with some technical details and findings of the report. Successful and effective reports are the ones that discuss the findings and provide guidance for the future.

It is important to ensure that the recommendations consist of actionable items. For example, if the users find it hard to interact with the “sign in” button because of its color, the report should clearly state the reason and recommend possible edits to improve this button. The more specific the recommendations are, the more helpful will be to the design and product development teams.

A single user research project cannot possibly cover every single need and pain point of the target audience. There are several factors involved in a UX research project that can limit the data collection and analysis phases. For example, research might be restricted because of budgetary constraints, time limitations, confidentiality, and other policies of the organization.

It is always helpful to acknowledge these limitations while writing a UX research report. These limitations can help in identifying the areas where more work is needed, thus serving as a guiding section for future research studies.

Presenting UX research findings

Conducting good research, working with users, and gathering valuable data constitute one part of UX research. Then comes the report writing phase, where all the information is brought together, along with insights of the designers and researchers, thus helping in making sense of the data. This process provides good content for a UX research report. However, researchers must not stop at just reporting facts.

There is one more question that needs to be considered: How to present research findings? This is where designers have to wear multiple hats and look at the report from different perspectives. Even if the information is valuable, but it is not presented in an effective way, the usefulness of the report can take a hit.

How can UX researchers improve the presentation of their findings?

Some ways in which the presentation of UX research can be improved are as follows.

Use consistent language

Summarize and discuss the findings, use effective illustrations, avoid excessive use of jargon, make the report aesthetically pleasing, ensure easy navigation.

There are certain best practices that designers can follow to present the findings of UX research in a comprehensive manner. The skills from document design, aesthetics, illustration, and information management come in handy when presenting the findings of any research project. Some of the key aspects to consider are as follows.

Presenting UX Research Findings ( iStock )

All presentable and understandable research reports using consistent language, one that is easy to follow with clear explanations. In this sense, a research report is similar to any other design project, where consistency is a key principle . The use of consistent language means that the voice and tone throughout the report are the same, so the readers do not get confused in the middle.

This can be a concern when the projects and, therefore, the reports are long and written by multiple authors. In such cases, it is important to assign editing to one person who can ensure consistency throughout the document. An inconsistent report is hard to read and can greatly impact the overall quality of any research project.

As mentioned above, UX research findings are the most read section of any report. This is the section that gets equal attention from the technical and non-technical audiences. Therefore, it is important to present the findings in a way that can be easily understood by all groups of audiences.

In order to add more value to the report, it is always a good practice to summarize the findings and discuss them, expanding on their relationship with the research questions. When discussing the results, the UI/UX designers can make use of real-world examples to make the findings more relatable and understandable.

In research reports – and almost all other documents – words can only do so much. The power of media elements, such as images, schematics, graphs, and illustrations can never be underestimated. When working on the presentation of a report, illustrations must be given due attention. With the help of powerful visuals, designers can explain their quantitative and qualitative research results, making the information easily digestible.

Illustrations also make the content more accessible, leaving an overall good impact on the readability of the report. Modern organizations with well-established design teams have specific branding guidelines for their employees when it comes to creating and distributing illustrations, thus creating more avenues for creating a stronger brand image.

Use Illustrations to Discuss Results ( Infosurv )

One important aspect, when it comes to the presentation and perception of a user research report, is limiting the use of jargon. This is something that gets ignored in many reports and is noticed only after a report is published or distributed.

Therefore, when working on the presentation of a report, it is important to get feedback from non-researchers and individuals from other teams, such as marketing and product development. Feedback from someone outside of the research team can help in strengthening the presentation of the report, thus making it more understandable and readable.

A report is only well-received when it is attractive and pleasing to the eye. This might sound like a small element, but if you stop and ask yourself how many times you left a report in the middle because it was not eye-catching, you will find the answer right away. There are several ways to improve the aesthetics of a report. This is where UI/UX designers can bring their creativity and principles of document design into play.

The use of colors, infographics, visual and textual hierarchy, icons, and quality images are some of the ways in which a report can be made aesthetically pleasing. Researchers can make use of the elements in a component library that designers frequently use for various projects. This will ensure consistency and also create a better brand image.

Make the Report Aesthetically Pleasing ( Dribble )

When distributing a report, it is important to consider the way readers will interact with it, and navigate through the entire document. In shorter reports, this might not be a big concern, but when the documents get longer (over 20 pages), it gets tricky for the readers to scroll all the way up and find the desired section.

Therefore, when presenting a report, researchers should always focus on the way navigation can be improved. If the headings, subheadings, and captions are appropriate, and the table of contents is free of errors, then the digital documents can be easily navigated. If the reports are being hosted on an organization’s online portal or a blog, it is always a good idea to create a searchable repository, so the users can find the desired information quickly.

Working with people, understanding their needs, getting their feedback, and incorporating it into future designs are one of the most interesting parts of being a UX researcher and designer. However, this means that as a designer, you have to produce several reports to document your findings, provide recommendations, and make a case for the practice of UX research in the first place.

