Do you struggle with access to learners? What if you could tell your stakeholders that with access to just five or six representative users you could determine the root of the problem, laser focus your training efforts, and iteratively design and build the right learning solution? And imagine if that same access could help you build a case with your stakeholders to choose the right solution, as well as provide data to support the ROI of your learning solution. Field research (or observation) and usability testing can help you determine if training will address your business need, eliminate what is unnecessary, target the right audience, and build a solution that learners will love. And it doesn't require access to a lot of learners!

In this session you'll discover how to apply curiosity and empathy with users to create valuable and effective learning experiences that are productive, engaging, and enjoyable using one of UX's most powerful tools: user research. You'll practice field research/observation techniques and practice moderating usability testing with other participants. We'll explore how to use iterative design with learners to create the right learning solution, one that learners will value and enjoy. We'll also discuss how to use these findings to build awareness and empathy with learners with your stakeholders, and even gather the data needed to prove ROI. You'll also see these techniques at work in the real world though a enterprise-wide software rollout case study. Using these approaches, a small investment of time, and a few representative users, the case study company was able to generate powerful insights to highlight where users and potential learners needed the most assistance with the learning the software. So bring your curiosity and your next training project to this session for a chance to apply these techniques immediately.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to conduct field research/observation or usability testing with just a few representative users to produce insights into training gaps
• Best practices for facilitating remote, moderated usability testing sessions
• What makes for a good testing script and report of findings
• Strategies for iterative design with learners
• How to use your research findings to tell a more impactful story about training needs

Participant technology requirements:

A laptop or mobile device with access to the internet

Session trailer: