This week’s lecture featured a UX talk and workshop with Billy Kennedy, focusing on the foundations of user research and its role in shaping effective design decisions. The session introduced the kick-off phase of research, exploring key areas such as usability, concept validation, and mental model fitting. We looked at how understanding user behaviour, expectations, and needs can inform stronger design outcomes and ensure that ideas are aligned with how people actually think and interact with services.
We explored how to structure research effectively through timelines, tools, and methods, ensuring the process is organised and purposeful rather than reactive. The workshop also highlighted the importance of preparing research properly so that usability testing, concept validation, and mental model alignment can produce meaningful and actionable insights. Overall, it provided a clear framework for planning user-centred research more confidently within our project.
<aside>
This week’s lecture, presented by Billy Kennedy, focused on the foundations of user research within UX practice and its role in informing effective design decisions. We explored the initial stages of the research process, including usability testing, concept validation, and fitting mental models, and how these methods help ensure that designs align with real user needs and expectations. The session also emphasised the importance of structured planning when approaching research, particularly in understanding what we aim to learn and how those insights will influence our design direction. Overall, the lecture reinforced the value of user-centred thinking and the significance of research in creating more effective and meaningful design outcomes.
</aside>