The dual nature of research on research is exciting in itself, especially for Senior UX Researcher Nicholas Aramouni. In this episode, things get meta as we address the UX of UX research. Nicholas discusses the importance of testing everything, testing early, and testing often. He elaborates on his approach to UX research from different angles and describes the beauty (and absurdity) of what it’s like when UX researchers become participants.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Best practices for building better UX
• The UX challenges UX researchers face
• Important factors that influence UX testing
• The pros and cons of adopting new research tools
• A walkthrough of Nicholas’ testing methods

Highlights:

• [00:01:52] The keys to designing a great UX test are flawlessness, simplicity, and making it intentional
• [00:05:42] Nicholas’ approach: test everything, test early, and test often to create the perfect test
• [00:06:53] Nicholas talks about staying focused on what matters and that empathy is a powerful research tool
• [00:10:42] The test is a valuable asset, and how tools affect the outcomes
• [00:23:17] Do researchers make good participants?
• [00:27:52] Tips for researchers using a new UX platform
• [00:31:39] More on researchers as participants. Nicholas shares his experience as a participant
• [00:33:04] Erin asks Nick how he got into user research

About our guest

Nicholas Aramouni is a Senior Communications Manager and UX Researcher at Userlytics who specializes in global UX practices. Nicholas has experience in various industries, including music, entertainment, media, and e-commerce. He is passionate about humanities, holds a B.Ed. in Social Studies from Mount Royal University, and was the former co-host of Mindspark. A learning podcast focused on K-12 education.