Week 1: Empathizing with Users and Defining Pain Points
Empathizing with Users and Defining Pain Points INTRODUCTION
The Google UX Design Professional Certificate program by Coursera is the right program for you to begin learning the essentials of developing a mobile app. Empathizing with users is the first step in understanding their needs and pain points. The course walks you through making empathy maps and personas for accurately depicting users. These activities enable you to comprehend users’ wants, needs, and challenges in relation to your product which allows you to develop a design that fulfills their needs and also provides value. By participating in these exercises, you will gain great insight into what could form the ideal design solution for your target users.
Learning Outcomes:
- Complete an empathy exercise to understand users
- Build an empathy map
- Identify user pain points
- Create personas
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE ON USER PAIN POINTS
1. Which of the following is an example of a pain point? Select all that apply.
- Receiving an update via email about a product’s availability
- Discovering the chat function on a site is switched off during the posted hours of operation. (CORRECT)
- Struggling to read the small text in an app. (CORRECT)
- Unresponsive touch screen options (CORRECT)
Correct: For example, one support pain point is not being able to receive an answer from the site. Other pain points might include a touchscreen that does not respond to selection or finding that the chat function is turned off during the posted hours of operation.
Correct: This is the classic description of a product pain point, touching on a UX problem that annoys the user. Other examples include options on an unresponsive touch screen and, finding that a site’s chat function is off during hours it is supposed to operate.
Correct: So this is simply one of the product pain points-and it really is concerning-the UX part of how the user feels. Other examples would be finding that a chat is disabled at the hours posted by the site or that it’s painful to read small letters in an application.
2. How can an empathy map help UX designers understand a user’s perspective?
- It can help UX designers market a product to a different group of users
- It can help UX designers solve problems they think users have.
- It can convey to UX designers what users think, say, feel, and do to understand what users actually need from a product. (CORRECT)
- It can help UX designers assume what users want.
Correct: A map of empathy refers to a diagram that helps designers see and express whatever they know about a particular user type. It dissects insights into palatable user nuggets- typically those such users say, think, do, and feel. Such factors provide a way in understanding collectively what possibly might be needed by users to inform decisions during the design process.
3. Which of the following is an example of a process pain point?
- User encounters a paywall pop-up in the middle of a digital article
- User is unable to find answers to a question on their own
- User cannot select or click a website navigation link
- User faces difficulty adding an item to an online shopping cart (CORRECT)
Correct: Process pain points are considered obstacles or hassles that prevent the user from moving easily from a point A to point B. For example, a pain point in the process is if a customer has a hard time transferring an item into a shopping cart.
4. Most pain points fall into one of four categories: product, financial, process, or support.
- True (CORRECT)
- False
Correct: Pain points can be classified mainly into four types, which are: product pain points, financial pain points, process pain points, and support pain points.
5. Fill in the blank: When you empathize with someone, you share their _____.
- mental and emotional experiences (CORRECT)
- personal preferences and ideas
- physical needs and challenges
- typical behaviors and thoughts
Correct: When you process Ux-research with empathy, you better understand the needs and challenges of users, thus really recognizing and defining the problem better.
6. What are pain points?
- The belief that you’re unskilled, inferior to others, or bad at your job, despite your success.
- Any financial, product, process, or support issues that are facing the user.
- Any UX issues that frustrate the user and block the user from getting what they need. (CORRECT)
- The ability to understand someone else’s feelings or thoughts in a situation.
Correct: “Points of pain” are UX problems that leave users at their wits’ end and reluctant to achieve their mission or get what they want.
7. What can you do to build personas that truly represent your potential users?
- Build them based on your experiences
- Build them based on research (CORRECT)
- Build them based on a single user testimony
Correct: Research will evolve into a kind of mental image transformed into imagery and form representations of what your users are based on the insights and data you collect.
8. A new UX designer reaches out to you and asks if you have any bandwidth to review their work before sending it to stakeholders. You agree, review their design, and begin drafting your feedback for the new UX designer. What phrase can you use to begin to provide respectful, but honest feedback?
