The Ultimate UX Research Guide: Methods, Best Practices & How to Use Them
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Ever abandoned a website because it was too frustrating to use? Maybe you couldn’t find the information you needed, a button wasn’t where you expected, or the checkout process felt endless.
That’s bad UX in action.
At its core, UX Research is about removing friction—understanding where users struggle and optimizing interactions so your product feels effortless. A well-designed product doesn’t just look good—it works intuitively.
Yet, many teams still design based on assumptions, personal preferences, or stakeholder opinions instead of real user behavior. That’s how you end up with:
🚫 Interfaces that look sleek but confuse users.
🚫 Features that seem cool but go unused.
🚫 Workflows that make sense to the team but frustrate customers.
Why is UX research non-negotiable?
Good design isn’t just about how things look, it’s about how they work. UX research ensures that design decisions are based on real user behavior, not assumptions. Without it, teams risk creating:
- Users struggling to navigate, leading to high drop-offs.
- Features going unused because they don’t solve real problems.
- Development cycles wasted on costly rework.
With UX research, you can:
- Identify usability bottlenecks—where users struggle or drop off.
- Optimize interactions—improving navigation, layout, and overall usability.
- Test before you build—reducing costly rework and development delays.
- Improve user satisfaction—because seamless experiences drive engagement and retention.
What you’ll learn in this guide?
This guide will cover:
- The difference between UX research and user research—when to use each.
- Key UX research methods—how and when to use them effectively.
- How to integrate UX research into your workflow—without slowing down development.
- Common mistakes that undermine UX research—and how to avoid them.
By the end, you’ll know how to gather meaningful insights that improve usability and create products users actually enjoy.
Let’s get started.
UX research vs. User research: What’s the difference?
While UX Research and User Research are closely related, they serve distinct purposes. One focuses on understanding the people using your product, while the other examines how they interact with it.
Let’s break it down:

A Simple Breakdown:
- User Research = Studying the audience before you build.
- UX Research = Testing how well your solution works after you build.
User Research helps define the why behind the problem. UX Research ensures the how is seamless and functional.
The UX research process: From insight to impact
1. Define Goals → Pinpoint usability bottlenecks and what needs validation.
2. Pick the Right Method → Choose Usability Testing, A/B Testing, or Heatmaps based on the problem.
3. Conduct the Research → Observe real users, ask open-ended questions, and avoid bias.
4. Analyze & Prioritize → Focus on critical friction points, quick wins, and repeated patterns.
5. Iterate & Test Again → Apply findings, make updates, and retest to validate improvements.
Why UX research matters (and why skipping it can cost you)
UX research isn’t just about making things look good, it’s about making things work. It bridges the gap between design and usability, ensuring that every interaction feels intuitive, effortless, and meaningful.If you’ve ever found yourself frustrated by a clunky app, an unclear checkout process, or a feature that seems impossible to use, chances are the team behind it didn’t invest enough in UX research. And that’s a costly mistake.The cost of poor UX research
- High bounce rates – If users struggle to find what they need, they leave. Fast.
- Low conversions – A confusing user experience can kill sales and sign-ups.
- Wasted development time – Fixing usability issues post-launch is far more expensive than addressing them during design.
- Frustrated users = lost trust – A bad UX isn’t just annoying—it damages your brand and credibility.
Real-world example: How UX research saves companies millions
Take Amazon’s one-click checkout. Before this innovation, e-commerce checkouts were long and tedious, leading to high cart abandonment rates. By researching friction points and streamlining the process, Amazon patented a one-click purchase method, reducing drop-offs and increasing revenue dramatically.
Small tweaks, backed by research, can lead to massive results. That’s the power of UX research.
Types of UX Research: When, why, and how to use each one
Not all UX research is created equal. The methods you choose depend on what stage your product is in and what kind of questions you need answered. Broadly, UX research falls into two categories:
1. Generative research → Helps you explore and uncover user needs, behaviors, and motivations before designing a solution.
2. Evaluative research → Helps you test and refine your designs to ensure they work as intended.
Here’s a breakdown of key UX research methods and when to use them:
1. Generative UX research: Exploring user needs
When to use it → Before designing, when you need deep insights into user needs, motivations, and pain points.
Why it’s valuable → Prevents teams from designing based on assumptions by providing real data on what users actually want.
