Generative + Evaluative User Research
to inform product and design decisions
User experience research is critical to understanding your digital world, and The Understanding Group excels at UX research. Successful past projects range from SAAS products to major online retailers to global member organizations.
→ Read our research case studies
→ Learn about our research expertise
→ Get to know our scalable research offerings
Answers + Confidence + Understanding Delivered
Insights from user research made usable through modeling
See how we've delivered meaningful and lasting user-research insights that inform product, business, and design decisions for years.
Answers for Autodesk
Autodesk needed to know why a critical app flow was not supporting conversion.
Understanding for SoftCo
SoftCo needed a research-backed view of users to inform their product growth.
Full-Service User Research
flexible for any scale and need
TUG is your research partner, whether you need a comprehensive program or targeted study. We adapt to your context and deliver actionable insights that drive results.
Our Expertise Covers:
Research Design
Clear plans and efficient processesParticipant Recruiting
Finding the right people for your studyResearch Facilitation
Expertly conducted using mixed research methodsPrototyping and Validation Testing
Translating insights into tested recommendationsResearch Ops
Systems to maintain research at scale
Ways We Work With You:
Collaborating
We partner with your team to enhance research capabilitiesSupplementing
We integrate with your team to increase capacity and expertiseEnabling
We help you build a practice of research for ongoing learning and continuous improvement
“Proven experts who blew us away with the modeling of their research. It was a game changer.”
“The relationship and collaboration are two of the things that I value most about TUG. There is a real matching of staff and skills to our project needs.”
Scalable User Research Packages
an easy way to get started
Jobs-to-be-Done + Archetypes
Task-oriented research and a model of user postures to inform structure, content, and feature creation.
Delivered In as few as 3 weeks
Deliverables:
Jobs Audit
An inventory of tasks users can accomplish on a website
Archetypes User Model
A tool for understanding what places users need in your system.
Usage Guidelines
For decision-making and structural design.
Expert Review
An evaluation of a system based on industry best practices
Delivered within 1 week
Deliverables:
Detailed Report
Outlining findings with annotated screenshots of the system.
Prioritized Recommendations
based on the severity of the issue
Critique Focus Groups
Rich and actionable insights from target users about what does and doesn’t make sense about a website, process, or system.
delivered In as few as 4 weeks
Deliverables:
Categorized Feedback
from the research sessions
High-Level Findings
Slide deck highlighting the most important points and a summary of findings
Prioritized Recommendations
From the perspective of the participants
User Interviews + User Models
Deep insights are delivered as models that stand the test of time. No more reports shoved into a drawer.
delivered In as few as 5 weeks
Deliverables:
User Models
Depict the user’s situation, needs, and tasks in a consumable and referenceable format.
High-Level Summary
Themes, findings, & recommendations from the research.
User Research Methods
We help you choose the right methods based on need and context.
Generative Research
Ethnography to uncover how users interact with their environment
1:1 Interviews to dive deep into individual user experiences
Critique Focus Groups to get insights from a variety of users about a specific experience
Open Card Sort to understand how users think, categorize, and describe a collection of things
Surveys to solicit general input and sentiment to guide further research
Evaluative Research
Closed Card Sorts to understand how users categorize information
Tree Tests to assess the clarity and findability of your site structure
First-Click Tests to see if your main navigation labels work
Prototype Tests to ensure people can find what they need on your site
Usability Tests to evaluate the overall user experience of a system
What We Do
Our core competencies—Digital Strategy (including AI Strategy), Evaluative and Generative Research, Digital Design, and Education—are key components of how we deliver results for our customers.