- “You really should avoid designing in that way …”
- “This is the wrong placement for the home button …”
- “I like what you’ve done here. Have you considered … ” (CORRECT)
- “You really need to update the location of your homepage logo…
9. When you are creating a design to solve the right problem that users want solved, it’s best to do this with empathy. What does it mean to empathize with someone?
- To share their mental and emotional experiences (CORRECT)
- To acknowledge their feelings
- To assume positive intentions about their feelings
- To have pity for their situation
10. You have decided to conduct a research study to receive input from potential users on your new grocery store shopping app idea. You know this will be beneficial to the development of your app. You compile a list of detailed questions that a recruiter can ask to determine if participants would be a good fit for research study. What did you provide to the recruiter?
- A screener survey (CORRECT)
- A pain point survey
- A stakeholder survey
- A user survey
11. You are ready to interview participants for a UX research project you are conducting. What factors do you need to consider when finding potential interview participants? Select all that apply.
- The company’s competitors
- Project time constraints (CORRECT)
- The type of project you are designing (CORRECT)
- Project budgets (CORRECT)
12. You begin to recruit participants to interview. You have created a list of people you know who have agreed to be interviewed. You now need to recruit participants that you do not know. Where is the best way to find participants that you do not personally know? Select all that apply.
- Brick-and-mortar stores
- Online platforms
- Social networks (CORRECT)
- Coffee shops (CORRECT)
13. You are excited to conduct your first online user interview. What can you do ahead of time to ensure that the interview runs smoothly? Select all that apply.
- Send a list of your questions to the interviewee before the interview.
- Provide the interviewee with answer stems to use during the interview.
- Familiarize yourself with the platform you will use to conduct the interview. (CORRECT)
- Ensure the interviewee has access to the technology before the start of the interview. (CORRECT)
14. You are excited to conduct your first interview for a UX design shopping research project you are working on. You have prepared open-ended questions to ask participants. Which of the following are examples of open-ended questions? Select all that apply.
- Have you purchased items online?
- Do you prefer to shop online or in a brick-and-mortar store?
- What do you like and dislike about shopping? (CORRECT)
- What does your day look like when you shop? (CORRECT)
15. The top-right square of a user empathy map focuses on what a user thinks. Which of the following could be used to gather information for this square?
- Facial expressions (CORRECT)
- Their deep breaths
- The placement of their hands during the interview
- How long it takes users to respond to questions
16. A colleague reaches out to you for advice about presenting goals they have created to stakeholders. What advice would you give them about setting goals? Select all that apply.
- Create goals that focus on the designer’s pain points.
- Create goals that focus on the design.
- Create goals that are clear. (CORRECT)
- Create goals that are actionable. (CORRECT)
17. After completing research, you realize that you can group a set of people together because they share the same interests, goals and concerns. What is this group of people called?
- A research group
- A user group (CORRECT)
- A collaborative group
- A similar group
18. You have the first draft of your app ready to be shared with stakeholders. You mention this to your manager, but they want another designer to review it first to provide feedback. What practice does your manager want to perform?
- A peer review (CORRECT)
- An accessibility review
- A stakeholder walkthrough
- An activity review
19. You know that one of the most important parts of the UX design process is empathizing with your users. What traits are important to understand to empathize with users? Select all that apply.
- User pity
- User behaviors (CORRECT)
- User motivations (CORRECT)
- User needs (CORRECT)
20. You are conducting a research study to determine what users want to see in a new weather app you have an idea for. What can you do to talk to users directly in your study?
- Determine the problem you want to see solved.
- Analyze other weather apps on the market.
- Recruit participants. (CORRECT)
- Schedule time with stakeholders.
21. You are ready to begin recruiting for your new research design project. You recruit a number of participants whose characteristics reflect a subset of the target population that accurately reflects the characteristics of the large group. What type of sample does this describe?