The reports thus created should be comprehensive, pleasing, useful, and helpful at the same time. This is a challenging task as not all designers are good at writing UX research reports. To be fair, writing and documentation are not easy tasks either. It is a skill that can be learned with time and by focusing on the right areas.

In this article, we covered the basic principles of writing an effective user research report. In order to make your report stand out, you have to focus on the efficacy of your research findings, the quality of writing, and the presentation of the report itself. With the help of the best practices and guidelines discussed above, you can start creating comprehensive reports that are not hard to read and have all the required information.

If you’re an aspiring UI/UX designer and have not been exposed to the report-writing process yet, now is the time to pay attention to this part of the job. The art of good report writing and having better presentation skills can make you more marketable, thus helping you land better job opportunities.

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How To Present UX Research Findings

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• January 1, 2023

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Presenting UX research findings can be a daunting task, especially for those who are new to the field. UX research is a complex process that requires a deep understanding of user behavior, preferences, and motivations. It can be difficult to distill all of this data into a concise, effective presentation. Fortunately, there are several techniques that can help make the process easier. In this article, we will discuss how to present UX research findings in a way that is informative, engaging, and persuasive.

Understand Your Audience

Before you begin presenting your research findings, it’s important to understand who your audience is. Are they stakeholders, decision-makers, or customers? Knowing who you are speaking to will help you tailor your presentation to their needs and interests. It will also help you determine which data points are most relevant and how to present them in a way that resonates with your audience.

Organize Your Data

Once you have identified your audience, it’s time to organize your data. Start by sorting your data into categories, such as user behavior, preferences, and motivations. This will help you identify patterns and trends that can be used to inform your presentation. Additionally, it will make it easier to find the data points that are most relevant to your audience.

Choose the Right Visuals

Visuals are an important part of any presentation, and they can be especially helpful when presenting UX research findings. Visuals can help make complex data easier to understand and can be used to illustrate key points. When selecting visuals, consider using charts, graphs, and diagrams to make your data more accessible. Additionally, consider using images and videos to bring your research to life.

Tell a Story

When presenting UX research findings, it’s important to tell a story. This will help your audience understand the data and how it relates to their needs. Start by introducing the problem you are trying to solve, then explain how your research has helped you identify a solution. Finally, explain how the solution can help your audience achieve their goals.

Focus on the Big Picture

When presenting UX research findings, it’s easy to get lost in the details. However, it’s important to focus on the big picture. Your audience wants to know how your research can help them, so focus on the key points and how they can be used to inform decisions. Additionally, be sure to explain the implications of your findings and how they can be used to improve the user experience.

Be Prepared to Answer Questions

When presenting UX research findings, it’s important to be prepared to answer questions. Your audience may have questions about the data or how it relates to their needs. Be sure to have answers prepared and be ready to explain any points that may be unclear. Additionally, be prepared to provide additional information or resources if needed.

Presenting UX research findings can be a challenging task, but it doesn’t have to be. By understanding your audience, organizing your data, selecting the right visuals, telling a story, and being prepared to answer questions, you can create an effective presentation that is informative, engaging, and persuasive. With the right approach, you can make sure your research is heard and understood.

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Writing and refining your UX research objectives

While winging it and hoping for the best might work in some life scenarios, this doesn’t apply when it comes to UX research and user feedback. Like most projects, research studies require intensive planning and strategizing early on. While plans can evolve and change as you gather new information, early preparation is an unskippable step. And just like you can’t have UX without UI, a research study isn’t complete with an objective. By having a solid understanding of your study’s purpose, you’ll be able to better stay on track and motivated throughout your development process. 

A research objective , also known as a goal or an objective, is a sentence or question that summarizes the purpose of your study or test. In other words, it’s an idea you want to understand deeper by performing research. Objectives should be the driving force behind every task you assign and each question that you ask. These objectives should center on specific features or processes of your product. Think of it this way: the better your objective, the better your feedback will be. 

Keeping your objective front and center will help you figure out your UX research deliverables . It will ensure you structure your studies to gain insights into the right set of activities, and figure out the UX research tools that will work best for each stage of product design. It’ll also guide you in which participants to recruit to participate in your research, the tasks you’ll ask them to complete, and what questions to ask. 

How do I write a research objective? 

Start with a problem statement .

As a general rule of thumb, start with a problem instead of a new idea. Unless you're embarking on generative or exploratory research for a brand-new product, your focus should be on solving existing customer issues instead of creating new ones. 

Before you write your objective, you need a problem statement , which you can source from your customer support team, negative customer reviews , or feedback from social media. Topic examples might be an unclear return policy, difficulty applying a promo code, or frustrating page navigation. From there, your objective might look like, “How do people go about applying discounts in our checkout process?” or “How do our competitors describe their offerings compared to ours?” 

Keep your objective action-oriented and specific 

If you need help, you might start drafting your objective by filling in the blanks of “I want to learn ____,” “I want to understand ____,” or “I want to identify ____.”