💡 Key generative research methods:
- Field studies & ethnography → Observing users in their natural environment to see how they interact with real-world products.
- User interviews → One-on-one conversations to dive deep into user goals, behaviors, and frustrations.
- Diary studies → Asking users to document their interactions with a product over time, revealing long-term behavioral patterns.
- Card sorting → Understanding how users categorize and organize information, useful for structuring navigation.
2. Evaluative UX research: Testing & refining designs
When to use it → Once you have wireframes, prototypes, or live products that need usability validation.
Why it’s valuable → Helps identify friction points, optimize workflows, and validate design decisions before launch.
💡 Key evaluative research methods:
- Usability testing → Watching users interact with a prototype or live product to identify points of friction.
- A/B testing → Comparing two design versions to see which performs better in terms of engagement or conversions.
- First click testing → Evaluating whether users know where to click first when trying to complete a task.
- Heatmaps & session recordings → Tracking user behavior on a website or app to see where they hesitate, scroll, or drop off.
Which UX research method should you use?
Different UX research methods serve different purposes. The table below helps identify the best method based on the goal of the research.

How to plan and conduct UX research?
UX research isn’t just about running tests, it’s about asking the right questions, at the right time, with the right people to gather insights that drive better design decisions.
Here’s a structured step-by-step process to plan and conduct UX research effectively.
Step 1: Define your research goals
Without clear goals, research can become a data-gathering exercise with no real impact.
What to ask yourself:
- What problem are we trying to solve?
- What decisions will this research inform?
- What data do we need—qualitative (why users struggle) or quantitative (how many users struggle)?
If a team notices high checkout abandonIf a team notices high checkout abandonment rates, their research goal might be: Identify usability issues in the checkout flow that cause drop-offs and suggest improvements to increase conversion rates.
Step 2: Choose the right UX research method
The method you choose depends on:
- The type of insights you need (behavioral vs. attitudinal).
- The stage of your product development (early ideation vs. final refinement).
- Your available resources (time, budget, expertise).
Example:
- If you need exploratory insights, conduct user interviews or ethnographic research.
- If you want to test usability, run A/B testing, first-click tests, or heatmaps.
- If you're optimizing navigation, use card sorting or tree testing.
Best practice: Combine heatmaps (quantitative) with usability testing (qualitative) for a complete view of user behavior.
Step 3: Recruit the right participants
Talking to the wrong people = bad data.
How to recruit effectively:
- Define your ideal user profile based on your target audience.
- Use screeners to filter out participants who don’t fit.
- Recruit through email lists, product communities, social media, or user testing platforms (like CleverX).
If you're researching an enterprise SaaS product, you don’t just want any users, you need decision-makers who actively use similar tools in their workflow.
Avoid this mistake: Don’t just test with internal team members—they already understand the product, making their feedback biased.
Step 4: Prepare your research materials
Well-structured research sessions lead to actionable insights.
All you need is: - Interview script or survey questions → Ensure open-ended and unbiased questions.
- Prototype or wireframes (for usability testing) → Low or high-fidelity, depending on your goal.
- Tracking tools → Heatmaps, session recordings, or analytics dashboards.
Example Interview Question (Good vs. Bad)
❌ Bad: “Do you find this feature useful?” → Leading question.
✅ Good: “Tell me about a time you needed to use this feature.” → Encourages natural insights.
Always run a pilot test—test your questions or prototype with one or two people first to catch unclear phrasing or technical issues.
Step 5: Conduct the research
- Moderated → Live interaction (e.g., user interviews, usability tests with a researcher guiding the session).
- Unmoderated → Self-guided (e.g., remote usability testing, heatmaps, or surveys).
Best practices for effective research sessions:
- Set a relaxed, open environment—don’t make users feel like they’re being tested.
- Encourage users to think out loud while interacting with the product.
- Record sessions (with consent) for later analysis.
Example: In a usability test for an e-commerce checkout, the researcher might ask: "Can you go through the checkout process and share your thoughts as you do?"
Step 6: Document & analyze your findings
Data is useless unless translated into actionable insights.How to analyze UX research data:
- Look for patterns → Do multiple users struggle with the same task?
- Categorize issues → Are they usability problems, design flaws, or feature gaps?
- Use visual aids → Heatmaps, affinity diagrams, and user journey maps help synthesize findings.