- Budget sample
- Representative sample (CORRECT)
- Research sample
- Design sample
22. You have prepared for your first user interview. What have you done to feel prepared? Select all that apply.
- Researched industry competitors’ personal background information
- Scripted the questions ahead of time (CORRECT)
- Collected any supplies you will need for the interview (CORRECT)
- Had a backup plan (CORRECT)
23. You ask a colleague for advice on conducting your first interview. They say to follow interview etiquette. What are examples of interview etiquette? Select all that apply.
- Have your mobile device on the table in case of an emergency.
- Speak in a clear and concise manner. (CORRECT)
- Ask open-ended questions. (CORRECT)
- Remain professional, no matter what responses you receive. (CORRECT)
24. After an interview with one of your participants, you decide to create a map that shows what the user says, does, thinks, and feels. What type of map did you create?
- User map
- Empathy map (CORRECT)
- Participant map
- Feelings map
25. At the early stages of designing a new app, you conduct interviews with stakeholders. You ask them open-ended questions to understand what the true need of users is, instead of just assuming. Your goal is to understand their feelings and thoughts. What is the goal you are trying to accomplish with users?
- Sympathize with them
- Assume traits about them
- Have pity for them
- Empathize with them (CORRECT)
26. You found the perfect person to interview for your research study. How should you contact the prospective participant?
- Send them an email. (CORRECT)
- Call their workplace to formally invite them to participate in the study.
- Send an authorized letter to their workplace.
- Send a letter to their residence.
27. Your colleague is unsure about some of the goals they created for a new project. You review the goals and notice the focus on design and interface. What would you tell them about goal setting?
- Goals should focus on a budget.
- Goals should focus on the project’s timeline.
- Goals should focus on the stakeholder needs.
- Goals should focus on the user. (CORRECT)
28. A colleague wants to collaborate with you and create personas for a new project that you are both on. They want to meet tomorrow to develop the personas from scratch. What could you tell them?
- Personas will present themselves after the first round of interviews with participants.
- Personas can be created using a search engine.
- Personas will be provided by stakeholders.
- Personas should be created based on research. (CORRECT)
29. You are looking for a group of specific participants who are outside of your professional circle to interview through online platforms. Which online platforms can be used to recruit participants? Select all that apply.
- Google Office
- Amazon
- Facebook (CORRECT)
- Reddit (CORRECT)
30. You have an interview with a participant from your research study that you have been nervous about. You have prepared questions for the interview, but do not want to stumble on your words while asking the questions. What can you do beforehand to overcome your nervousness?
- Ask the participant to read over the questions beforehand so the interview can focus only on their answers.
- Practice delivering the questions out loud.
- Send the participant a Google Doc to fill out their answers.
- Ask the participants to read the questions out loud and tell them you will answer any clarifying questions. (CORRECT)
31. During an interview, an interviewee expresses frustration with a UX issue for a food delivery service app. What are they describing?
- A hidden experience
- A pain point (CORRECT)
- A bug of the app
- A closed map
32. In a team meeting, a colleague presents their creation of fictional users whose goals and characteristics represent the needs of a larger group of people. What did your colleague create?
- A character map
- A persona
- A fictional chart
- A group environment (CORRECT)
33. Your first interviewee just walked into the room. What could you ask as a light conversation starter?
- How is your day going so far?
- Are you prepared to provide consent to this recorded interview?
- Do you think you are a good fit to be a participant in the study? (CORRECT)
- Have you reviewed the questions I’m going to ask?
Empathizing with Users and Defining Pain Points CONCLUSION
Having seen the first stage of the design process where you empathize with users, are you now ready to delve into your very own mobile app portfolio project? If so, proceed to enroll yourself in the course on Coursera!
In this course, you’ll walk with every step in the process of creating a mobile application. The beginning will be by empathizing with users and trying to reframe the problem as seeing their needs. This will help you showcase empathy map and persona derivation. These hands-on experiences will open your view of how users stand, see, and feel about their problems. So why wait? Join Coursera today, and let’s get started!