User Research Methods in Practice

Methods Used

Survey
Interview
User testing
Data analysis

My Contribution

I led user research activities across planning, recruitment, facilitation and synthesis, working closely with product and delivery teams throughout development.

My role focused on uncovering workflow gaps, validating assumptions early and translating research findings into practical product decisions that balanced user needs with delivery constraints.

Rather than treating research as a separate phase, I worked collaboratively with teams to ensure insights continuously informed design and product direction.

Usability Testing Example

eSignatures

I conducted usability testing during the final development stage to identify issues before release and validate whether the feature supported real governance workflows effectively.

Testing revealed:

Two important missing functions that board secretaries considered essential
Five usability issues affecting task completion and overall confidence in the workflow

The findings helped the team refine the experience before launch and avoid releasing gaps that may have reduced adoption or trust in the feature.

We want to test the usability and feature readiness before the initial release so that we can confidently release the function to all the customers.
1. Usability Testing Goal:
  1. Evaluate the usability and effectiveness of the signature request function for administrators/board secretaries.
  2. Evaluate the usability of the signing function for board members.
2. Feature Readiness Testing Goal:
  Assess the utility of our signature request function to determine if the current features are sufficient for users despite the absence of certain functions.
Moderated Usability Testing
Participant Criteria
- Roles: Administrators, Board Secretaries
- Number of Participants: 9
- Based in: New Zealand, Australia
Recruitment Process
Participants were sourced from an opt-in list gathered during the 2021 Digital Signing Survey. Invitations were extended to board secretaries and administrators in both New Zealand and Australia. However, all attendees for the usability testing sessions were based in New Zealand.

Testing Scope and User Profiles

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What didn’t go well

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Observations

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What went well

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Recommendations

Due date and automatic reminders: Most participants strongly desire these features, believing they would make their lives much easier. Some participants specifically mentioned wanting the same due date and reminder functions as in Flying Minutes.
Cancel Function for Sent Requests + Void Function for Fully Signed Documents: Instead of deleting them, about half of the participants thought it would be beneficial to always keep the record in BoardPro for better workflow management.
Selecting Signers: There is a need to improve the usability of the signer selection experience, particularly to help users remember which date field is for whom. This is especially important when the board secretary has to select the entire board for signing.