Many UX researchers agree that the more specific the objectives, the easier it is to write tasks and UX research questions , and the easier it will be to find the answers to those questions through your research. However, your objective doesn’t have to be confined to a single angle; it could have the potential to inspire multiple test directions. For instance, take this research objective: “I want to understand and resolve the barriers customers face when looking for answers about products and services on our website.”

From this one objective, potential study angles could be: 

• Content quality: Learn whether the FAQ questions anticipate users’ needs and if the answers are sufficiently detailed and directive. 
• FAQ accessibility: Can customers easily find the FAQ section? What access points should we consider?
• FAQ concept test: Is the design approach we’re considering for the proposed redesign understandable? What can we do to optimize it?

As you can see, the above objective can be branched out to address content, usability, and design. For further inspiration, collaborate with the product’s stakeholders . You can start the conversation at a high level by determining what features or processes they want test participants to review, like a navigation menu or website messaging. 

Examples of research objectives 

New product ideation and validation .

• Do people find value in this new product idea? 
• I want to learn why customers abandon their carts and their thought process. 
• Why is a customer motivated to visit an app? 

Resolving customer issues on a live product 

• Can users find the information they need? 
• What do users think of this section? 
• Is the amount of products in this one category appropriate? 
• Can users easily navigate to this page? 
• How do our competitors describe their offerings compared to us?
• I want to understand and resolve the barriers customers face when seeking answers about products and services on our website.

Solicit feedback from your team(s) and stakeholders 

Before you put a stamp of approval on a research objective, ask for feedback from your team and stakeholders. Two researchers could write very different test plans when an objective is unclear or misaligned. For example, one researcher may home in on design while another focuses on usability. Meanwhile, one may keep their objective more broad while another writes one that’s more detailed. And while the findings from any of these studies would be insightful, they might not match up with what the team actually needs to learn. 

You can write a UX research report to present your findings. You can also suggest a demonstration or walk-through of the feature or process in question; more detailed concerns may come to light as everyone goes through the experience together and you get the chance to probe about different aspects.

So, to summarize: 

• Start the process with a problem statement. 
• Loop in stakeholders early if applicable. 
• Brainstorm your objective and ensure your team is aligned.

When should I write a research objective—and how should they be prioritized? 

Writing and refining your research objective should come after you have a clear problem statement and before you decide on a research method and test plan to execute your study. You can also use targeted questions to prioritize your research .

After you’ve written a rough draft of your research objective, the ink might not even be dry when stakeholders could get involved by offering you an abundance of objectives to prioritize. To figure out what to tackle first, ask your stakeholders to rank their needs. This step could happen via email or in a meeting, but another method could be to list out all of the possible objectives in a Google form and have everyone rearrange the list into their ideal order. 

If you’re having trouble getting the stakeholders to articulate their priorities further, try reviewing any available analytics data to pinpoint areas of concern, like pages with an unusually high bounce rate or average time on page. Opting for the objective tied to a KPI—from increasing website conversions to driving more daily active users in your SaaS product—will help you maximize your research impact on business results. This provides the added benefit of demonstrating the ROI of your research on tangible, company-wide objectives.

How many research objectives do I need? 

Your objectives—and the number of objectives you should include—will depend on the stage of product development you’re in. Each stage of development has different research objectives and questions that need answering. Once you’ve decided on a problem statement, you could either have one or multiple research objectives that tie back to that statement. 

Typically, you’ll want to select one to three objectives; the less you have, the more manageable your test (and timeline) will be. You might choose one general objective and a few more specific objectives. 

Get inspiration from the UserTesting template library 

If you’re stuck and need some guidance to get the wheels turning, the UserTesting template library is a great place to start for common questions you need answers to or inspiration for your research objective.

If your objective focuses on a mobile app experience: 

• Mobile app comparison : Compare two mobile app experiences side-by-side. 
• Mobile app evaluation : Assess critical app characteristics such as appearance, ease of use, and trust. 
• App store feedback : With the help of human insight, ensure your app store listing resonates with your target customers. 

If your objective centers on the web experience: 

• Website conversions : Gather insights about what motivates your customers to take action on a website. 
• Website comparison : Compare experiences side-by-side to understand what people prefer–and why. 
• Landing page conversions : Optimize conversions with insights about what motivates your customers. 
• Website evaluation : Assess critical website characteristics such as appearance, ease of use, and trust. 

If your objective is improving an ecommerce product: 

• Social commerce : Get ahead of messaging, content, and expectations of the social buying experience. 
• Black Friday ecommerce: Get your ecommerce experiences ready for the holiday rush. 
• Ecommerce and shopping cart experience: Leverage human insight to improve your ecommerce experience year-round. 

If your objective is validating early concepts or decisions: 

• De-risking product decisions: Reduce risk by testing with your target audience throughout development. 
• Value proposition validation: Test your value proposition with insights from your target customer. 
• Concept validation and testing: Get candid feedback or validation to help evaluate a new concept or idea.

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