Step 7: Share findings & take action
Research only drives impact if it’s communicated effectively.
How to make research findings useful:
- Create a summary report (Key insights → What we learned → What should change).
- Present findings in workshops instead of just sending a report—discuss pain points and possible fixes with the team.
- Turn insights into specific design improvements (e.g., “Reduce checkout drop-offs by minimizing required form fields”).
Example Deliverables:
- Journey maps → Visual representation of user pain points.
- Usability test reports → Key issues, severity ratings, and recommendations.
- Short video clips → Real user reactions to illustrate frustrations.
Too often, UX research gets treated as an afterthought. But when embedded early and consistently, it transforms products—reducing costly redesigns, boosting user adoption, and improving retention. So, always consider:
✅ Start with clear research goals tied to real product decisions.
✅ Choose the right methods based on your needs (generative vs. evaluative).
✅ Recruit the right participants—not just any users.
✅ Present research in a way that drives action, not just more discussion.
How to apply UX research insights to improve design
1. Prioritize research findings → fix high-impact usability issues first, address critical bugs immediately, and schedule enhancements for future updates.
2.Translate insights into concrete design changes → avoid vague takeaways, restructure navigation, simplify workflows, and optimize key interactions.
3. Validate design changes → use a/b testing, 5-second tests, and first-click testing to ensure improvements solve user problems.
4. Communicate findings effectively → use visuals like heatmaps and journey maps, frame insights as user stories, and tie recommendations to business goals.
5. Iterate continuously → test, refine, and optimize designs based on real user behavior to maintain a frictionless experience.
Core UX research methods: When and how to use them
UX research helps teams understand how users interact with a product and identify areas for improvement. Choosing the right method depends on the stage of product development and the specific questions that need answers.
There are two broad categories of UX research methods:
- Generative UX research – Used before designing to explore user needs, behaviors, and motivations.
- Evaluative UX research – Used after designing to test and refine usability, ensuring a smooth experience.
1. Generative UX research: Exploring user needs
These methods help teams uncover what users need, how they behave, and the pain points they experience. They provide deep insights to guide product strategy and design decisions before development begins.
User interviews
One-on-one conversations with users to understand their goals, motivations, and challenges.
When to use:
- During the early discovery phase to gather insights about user needs.
- When developing user personas to guide product decisions.
- When trying to understand why certain user behaviors occur.
Best practices:
- Ask open-ended questions to encourage detailed responses.
- Focus on past behaviors rather than hypothetical situations.
- Use a semi-structured format to allow for flexibility in conversation.
Ethnographic research (field studies)
Observing users in their natural environment to see how they interact with a product in real-world conditions.
When to use:
- When studying workflows in professional settings, such as enterprise software users.
- To understand contextual factors that influence product usage.
- To uncover hidden pain points that users might not explicitly state.
Best practices:
- Observe without interfering to avoid influencing behavior.
- Take note of workarounds and inefficiencies in user workflows.
- Combine with diary studies for deeper insights over time.
Diary studies
Asking users to log their experiences over time to track long-term behaviors, frustrations, and patterns.
When to use:
- When evaluating habit-forming behaviors over days or weeks.
- When testing the adoption of a new feature or workflow.
- When understanding usage patterns across different contexts.
Best practices:
- Keep daily prompts short and easy to maintain engagement.
- Offer incentives to encourage regular participation.
- Look for recurring themes to identify usability gaps.
Card sorting
A method where users organize and categorize content to improve navigation and information architecture.
When to use:
- When designing menus and site navigation structures.
- Before launching a content-heavy product, such as a knowledge base.
- When testing whether users group topics intuitively.
Best practices:
- Use open card sorting to let users create their own categories.
- Test with different audience segments to ensure broad usability.
- Follow up with tree testing to validate category effectiveness.
2. Evaluative UX research: Testing & refining designs
These methods test whether a design works well and help optimize the user experience before full deployment.
Usability testing
Observing users as they complete key tasks to uncover friction points and usability issues.
When to use:
- Before launching a new feature to identify obstacles in user flows.
- When testing the usability of prototypes or wireframes.
- To compare different design iterations for effectiveness.
Best practices:
- Have users think aloud while completing tasks to capture real-time insights.
- Test with five users at a time—most major issues surface quickly.
- Combine with heatmaps and session recordings for deeper analysis.
