Method selection, mixed-methods design, and research operations that scale insight without losing rigor, from one-off studies to standing research programs.
Most research disappointments trace back to a method-question mismatch: usability testing pressed into a generative role, surveys deployed before the team knows what to ask, focus groups standing in for one-on-one depth. I help teams pick the method that actually answers the question on the table, and I write the protocols, screeners, and analysis frameworks that make the result trustworthy.
Equally important: building the operational layer (recruitment, tooling, repositories, governance) so research becomes a durable team capability instead of a project-by-project scramble.
Every method below links to its own page covering when to use it in the process, how long it takes, what you'll need, what it's good for, and where it falls short.
Use when you need to understand people, context, and problems.
Understanding motivations, mental models, attitudes, and the ‘why’ behind behavior.
observationalObserving real users in their actual environment doing real work.
longitudinalCapturing behavior and experience over time, as it happens rather than in retrospect.
immersiveDeep understanding of culture, social dynamics, and behavior in context.
group, attitudinalExploring shared attitudes and reactions to concepts.
internal researchUncovering business goals, constraints, assumptions, and internal knowledge before research begins.
early designGetting early reactions to ideas before committing to detailed design.
Use when you have something to test.
Understanding why users struggle.
remote, scalableSpeed and scale.
expert reviewStepping through a design to identify usability issues, especially for task completion flows, without needing users.
expert reviewQuickly catching obvious usability issues using established principles (Nielsen's 10 heuristics).
behavioral, qualitativeUnderstanding user decision-making and mental models as they complete tasks.
Use when you need scale, confidence, or measurement.
Measuring attitudes, satisfaction, and prevalence at scale.
behavioral, passiveUnderstanding what users actually do in the product at scale.
experimentalComparing two design variants with statistical confidence using real product traffic.
IA, navigationSeeing where users click first on a design.
visual, impressionFirst impressions of a design: what users notice, what they remember, whether the purpose is clear at a glance.
Use for information architecture and mental model validation.
Discovering how users mentally organize content.
evaluative, IAEvaluating whether users can sort content into your existing categories.
IA, findabilityTesting findability in a navigation structure without the influence of visual design.
attitudinalMeasuring emotional response and brand perception.
Downloadable Word templates for the eight methods that come up most often, built so a researcher can open one and start filling it in rather than building a discussion guide or scorecard from scratch.
Methods rigor underpins my engagements across Nissan Commercial Vehicles, SWG, and Infiniti VRS. Each project paired the right method to the right decision, and produced artifacts the team could use long after the engagement ended.
Whether you're rethinking a flagship product or trying to make sense of complex user behavior, I'd love to talk.