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What is the cost of UX research?

  • Blog
  • 13 April 2023
What is the cost of UX research?

UX research is an integral part of any project’s design and implementation if we are to carry out this process successfully. What may their cost be? How can they be implemented so that they yield great results and have a beneficial impact on the business?

Before I respond to your inquiries, I’d like to explain what is included in the research fee.

The research procedure consists of numerous components. It is important to design a research plan, choose and recruit respondents, select a research method, create a research timeline, and select methods for data analysis. Only with this information can a budget be developed.

 

What types of UX research exist?

1. In-depth individual interviews (IDI)

The moderator engages the respondent in conversation based on a previously planned interview situation. It often consists of a series of open-ended and closed-ended questions, the answers to which provide insight about the user’s behaviour.

 

What is included in the UX research cost?

  • Approximately 10 people were polled.
  • Application of the research: One interview takes approximately one hour (1 hour of work for a UX researcher multiplied by the number of respondents plus time to organise the study).
  • 30 hours of a UX researcher’s labour, plus the cost of compensation for respondents and the time it takes the agency to recruit respondents.

2. Usability testing

Usability tests allow you to examine how websites and software are utilised. They allow us to determine how a user views a particular website, what feelings and behaviours it elicits, and whether the intended conversion rate is attained.

We can separate ethnographic usability tests, which involve observing the user in their natural environment while using the website or application. This allows you to enhance the functionality of the product by gaining insight into the recipient’s challenges under situations simulating real life. These studies incur additional trip expenses, but they enable the collection of vital information for the developed systems or applications.

What is included in the UX research cost?

  • Number of respondents: from 5 to 10 per device / resolution (e.g. 5 for mobile and 5 for desktop as we test the web application)
  • Application of the research: One interview takes approximately one hour (1 hour of work for a UX researcher multiplied by the number of respondents plus time to organise the study).
  • 30 hours of a UX researcher’s labour, plus the cost of compensation for respondents and the time it takes the agency to recruit respondents.

3. Focus groups

On the basis of the prepared scenario, the moderator leads a group conversation in which respondents confront their feelings and thoughts regarding a certain product or service. In one variation of this poll, respondents may be separated into groups with opposing viewpoints, which may yield even more intriguing UX survey results.

What is included in the UX research cost?

Number of respondents: from 30

Application of the research: In its distant version, it is conducted via a meeting tool, while in its offline form, a specific room with camera access is utilised.

Typically conducted in smaller groups, when respondents perform tasks or remark on a particular topic under the supervision of the researcher. The delivery timeframe is approximately sixty hours.

30 hours of a UX researcher’s labour, plus the cost of compensation for respondents and the time it takes the agency to recruit respondents.

 

4.Card classification

The group arranges the items according to the hierarchy supplied. Such study aids in the early stages of interface design or in its correct organisation, e.g., store categories or application menus.

It may be accomplished in three ways:

Using open sorting, in which participants get cards that they assign to specific groups, users categorise the site’s material by naming them.

Closed sorting, in which respondents are given the specified categories and are required to assign material to them.

Sorting by free list in which users build groupings of cards, assign them to categories, and name them.

 

What is included in the UX research cost?

Number of respondents: from 30

Implementation of the study: The study should be implemented remotely via a tool built by optimalworkshop.com. 

Designing requires roughly three hours.

To conduct a survey offline, respondents (individually or in groups) must be gathered. The implementation duration is thus 20 to 60 hours.

30 hours of a UX researcher’s labour, plus the cost of compensation for respondents and the time it takes the agency to recruit respondents.

 

5.Situational interviews

They consist of testing the functionality of the website or application in the conditions under which the user actually employs them. Because users will behave differently in their normal surroundings and in the laboratory, they facilitate the detection of faults. Because the users behave freely and confidently during these testing, you are able to obtain valuable information regarding the system or application.

 

What is included in the UX research cost?

Number of respondents: from 5

Application of the research: One interview takes approximately one hour (1 hour of work for a UX researcher multiplied by the number of respondents plus time to organise the study).

30 hours of a UX researcher’s labour, plus the cost of compensation for respondents, plus the time it takes the agency to recruit respondents.

6. Comparative examinations

They comprise of giving the visitor with two different website views and comparing them. This allows us to determine which of the provided websites will be more user-friendly and well-received.

 

What is included in the UX research cost?

  • between 5 and 10 respondents per device / resolution (e.g. 5 for mobile and 5 for desktop as we test the web application)
  • Application of the research: One interview takes approximately one hour (1 hour of work for a UX researcher multiplied by the number of respondents plus time to organise the study).
  • 30 hours of a UX researcher’s labour, plus the cost of compensation for respondents and the time it takes the agency to recruit respondents.

7. Eyetracking

The tool analyses the eye movements of users and generates heat maps of the most essential interface elements based on this data.

 

What is included in the UX research cost?

  • between 5 and 10 respondents per device / resolution (e.g. 5 for mobile and 5 for desktop as we test the web application)
  • Application of the research: One interview takes approximately one hour (1 hour of work for a UX researcher multiplied by the number of respondents plus time to organise the study).
  • 30 hours of a UX researcher’s labour, plus the cost of compensation for respondents and the time it takes the agency to recruit respondents.

8.Expert opinions (UX audit)

An expert in user experience assesses a product or service for usability and defects. Expert analyses are conducted using three techniques: heuristic analysis (analysing based on basic usability principles), cognitive walkthrough (expert becomes a user), and a checklist. On finished goods, it is typically referred as a UX audit.

No respondents.

 

What does it cost?

The cost of UX research is mostly determined by the type of research and the number of respondents required.

Depending on a company’s needs, there will also be a price variation between the various types of research. Prices will vary depending on whether the client is a software company or an e-commerce company, as each would require different research methodologies for a certain project.

 

The recruitment of respondents is a significant factor impacting the cost of UX research. Depending on the sort of research, the number of respondents will vary, which will have a substantial effect on the research’s final cost. Employing a small set of responders will yield different results than testing on a broad population. As a result of hiring specific response groups, such as doctors, there will also be price discrepancies. If recruitment is complicated and requires the assistance of extra individuals, such as attorneys, the cost of research will also increase.

Investing in UX research enables you to avoid debt.

 

The cost of the UX exam is concise:

  • Time to design the research concept, time to recruit participants, their compensation, and the researcher’s time for analysis.

 

Summary

 

There is utility debt, which is comparable to technological debt.

In the end, however, rapid action, which is typically induced by a lack of time, generates additional costs for correcting errors, and the cost of implementing the entire project is significantly more than if ideal solutions were introduced from the start. Usability debt is typically incurred as a result of severe deadlines and other constraints, and comprises of omitting or insufficient user tests, wrong styling, a missed idea, and inadequate project documentation. It should be kept in mind that a product that has been rejected may no longer be able to defend itself; as a result, utility debt can be very troublesome and difficult to repay, as the success of the product we wish to launch depends on the users.

Therefore, it is beneficial to undertake UX research at each stage of the design process. When introducing a new concept or adding new features, this will prevent future opportunity costs.

 

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