UX Research Canvas

This is a canvas you can use to build a high-level, in a nutshell, view of your user research plan. Use it to brainstorm togther with the team members involved in UX research, to get all ideas on board and have shared understanding. Then you can use it to communicate with stakeholders and get feedback and buy-in. Also, use it as a source of truth and a way to stay on track while doing the research.

This can be used by all members of a product team that do User Research.

Why use a canvas to plan your research?

• Alignment and Clarity - Use it as a collaborative tool to get everybody on the same page. Use it as a concise overview of the why, what and how of your research

• Stay on track - Refer to your plan and come back to it whenever losing focus

• Stakeholder buy-in and engagement - Involve your stakeholders, get engagement participation and approval

• Visualise - Have your plan visible at a glance, easy to view, digest and share

How to use this canvas?

1. Contextualize: Put your research in context and think about why you are doing this research. Frame your problem around the user need or behavior that drives the need for research. What business goals do we contribute to by doing the research?

2. Define: Defining the research goals, questions you want to answer, and how you plan to accomplish the research will keep you focused and always on track.

3. Measure: You don't only need to perform the research; it also needs to be successful. What does it mean, and how can you measure that? Think also about what could influence the research and make your assumptions clear.

4. Plan: Organise your research and think about who the participants are, what you plan to have as deliverables, and how do you plan to accomplish your goals.

NOTE: Depending on your goals, try not to skip the steps. As with all facilitated processes, this is meant to work in a flow, where the results from your previous step inform the next steps. It will make your life easy. But of course, you can go quick and dirty and in some contexts, just use part of the sections.