Design Research

How to Develop a Risk Mitigation Strategy for Design Research

As designers and researchers, we are pros at thinking ahead— and that means looking ahead to any upcoming project risks. In today’s post, you’ll learn how to proactively plan for project risks using a risk mitigation strategy and gain insight into common risks in UX and design research.

The Comeback of In-Person Observations in Design Research

Post-pandemic, we’re seeing a shift from purely virtual research to a resurgence in the popularity of in-person observations. In this post, we’re highlighting the challenges posed by virtual research and some key reasons why in-person observations should stay in our repertoire as design researchers. Plus, get our tips for convincing stakeholders to invest in in-person observations!

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A group of UX researchers gather around a large brown desk where they are conducting UX testing. They are holding colourful low-fidelity prototypes and pointing.

January 19, 2024

Six UX Testing Methods for Success

This post teaches you about six common methods used for testing with users in UX. We cover the three purposes behind UX testing, and dive into methods like Card Sorting, Tree Testing, Heuristic Evaluations, and more.

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Three UX researchers gather around a whiteboard and use sticky notes for a retrospective exercise called "Stop, Start, Continue".

January 04, 2024

Stop, Start, Continue: A Retrospective Method for Design Research Improvement

This post is a deep dive into the “Stop, Start, Continue” retrospective method. We discuss how this method can be used to iteratively improve your workflows during a multi-phase UX or design research project.

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A group of government service and ux designers gather around a table to brainstorm. They are dressed in bright colours and look very happy.

July 06, 2023

Digital Service Design in Government 101: Myth-Busting and Resources

In the first of our series on Digital Service Design in Government, we bust three common myths around design projects in government and provide you with a resource library.

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December 16, 2022

Your Guide to Qualitative UX and Design Research Methods

At Outwitly, UX and design research is what we do best! This post covers our three qualitative research methods that you can use for your next project: in-depth interviews, observations and diary studies.

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A man is working on an empathy map in a virtual empathy mapping workshop. He is using the Miro empathy mapping template.

December 01, 2022

How to Plan and Conduct a Virtual Empathy Mapping Workshop

This post will teach you how to plan and conduct an effective virtual empathy mapping workshop! We also dive into accessibility and empathy mapping.

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Two design researchers are working together to analyze data they gathered from UX and design research.

October 21, 2022

Data Analysis for UX and Design Research

This post covers all things data analysis! We dive into the process of making sense of data, methods for analyzing data, and tips for analyzing data.

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How to conduct desk research in UX and service design. Including SWOT analysis, comparative analysis, and

October 04, 2022

How to conduct effective desk research for UX and service design?

This post looks at exactly how to conduct desk research in a UX or service design research project. We’re covering the desk research planning process as well as conducting analyses like literature review and trend analysis, comparative analysis in UX, and SWOT analysis.

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Woman is conducting desk research at her desk wearing glasses and a white shirt.

August 26, 2022

How to use desk research in UX and service design?

Today’s post digs into how to use “desk research” in UX and service design. We answer questions like when should you use it and how does it fit into the design process. We cover internal vs. external desk research and break down examples of each, like document review, literature review, and jurisdictional scans.

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May 27, 2022

How to Champion HCD and Design Research to Stakeholders

Struggling to convince stakeholders of the value of human-centered design (HCD), service design, and design research? This post will teach you the importance of stakeholder management, how to overcome research resisters, and responding to common objections to doing research.

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March 18, 2022

Project Management for Design Research and Service Design

We know that a design research project is only as successful as the foundation it’s built upon! We like to have a phase at the beginning of any project called Project Initiation. This phase is crucial for setting your project up for success! To help set your next design research project up for success, we’re covering nine core project management principles, two key activities to conduct in the initiation phase, and our favourite tools and tech for project management.

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February 18, 2022

Q&A With CEO Sara Fortier on Outwitly Academy’s Design Research Mastery

We sat down to talk to our CEO and Founder of Outwitly, Sara Fortier, about the recent launch of Outwitly Academy. Outwitly Academy’s flagship course, Design Research Mastery, is now accepting its first cohort of registrants.

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