A/B testing
Comparing two versions of a design to see which performs better based on real user interactions.
When to use:
- When optimizing conversion rates for landing pages or sign-ups.
- To test variations of CTAs, form layouts, or checkout flows.
- When making small, measurable changes to improve engagement.
Best practices:
- Test one change at a time to isolate the impact.
- Ensure the sample size is large enough for statistically valid results.
- Track both quantitative metrics (click-through rates, conversions) and qualitative user behavior.
First-click testing
A method to measure whether users know where to click first when trying to complete a task.
When to use:
- Before finalizing a new navigation layout.
- When testing whether users understand CTA placement.
- To ensure that the most important action is easily discoverable.
Best practices:
- Measure time to first click—faster clicks indicate clarity.
- Test on both desktop and mobile for consistency.
- Combine with usability testing for a full picture of navigation efficiency.
Heatmaps & session recordings
Heatmaps show where users click, scroll, and hover, while session recordings capture real interactions for analysis.
When to use:
- When identifying friction points in live products.
- To detect rage clicks or abandoned actions.
- When testing how users engage with key UI elements.
Best practices:
- Use scroll depth tracking to see if important content is being missed.
- Identify UI elements that appear clickable but are not interactive.
- Watch at least 20–30 session recordings to find consistent patterns.
Tree testing
A method that evaluates how users navigate through a hierarchical menu or content structure.
When to use:
- Before implementing a new navigation system.
- To test whether users can find key information easily.
- When validating menu restructuring efforts.
Best practices:
- Conduct tests before finalizing menu structures.
- Compare task completion rates to measure effectiveness.
- Pair with card sorting to refine category groupings.
UX research best practices for maximum impact
To ensure UX research drives meaningful change, it must be structured, bias-free, and actionable. Following best practices helps teams collect reliable insights, make informed decisions, and improve user experience efficiently.
Here are five essential UX research best practices:
1. Plan research with clear goals: Many teams conduct UX research without defining specific goals, leading to insights that are too broad or difficult to act on. Every research study should be tied to a clear business or usability problem. How to set effective research goals:
- Identify the specific problem you want to solve (e.g., "Why are users abandoning checkout at Step 3?").
- Choose research methods that align with your goal (e.g., A/B testing for optimizing conversions, usability testing for finding friction points).
- Define success metrics—what will indicate the research has provided useful insights?
Example: Instead of a vague goal like "Improve the onboarding process," a clear goal would be: Identify the top three usability issues in the onboarding flow that cause drop-offs within the first 5 minutes.
Clear goals ensure research is focused and leads to tangible design improvements.
2. Recruit the right participants: A common mistake in UX research is testing with the wrong audience. If participants don’t reflect real users, the insights won’t translate into meaningful improvements. How to recruit participants effectively:
- Define participant criteria—age, experience level, industry, or behaviors relevant to your product.
- Use screeners to filter participants—ask pre-qualifying questions to ensure they match your target audience.
- Recruit from multiple sources—use customer email lists, social media, product communities, and user research platforms like CleverX or UserTesting.
Why it matters: Testing with internal employees or power users skews results, as they already understand the product.
Research should include:
✔ New users who are experiencing the product for the first time.
✔ Average users who interact with the product casually or occasionally.
✔ Power users only when testing advanced features or workflows.Accurate user representation ensures findings reflect real usability issues and not internal team assumptions.
3. Avoid bias in questions and research design: Research bias leads to misleading insights, which can result in poor product decisions. Bias can appear in leading questions, participant selection, or observer influence.How to eliminate bias in UX research:
- Use neutral, open-ended questions—instead of "Did you find this feature helpful?", ask "How did you use this feature?".
- Encourage honest feedback—reassure users that you are testing the product, not their abilities.
- Minimize observer influence—avoid reacting to user actions (e.g., nodding or making facial expressions) as it may unconsciously steer behavior.
Example of reducing bias:
❌ "Would you prefer a cleaner, faster checkout experience?" (Users will say yes because it sounds positive.)
✅ "Can you walk me through your experience with the checkout process?" (This provides unbiased insights.)Bias-free research ensures findings reflect actual user behavior, not what users think the researcher wants to hear.
