User research is easy to do badly and hard to do well

The work had been presented internally, stakeholdersglossary×StakeholderA stakeholder is any individual or group with an interest in a product, project, or outcome, including internal teams and external parties.Open glossary term→ were aligned, and from their point of view, they understood exactly where the problems were.

On paper, everything looked right.

But when you looked at the product, nothing had really improved.

Users were still dropping off in the same places. The same frictionglossary×FrictionFriction refers to anything that slows users down or makes it harder for them to complete a task. It can be caused by poor design, unnecessary steps, unclear messaging, or technical issues.Open glossary term→ points were still there. The same hesitation in key parts of the journeyglossary×Pain PointA specific problem or frustration users experience when trying to complete a task.Open glossary term→ hadn’t gone away.

So we went back through the researchservice×User ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service→.

What stood out wasn’t that it was wrong.

It was that it never went deep enough.

Every sessionglossary×SessionA session is a single period of user interaction with a product, from entry to exit within a defined timeframe.Open glossary term→ followed the same patternglossary×PatternA reusable solution to a common design problem.Open glossary term→.

Users were taken through the journeyglossary×Pain PointA specific problem or frustration users experience when trying to complete a task.Open glossary term→ step by step, asked what they thought at each stage, and prompted to explain their decisions. It all sounded reasonable. It felt structured. It felt like progress.

But it kept everything on the surface.

Users reacted to what they were shown. They answered the questions in front of them. They described things as confusing, or clear, or a bit long, or fine.

All valid observationsglossary×ObservationObservation is a research method where user behaviour is watched and analysed without interference.Open glossary term→.

None of them explained why the journeyglossary×Pain PointA specific problem or frustration users experience when trying to complete a task.Open glossary term→ wasn’t working.

I’ve seen this play out more times than I can count.

Researchservice×User ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service→ that looks credible, sounds useful, and creates alignmentglossary×AlignmentAlignment is the shared understanding and agreement between teams, stakeholders, and objectives.Open glossary term→, but doesn’t actually move anything forward.

On another project, it was even more subtle.

The team were convinced they already knew where the issues were. Researchservice×User ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service→ was brought in to validate it, and without really meaning to, the sessionsglossary×SessionA session is a single period of user interaction with a product, from entry to exit within a defined timeframe.Open glossary term→ were shaped around that assumption. The questions, the flowglossary×DelightMoments that exceed user expectations.Open glossary term→, even the way things were introduced all pointed in the same direction.

The findings came back clean. Too clean.

Everything lined up with what the team already believed.

It felt like confirmation. It felt like progress.

But again, nothing changed.

Because nothing new had been uncovered.

That’s what makes bad researchservice×User ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service→ difficult to spot.

It doesn’t look bad.

It produces output. It fills a gap. It gives people something to point at and say, we’ve spoken to users.

But it rarely challenges anything.

The difference, in my experience, comes from what you pay attention to.

I’ve been in sessionsglossary×SessionA session is a single period of user interaction with a product, from entry to exit within a defined timeframe.Open glossary term→ where the most useful moment wasn’t an answer, it was a pause.

A user hovering slightly longer than expected.

Re-reading something they’d already seen.

Hesitating before committing to the next step.

None of that gets called out explicitly. No one says, this is where I’m losing confidenceglossary×ConfidenceConfidence is the level of certainty in a decision or outcome based on available evidence.Open glossary term→.

But you can see it happening.

On work like Travelbag, those moments were critical. Users would move through the early part of the journeyglossary×Pain PointA specific problem or frustration users experience when trying to complete a task.Open glossary term→ comfortably. Browsing, exploring, engaging. But as soon as the decisions started to carry weight, pricing, options, committing to a booking, something shifted.

They didn’t always say it.

But you could see the confidenceglossary×ConfidenceConfidence is the level of certainty in a decision or outcome based on available evidence.Open glossary term→ drop.

That’s not something you get from asking, does this make sense?

And I saw a different versionglossary×VersionA version is a specific iteration of software or a product at a point in time.Open glossary term→ of the same thing working across the NHS.

Users weren’t struggling with a single page or a single step. They were struggling with inconsistency. Different structures, different language, different expectations depending on where they entered the systemglossary×SystemA system is a collection of interconnected components that work together to achieve a specific function or outcome.Open glossary term→.

When you asked them directly, the answers were vague.

It’s a bit confusing.

It’s hard to find things.

But when you watched them, you could see the real issue.

They were constantly recalibrating.

Working out how this part of the systemglossary×SystemA system is a collection of interconnected components that work together to achieve a specific function or outcome.Open glossary term→ behaved compared to the last.

That’s not a UI problem. That’s a structural one.

That’s the part that’s easy to miss if you’re only listening for answers.

Good researchservice×User ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service→ doesn’t just capture what users say.

It looks for where what they say and what they do don’t quite line up.

That gap is where the insightglossary×InsightAn insight is a meaningful understanding that explains why something is happening and what it means.Open glossary term→ usually is.

I’ve found that the most valuable sessionsglossary×SessionA session is a single period of user interaction with a product, from entry to exit within a defined timeframe.Open glossary term→ are rarely the neat ones.

They’re the ones where something doesn’t quite add up.

Where a user says something is fine, but behaves as if it isn’t.

Where they take a route no one expected.

Where they get stuck somewhere that wasn’t even considered a problem.

Those are the moments that change how you see the journeyglossary×Pain PointA specific problem or frustration users experience when trying to complete a task.Open glossary term→.

And then there’s what happens afterwards.

I’ve seen strong researchservice×User ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service→ completely lose its value because it gets reduced to a deck of quotes and observationsglossary×ObservationObservation is a research method where user behaviour is watched and analysed without interference.Open glossary term→.

Everyone nods. Everyone agrees. It gets filed away as useful.

And nothing changes.

I’ve also seen less polished researchservice×User ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service→ leadglossary×LeadA lead is a potential customer who has shown interest in a product or service, typically by providing contact information or engaging with content.Open glossary term→ to real impact because someone took the time to interpret it properly.

To connect the dots. To challenge what it meant. To push it into decisions instead of just documenting it.

That’s where the real difference sits.

Not in how the researchservice×User ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service→ looks, but in what it changes.

In my experience, good researchservice×User ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service→ is slightly uncomfortable.

It challenges assumptions that felt safe. It exposes gaps that weren’t obvious. It creates questions where there used to be certainty.

That’s when you know it’s doing something.

Because it’s easy to run sessionsglossary×SessionA session is a single period of user interaction with a product, from entry to exit within a defined timeframe.Open glossary term→.

It’s easy to produce output.

It’s easy to say we’ve spoken to users.

It’s much harder to uncover something that actually changes how the product works.

And that’s the difference between researchservice×User ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service→ that fills time and research that creates impact.