Archetypes

Archetype	Signals	Design Focus
Power User	Daily use, 10+ features	Efficiency, shortcuts, customization
Casual User	Weekly use, 3–5 features	Simplicity, guidance, progressive disclosure
Business User	Work context, team use	Collaboration, reporting, admin
Mobile-First	Mobile primary device	Touch-friendly, offline, speed

Validation

Show persona to 3–5 real users: "Does this sound like you?"
Cross-check with support tickets
Verify against analytics data

2. Journey Mapping

Scope Definition

Element	Define
Persona	Which user type
Goal	What they're trying to achieve
Start	Trigger that begins journey
End	Success criteria
Timeframe	Hours / days / weeks

Typical B2B SaaS Stages

Awareness → Evaluation → Onboarding → Adoption → Advocacy

Each Stage Contains

Stage: [Name]
├── Actions: What does user do?
├── Touchpoints: Where do they interact?
├── Emotions: How do they feel? (1–5)
├── Pain Points: What frustrates them?
└── Opportunities: Where can we improve?

Opportunity Priority Score

Score = Frequency × Severity × Solvability

3. Usability Testing

Research Question Design

Vague	Testable
"Is it easy to use?"	"Can users complete checkout in <3 min?"
"Do users like it?"	"Will users choose Design A or B?"
"Does it make sense?"	"Can users find settings without hints?"

Method Selection

Method	Participants	Duration	Best For
Moderated remote	5–8	45–60 min	Deep insights
Unmoderated remote	10–20	15–20 min	Quick validation
Guerrilla	3–5	5–10 min	Rapid feedback

Success Metrics

Metric	Target
Completion rate	>80%
Time on task	<2× expected
Error rate	<15%
Satisfaction	>4/5

Task Design

SCENARIO: "Imagine you're planning a trip to Paris..."
GOAL: "Book a hotel for 3 nights in your budget."
SUCCESS: "You see the confirmation page."

Progression: Warm-up → Core → Secondary → Edge case → Free exploration

4. Research Synthesis

Coding Data

Tag each data point:

[GOAL] — What they want to achieve
[PAIN] — What frustrates them
[BEHAVIOR] — What they actually do
[CONTEXT] — When/where they use product
[QUOTE] — Direct user words

Clustering

Group users by behavioral patterns → identify segments → size each segment:

Cluster	Users	%	Persona Priority
Power Users	18	36%	Primary
Business Users	15	30%	Primary
Casual Users	12	24%	Secondary

Extracting Findings

For each theme:

Finding statement
Supporting evidence (quotes, data)
Frequency (X/Y participants)
Business impact
Recommendation

Prioritization

Factor	Score 1–5
Frequency	How often does this occur?
Severity	How much does it hurt?
Breadth	How many users affected?
Solvability	Can we fix this?

Quick Reference: Research Methods

Question Type	Method	Sample Size
"What do users do?"	Analytics, observation	100+ events
"Why do they do it?"	Interviews	8–15 users
"How well can they?"	Usability test	5–8 users
"What do they prefer?"	Survey, A/B test	50+ users
"What do they feel?"	Diary study	10–15 users

Usability Issue Severity

Level	Definition	Action
4 — Critical	Prevents task completion	Fix immediately
3 — Major	Significant difficulty	Fix before release
2 — Minor	Causes hesitation	Fix when possible
1 — Cosmetic	Noticed, not problematic	Low priority

ux-researcher

UX Researcher

1. Persona Generation

Data Requirements