UX Designer and Influencer | Follow me for daily UX bites | Ex- EY Dublin | UCD'23 | MS in HCI
We've all been there, Relying on surveys and focus groups, thinking we've got our users figured out. But the truth is, It's not that simple. Real UX is about getting your hands dirty: ✅ Watching how people actually struggle with your product ✅ Understanding their emotions and frustrations firsthand ✅ Working with them to build something truly useful ✅ Watching them instead of just listening Design is not a straight line, it is a loop. Does your PM also thinks that he knows what user wants because he is also a user? Let me know in the comments 😂
This post doesn’t make any sense; in fact, it could be misleading to aspiring UX designers. 1. Surveys are a strategic tool that enables both qualitative and quantitative insights, helping bridge the gap between customers and businesses. 2. Focus groups are equally important and are best used to explore what customers believe, how they feel, and what they perceive. 3. Statistics help in making the right decisions and taking corrective measures. On the other hand, all the valid UX points you mentioned are indeed part of UX. However, that doesn’t mean you should ignore the bad UX aspects.
While I agree you shouldn’t rely on just one source to understand user needs as it might lead to assumptions, the way this post is presented is misleading. Surveys, focus groups and performance metrics are amongst the many research methods and sources to gather data and insights about user behaviours and preferences. The key is to know when and why these should be used, plan research and testing activities cyclically to engage in continuous discovery.
Not able to relate to this post Swati. How will you identify user needs or requirements without conducting focus group discussions. And how will you collect user data for e.g. feelings, thoughts etc. at a larger scale without surveys. To my opinion both on the table are equally important and in any ux project it depends, which one to use and how will you use ux tools to extract user data.
I disagreed with your post In real UX designer learning user behaviours and user attitudes will be done by survey and focus group If we are not held surveys and also focus or target groups we will not identify thy users behaviour
Infact, the ones under Fake UX are all the processes and ones under Real UX are their outcomes - 1. Do surveys and learn about user behaviors 2. Study focus groups to understand user attitudes 3. Consider stats and then also involve users in the design process to see how both the data sets correlate with each other 4. Doing one by one of the above but eventually all of them. These are some validations for a great UX work.
I don't think focus groups or surveys are part of fake or bad UX, but I understand relying only on one source isn't a good idea. To truly understand user needs, we must use a mix of methods. Surveys help collect data on user feelings, thoughts, and behaviors at scale, while focus groups provide deeper insights into user attitudes and behaviors. By combining these methods, we can engage in continuous discovery and design user-centered experiences.
In UX, we rarely get perfect data or research—but that’s where I thrive. On one project, I worked with interviews that didn’t dig deep enough. User feedback was shaped by a flawed system and lacked vision. Yet, as I reviewed the responses, I noticed patterns in behaviors and attitudes that weren’t being addressed. By focusing on what wasn’t being said (reading between the lines), I uncovered deeper insights. A second round of interviews validated these patterns, helping me identify systemic issues and design solutions that addressed root causes, not just symptoms. I’ve learned that my strength lies in turning ambiguity into actionable insights. I spot patterns in messy data, analyze behaviors and context, design with vision, and refine insights iteratively to meet true user needs. For me, UX isn’t just about listening—it’s about understanding what users truly need, even when they don’t have the words for it.
It's really good but all these involves in the UX process will make the application more user friendly and insightful. User survey, user group discussions are also important to make the iterations. As like same, have to understand the user attitude is much more important. Their emotion should speaks in the way of actionable interaction. In UX, we won't able to get the requirements properly. But the way of representations of grouping the gathered Information and get surveys to improve it.
While surveys and focus groups are valuable for gathering data, but they don’t always tell the full story. Observing users directly allows us to see their real struggles and emotions in action, which often reveals insights that we wouldn’t get from just listening or asking questions. It’s about understanding the real experience, not just the feedback.
Founder @ RadheApps | I help you build Mobile Apps that outshine the competition
1wcontinuous feedback and adaptation are key to success Swati Rai