Latest User Research topics

Crafting a compelling home page on SharePoint is an art and a science, requiring a delicate balance of strategic planning and creative execution. At the heart of it all lies the principle of consistency. Whether the page serves as an intranet hub or a team site, users should encounter a familiar layout and navigation that guides them to their desired content. Rules of thumb Beyond consistency, we recommend placing crucial content in the top left corner. This ensures visibility without requiring excessive scrolling, a nod to the traditional concept of the “fold” borrowed from newspaper design. However, the visual appeal is equally important; the use of color, imagery, and layout can provide powerful cues that guide users through the page and draw their attention to key information.

Notifications vs approvals Before jumping headfirst into notifications and approvals in SharePoint lists and libraries, it’s important to note that there are crucial differences in their definitions and use cases. Notifications are often seen as routine and intuitive. They are a one-way form of communication. Approvals on the other hand, go both ways as they require a reply or action. The use cases for each differ as well. When it comes to thinking about the impact on your employees and/or on your projects, it’s important to note that notifications are deniable. It is possible for someone to miss a notification and therefore, you can’t necessarily hold someone accountable for it. An approval, however, requires an interaction and therefore there is no plausible deniability. With that said, that requirement of response can sometimes cause delays. Overall, we suggest you be very thoughtful before you pick a notification or approval given these different impacts.

User research places people in the center of your design process. It’s all about asking the right questions so that you learn the user’s behaviors, needs, and desires, leading you to build the right solutions. The type of research you will conduct depends on the type of project you’re working on, where you are in the process, your timeline, budget, etc. Follow along as we outline different research methods, risks involved with skipping research, and a brief case study.

What is Microsoft Forms Microsoft Forms is a powerful tool that can be used for various data collection situations. Some of the capabilities Forms possesses include creating a survey or quiz, creating a form and inviting both internal and external users to respond and the ability to set responses as anonymous, view real-time results as they’re submitted, and access to rudimentary built-in analytics to evaluate the responses. However, if you need something more robust, you can easily export the results to excel.