How do you evaluate user research risks?

1 What are user research risks?

User research risks are any uncertainties or threats that can compromise your research goals, methods, or results. These risks can come from different sources, such as research design, data collection, analysis, reporting, or external factors. Examples of user research risks include bias, which is the tendency to favor or distort certain perspectives; ethical violations, which involve the failure to respect the rights of participants; data loss due to accidental or intentional destruction; scope creep which is the expansion or change of research scope; and stakeholder conflict when there is disagreement among research stakeholders. It is important to consider these potential risks in order to ensure successful research outcomes.

3 How to assess user research risks?

The second step to evaluate user research risks is to assess them. Various criteria can be used to measure and compare the potential consequences and probabilities of the identified risks, such as impact, probability, exposure, and tolerance. Impact reflects the degree of harm or benefit a risk can cause, which can be quantified or qualified based on different dimensions. Probability indicates the likelihood or frequency that a risk will occur or materialize, which can be estimated or calculated using historical data, expert opinions, or statistical methods. Exposure is the product of impact and probability and can indicate the overall magnitude or significance of a risk. Finally, tolerance is the level of acceptance or willingness to bear a risk, which can depend on the research context, objectives, and stakeholder preferences.

4 How to manage user research risks?

The third step to evaluate user research risks is to manage them. You can use various strategies to reduce, transfer, avoid, or accept the identified risks, depending on their exposure and tolerance. Mitigation involves modifying your research design, methods, or procedures to prevent or reduce potential issues. Contingency plans are solutions, resources, or actions to cope with or recover from potential issues. Transferring responsibility or liability of a risk can involve outsourcing, insuring, or contracting your research activities or deliverables to external providers. Avoidance can involve canceling, postponing, or changing your research project or scope. Lastly, acceptance requires documenting, communicating, and monitoring the research risks and their implications for your project.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?