Here's how you can navigate unexpected changes in UX research projects.

In order to handle unforeseen changes in UX research projects, one must be adaptable, communicate well, and take initiative. It's critical to be flexible and see changes as chances for learning. Reevaluating the objectives and priorities of a project aids in keeping attention on important details, and careful recordkeeping of all modifications and choices is crucial. It is imperative to maintain a user-centric approach by modifying research methodologies to conform to user requirements and assessing accessible resources to establish practical expectations. Other crucial tactics include putting agile techniques into reality, and doing retrospectives after modifications to gather insights and enhance subsequent initiatives.

UX research is never wasted, even if the project needs change. Often, the wisdom of one use case has relevance to another, and UX research methods typically have wide applicability. In response to a sudden and unexpected change, assess which research findings are still relevant and those which no longer are. For those gaps that appear as a result of your assessment, apply a guerrilla UX approach: take your ideas out into the field and test them rapidly, aiming to get as many insights as possible in a short amount of time. This will help to fill in the blanks, and in future projects you can build on these insights to achieve the depth you had during your initial research.

Build Flexibility: While having a plan is crucial, acknowledge that some changes might be necessary. Build in buffer time and budget for minor adjustments.

La capacidad de pivotar y adaptarse rápidamente a nuevas circunstancias garantiza que la investigación pueda seguir avanzando de manera efectiva. Al adoptar nuevas metodologías o herramientas, el equipo de investigación puede continuar recopilando datos valiosos y obteniendo información significativa sobre la experiencia del usuario, incluso en condiciones cambiantes. En resumen, la flexibilidad es clave para el éxito en el trabajo de investigación de UX. Al mantenerse abierto a nuevas direcciones y metodologías, los investigadores pueden garantizar que su trabajo siga siendo relevante y productivo, incluso en situaciones imprevistas. @diego.vizueta Design UX/UI Latam/EEUU

With stakeholders, I lean heavily into project management tools and presenting narratives at each stage to document progress. I also reinforce this as a communication method so all dialogue can be tracked in one place. I encourage dialogue with stakeholders by engaging with them through meetings at the beginning of every project phase. This helps understand their desired outcomes from a project and allows me to set expectations of how user research may require them to change course. This prevents them from feeling blindsided. Multifunction projects may require a product roadmap to keep teams aligned. With Users, it helps to explain exactly what data will be gathered from them and who will have access to this data.

Always Document and communicate any changes to anyone involved. Making changes that you found to be beneficial for the product is great, but if not communicated properly to shareholders or other team members it will seem like sabotage or an unnecessary change. Document WHY you made that change and the benefits it provides. Despite thinking they will see how much better and easier for the user this design is, they will not, you need to explain it to them, because they don't think in the user's perspective, they see it in a business perspective. Also try to avoid shitting on previous designs even if they were yours as it undermines their existence, they were good enough to make a breakthrough and make you realise the change needed.

When unexpected #changes impact a #research activity, gaining stakeholders' attention can be challenging due to their busy schedules. Using concise language, a focused description of the problem, and thorough documentation of the changes are essential steps. However, the most crucial aspect is understanding the stakeholders' perspective: what does the change mean for them and their goals in the research activities? The clearer we can convey this for each stakeholder, the easier it is for them to 1. understand the extent to which it affects them and 2. decide how much attention they want to devote to the change. #userresearch #uxresearch #changemanagement

La comunicación clara en proyectos de UX es esencial para gestionar cambios. Utiliza canales centralizados y documentación clara para transmitir información. Sé sensible a las necesidades de los participantes y fomenta un ambiente de confianza. Así, todos estarán alineados y el proyecto avanzará exitosamente. Fomento de un ambiente de confianza: La comunicación efectiva se basa en la confianza mutua entre todas las partes interesadas. Es fundamental fomentar un ambiente de confianza donde las personas se sientan cómodas compartiendo preocupaciones, haciendo preguntas y expresando opiniones. Esto contribuye a una comunicación abierta y honesta que facilita la gestión de cambios en el proyecto. (@diego.vizueta Design UX/UI Latam/EEUU)

- Clear communication is paramount when dealing with changes in UX research. - Ensure all stakeholders understand the implications of the changes and their impact on the project timeline and outcomes. - Provide regular updates and engage in transparent discussions about necessary adjustments to keep everyone aligned. - This also includes communicating with your research participants, who may need to adjust to new methods or schedules. - Effective communication helps maintain clarity, collaboration, and the smooth progression of the project.