4. Prioritize findings by impact: Not all UX research findings hold equal weight. Some insights significantly affect usability and conversion rates, while others are minor inconveniences. Teams need a structured approach to prioritizing issues based on their impact.How to prioritize research findings effectively:
- Use an Impact vs. Effort Matrix—focus first on high-impact, low-effort fixes.
- Identify critical usability blockers—issues preventing users from completing tasks should be addressed immediately.
- Consider business goals—prioritize research findings that improve conversions, retention, or engagement.
Example prioritization framework:

By prioritizing the most critical usability issues, teams can make targeted improvements that drive measurable impact.5. Communicate research effectivelyThe value of UX research depends on how well it is communicated and applied. Stakeholders, designers, and developers need clear, actionable insights—not just raw data.How to present research findings effectively:
- Summarize key takeaways first—state the problem, its impact, and the proposed solution.
- Use visuals over lengthy reports—heatmaps, session recordings, and user journey maps make insights clearer.
- Tell a story—frame research findings in a way that connects to real user pain points.
Example of an effective research summary:
- Problem: Users drop off during checkout at the payment step.
- Impact: 40% cart abandonment rate, leading to $X in lost revenue.
- Recommendation: Add a progress indicator and simplify form fields to reduce friction.Delivering concise, visual, and business-relevant research insights increases the likelihood that findings will be implemented.
To sum up:
✔ Plan with clear goals—define specific usability or business problems before research begins.
✔ Recruit the right participants—test with real users, not internal team members or unqualified participants.
✔ Avoid bias in research design—use neutral questions and observe users without influencing them.
✔ Prioritize findings strategically—focus on fixes that have the most impact on usability and business success.
✔ Communicate insights effectively—use clear, actionable summaries and visuals to align teams.If you embed these practices into UX research, teams can make data-driven design decisions that improve usability, enhance engagement, and drive better product outcomes.
Common pitfalls in UX research (and how to avoid them)
Even with the best intentions, UX research can go off track if not executed properly. Some of the most common mistakes lead to wasted time, misleading insights, and poor design decisions. Recognizing and avoiding these pitfalls ensures that UX research delivers actionable results and truly improves the user experience.
Here are six frequent UX research mistakes and how to correct them:
1. Skipping UX research to “save time”: Many teams believe they already know what users want or assume that research will slow down development. In reality, skipping UX research often results in costly redesigns later, as usability issues emerge after launch.
Why it’s a problem:
- A feature that seems intuitive internally may confuse actual users.
- Fixing usability issues post-launch is 5–10x more expensive than addressing them early.
- Un-researched designs lead to high bounce rates and user frustration.
How to avoid it:
✔ Integrate quick research cycles within development sprints (e.g., run usability tests on prototypes before building).
✔ Use lightweight research methods like session recordings, heatmaps, or rapid A/B testing.
✔ Frame research as a time-saving measure—investing a few days upfront can prevent months of costly rework.
2. Testing with the wrong users: Many teams conduct research using internal employees, personal contacts, or existing power users. While convenient, these participants do not represent real users, leading to biased insights.
Why it’s a problem:
- Internal employees already understand the product, making their feedback unreliable.
- Power users may not struggle with onboarding or usability like new users do.
- Testing with an unqualified sample leads to false confidence in bad designs.
How to avoid it:
✔ Define clear participant criteria (e.g., demographics, experience level, industry).
✔ Use screening questions to filter participants who truly match your target audience.
✔ Recruit from user testing platforms, customer lists, or targeted communities instead of internal teams.
3. Asking leading questions: Poorly phrased questions influence responses and lead to misleading conclusions. Many researchers accidentally introduce bias by framing questions in a way that nudges users toward a particular answer.
Why it’s a problem:
- Users may tell you what they think you want to hear rather than giving honest feedback.
- Biased research leads to incorrect assumptions about usability.
- Decisions based on flawed data can worsen the user experience rather than improving it.
How to avoid it:
✔ Ask neutral, open-ended questions instead of yes/no or leading questions.
✔ Encourage users to describe their experiences in their own words.
✔ Example: Instead of “Did you find this feature helpful?”, ask “Can you describe how you used this feature?”.
4. Relying on what users say, not what they do: User feedback is important, but it’s often incomplete or misleading when taken at face value. People struggle to articulate their frustrations or may give socially desirable answers instead of revealing real usability issues.
Why it’s a problem:
- Users say they like a feature but never actually use it.