When unexpected changes impact ongoing #research, it's crucial to reassess #goals and #priorities. Stakeholders, having been briefed, may have shifted their focus to other tasks while the study continues. Resources have already been invested, and the original goals may now be unattainable or invalid due to these changes. Here’s my tip: instead of discussing priorities abstractly, revisit the underlying business goals and develop specific scenarios. Each scenario should outline how the business goals translate into research objectives and the insights we aim to gain. Use these scenarios as "nucleation sites" in discussions with stakeholders, and remain open to adjusting them based on stakeholder feedback.

When things shift, it’s important to reassess and realign our priorities. This helps in maintaining focus on what’s truly important and delivering quality results despite the changes.

At one time, I was working on a startup, and we had a plan for certain features and were implementing them smoothly. After a stakeholder meeting, many new "much needed" features were to be added to the application in a short amount of time, the team was confused as to which features they should keep working on, scrap, or move to new ones. Prioritizing is what saved the team. After some planning on the minimal amount of features needed to run a prototype that would introduce new features while keeping the others alive, the team managed to pull through. Were all the features implemented? No, but the goal of the prototype was to be enough to please the stakeholders to showcase the new features with the old.

En cualquier proyecto de investigación, la capacidad de adaptarse a los cambios sin desviarse de los objetivos principales es crucial. Los objetivos del proyecto actúan como una guía, asegurando que cada paso que se tome contribuya al propósito general. Cuando el alcance de la investigación se modifica, es vital reevaluar estos objetivos para confirmar que aún son relevantes y alcanzables. Este proceso puede implicar ajustar las preguntas de investigación o los métodos utilizados, asegurando que estén alineados con la nueva dirección del proyecto. Mantener los objetivos como una prioridad ayuda y garantiza que la investigación siga siendo pertinente y eficaz para alcanzar los resultados deseados. @diego.vizueta Desing UX/UI Latam/EEUU

- Despite changes, always keep the project's goals at the forefront. - If the scope of your research shifts, re-evaluate your objectives to ensure they're still being met. - Refine your research questions or methods to align with the new direction. - Prioritizing goals helps maintain focus and ensures that the research remains relevant and effective in achieving its intended purpose. - Keeping goals prioritized ensures that even with changes, the core objectives of the project are not compromised.

Adapting to new tools and technology is the key. New devices and new users are adding day by day. Understanding their requirement and the way they use technology is important while designing for them.

Adaptable is probably what I would describe a UX Designer's greatest strength. You are constantly adapting to new tools, researches, user data, feedback... Without adaptability you are basically walking in quick sand, you might sink at any moment. So be like Paul Atreides and get your stillsuit and walk the dunes, learn fast so you survive.

En el ámbito de la investigación, la capacidad de adaptación es esencial para enfrentar los cambios inesperados. Es posible que sea necesario reevaluar y modificar los métodos de investigación, optando por enfoques cuantitativos o cualitativos según las nuevas necesidades de información. Esta flexibilidad permite abordar los desafíos inmediatos con mayor eficacia, sino que también fomenta el aprendizaje continuo y la aplicación de una variedad de técnicas de investigación en UX. Al estar preparado para cambiar y dominar rápidamente diferentes métodos, se enriquece no solo el proyecto en curso, sino también el conjunto de habilidades del investigador, haciéndolo más competente y versátil para futuros proyectos. @Diego.vizueta Design UX/UI

- Adapting your research methods is often necessary when facing unexpected changes. - Switch from quantitative to qualitative research or vice versa, depending on the information most needed. - Be prepared to learn and apply different UX research techniques quickly. - This adaptability helps overcome immediate challenges and enriches your skill set for future projects. - Flexibility in methods ensures that you can gather the most relevant data despite changes, maintaining the integrity and usefulness of your research.

Adaptability, resourcefulness and flexibility are the hallmarks of a good UXer. Working in ideal, gold standard conditions of time, budget and resources almost never happens so when things change, the more adaptable you are the quicker you'll devise solutions to the problems presented - being able to think of multiple avenues to resolve a problem on your feet is what ultimately leads to choosing the most successful way to overcome the obstacle within the constraints that are put to you.