- Verbal feedback often contradicts behavioral data from heatmaps, session recordings, or usability tests.
- Teams make changes based on opinions rather than observed behavior.
How to avoid it:
✔ Pair qualitative interviews with quantitative behavior tracking (e.g., heatmaps, session recordings).
✔ Observe where users hesitate, rage-click, or drop off, rather than relying only on surveys.
✔ Trust user actions over user statements—what they do matters more than what they say.
5. Treating UX research as one-and-done: UX research isn’t a one-time project—it needs to be continuous as user needs and behaviors evolve. Many teams conduct research at the beginning of a project but never validate changes post-launch.
Why it’s a problem:
- Features that worked six months ago may no longer meet user needs.
- Teams assume they "fixed" usability issues without testing real-world adoption.
- Without ongoing research, products become outdated and frustrating over time.
How to avoid it:
✔ Treat research as an ongoing process—test usability regularly, not just before launch.
✔ Set up continuous feedback loops (e.g., in-app surveys, session recordings, and quarterly usability tests).
✔ Track post-launch usability metrics—if drop-offs increase, revisit the UX.
6. Drowning in data but taking no action: UX research is only valuable if teams act on the findings. Too often, research reports sit unused in a Google Drive folder, while product teams continue making decisions based on gut instinct.
Why it’s a problem:
- Stakeholders become overwhelmed by large research reports and ignore key takeaways.
- Teams collect data but fail to translate insights into actionable design improvements.
- Research becomes a check-the-box exercise rather than a tool for change.
How to avoid it:
✔ Prioritize high-impact usability issues—focus on the most critical fixes first.
✔ Present findings in a simple, visual format (e.g., heatmaps, short summaries, annotated screenshots).
✔ Link insights to business impact—explain how fixing a usability issue will increase retention or conversions.
How to integrate UX research into your workflow
UX research should be seamlessly integrated into product development rather than treated as a separate phase. Many teams struggle with incorporating research into fast-paced Agile or Lean workflows without slowing down development.
Here’s how to make UX research efficient & scalable:
1. Embed UX research in agile sprints: Instead of waiting until the end of a development cycle to test usability, integrate research into each sprint.
How to do it:
- Conduct quick usability tests on low-fidelity wireframes before coding begins.
- Run unmoderated click tests within 24–48 hours to gather rapid insights.
- Dedicate part of each sprint retrospective to discussing research findings.
2. Automate where possible: Manual research processes can be time-consuming. AI-powered tools now help collect and analyze insights faster, reducing the burden on teams.
How to do it:
- Use heatmaps and session recordings to automatically detect usability pain points.
- Deploy AI-driven surveys that summarize open-ended responses instantly.
- Set up automated A/B tests to continuously optimize user flows.
3. Keep research lightweight: Many teams avoid UX research because they think it requires large studies or dedicated teams. However, lightweight research methods can fit within tight timelines.
How to do it:
- Run 5-user usability tests—Jakob Nielsen’s research shows this identifies 85% of issues.
- Use short, focused research sessions instead of long, multi-week studies.
- Test with clickable prototypes rather than waiting for full product development.
4. Make UX research a habit: If research is done only during major redesigns, teams miss valuable insights between releases. Ongoing feedback ensures products evolve based on user needs.
How to do it:
- Conduct quarterly usability audits to identify new pain points.
- Implement always-on feedback tools like in-app surveys or customer support logs.
- Schedule regular user testing sessions—even one test per sprint can prevent major issues.
5. Communicate findings efficiently: Even great research is useless if teams and stakeholders don’t act on it. Make findings easy to understand and apply.
How to do it:
- Summarize insights visually using heatmaps, video clips, and journey maps.
- Keep reports brief and actionable—state the problem, impact, and recommended fix.
- Frame research in terms of business impact (e.g., "Fixing this checkout issue could increase conversions by 20%").
Conclusion
A great product isn’t just visually appealing: it’s intuitive, easy to use, and frustration-free. That’s only possible when UX research is a core part of the process.Why UX research is essential
- Prevents costly redesigns: Catch usability issues before launch.
- Boosts engagement & conversions: Frictionless experiences lead to higher retention.
- Aligns teams around user needs: Decisions based on real behavior, not assumptions.
Without UX research, you’re designing in the dark. The best teams test, iterate, and refine continuously, not just when problems arise.