This is particularly important when working in contexts of financial crisis and/or with organisations with restricted funding (such us NGOs and charities). You must be able to find ways to deliver value for that budget that neither overstretches the resources, compromises the budget or produces irrelevant or unusable insights and solutions.

Communicating clearly and openly with your team and stakeholders about changes in resources and how they impact the research plan will help align expectations and make informed decisions together. My best tip for optimizing resources is not to reinvent the wheel. Before investing efforts in user testing, try to answer as many questions as possible through academic research, government statistics, public market studies, etc. This way, when you engage with users, you'll have more solid hypotheses that only your users can help validate.

En cualquier proyecto de investigación de UX, los cambios en los recursos disponibles son inevitables. Ante estas circunstancias, es crucial reevaluar los recursos actuales y ajustar el plan de investigación en consecuencia. Este proceso puede requerir la optimización de ciertos procedimientos o la búsqueda de métodos más rentables para la recopilación de datos, garantizando que la calidad de los conocimientos obtenidos no se vea comprometida. La capacidad de gestionar soluciones innovadoras permite no solo superar los desafíos inmediatos, sino también asegurar que el proyecto siga siendo viable y de alta calidad. @Diego.vizueta Design UX/UI Latam/EEUU

When conducting UX research with resource constraints, I find a "show, don't tell" interview approach invaluable for uncovering key pain points. Having your end-users walk stepwise through a specific process over a recorded video call provides a goldmine of discovery opportunities. Kick it up a notch by training an AI agent on these call transcripts to assist in identifying user patterns and synthesizing research insights.

- Changes often impact the resources available for your UX research project. - Reassess time, budget, or human resources when shifts occur and adjust your plan accordingly. - Streamline certain processes to adapt to the new constraints. - Find more cost-effective ways to gather data without compromising the quality of your insights. - This reassessment ensures that the project remains feasible and effective despite resource limitations.

At the end of the day, our goal is to enhance the user experience. Keeping user needs at the forefront helps in making informed decisions that improve the overall project outcome. Being user-centric means putting the user at the heart of every decision. It’s about understanding their needs, behaviors, and pain points, and then designing solutions that address these aspects effectively.

Prioritizing user goals and needs amidst evolving research plans is imperative, focusing on functionalities and services that genuinely enrich their experience. An iterative, multidisciplinary approach enables better integration of user feedback for continuous product improvements. Keeping the user as a compass allows their needs to drive the project, guiding it towards the port of a meaningful solution.

New users and new devices are coming; at the same time old users are also there. understanding needs of both is important. User centric approach means simplifying things for the user. Easy to handle, easy to navigate, ease in reaching to the goal is what they are looking for. Considering all aspects and all types of user and making the design friendly for all is challenging but required.

When working within agile frameworks and user centric approaches, flexibility is expected as well as thinking without a box! Despite changes, user's needs and observarving them become critical to move forward quickly.

There has to be some element of 'expect the unexpected '. You have to move with it, don't fight it (you'll go crazy ??), but remember to keep the user and the center - it's easy to make knee-jerk decisions and lose sight of what is most important.

Unexpected changes are bound to happen and can sometimes be unavoidable. I've always found it's important to learn from the experience by - Reflecting and trying to understand why these changes happened in the first place. E.g. was it due to miscommunication during the briefing process? Was it changing priorities from stakeholders? - Questioning what could have been done better for next time. Consider if more questions have been asked initially during the briefing or maybe a clearer understanding of stakeholder plans and goals could have impacted the approach - Seek support from your peers. Don't hesitate to speak with your co-workers, friends or mentors as there's a good chance they can offer new perspectives and potential solutions

A transi??o dos testes de usabilidade presenciais para os remotos, utilizando ferramentas online que simulavam o ambiente presencial, n?o apenas permitiu a continuidade segura da nossa pesquisa, mas também nos ofereceu uma nova vis?o sobre como alcan?ar nossos objetivos de forma eficaz, mesmo em situa??es desafiadoras. Essa experiência ressaltou a importancia da flexibilidade em projetos de pesquisa de UX, especialmente durante momentos de incerteza como a pandemia.

I'd like to highlight that by thoroughly assessing the scope of research and identifying project limitations, resource constraints, and risks from the beginning, designers/researchers can better manage unexpected changes. This preparation ensures that when changes occur, they already have a clear understanding of the project's scope, allowing them to quickly adapt and minimize the impact without spending too much time gathering information.