User research helps you to better understand end user needs, expectations, and typical working processes as you follow SAP’s design-led development process. This easy-to-use card deck provides an overview of the 14 most commonly practiced user research methods at SAP and how to apply them. Most of the methods can be used both physically and virtually.

User research is frequently confused with usability testing, which is just one of the methods. While there are similarities between the methods, each one has its own goals, strengths, and weaknesses. The card deck gives you guidance on how to select the right method for your needs.

User Research Within Design-Led Development

Ideally, user research is practiced in all the three phases of SAP’s design-led development process: Discover, Design, and Deliver. The graphic below shows which of the 14 user research methods are typically used in each phase.

During the Discover phase, user research focuses on learning about the stakeholder and end user requirements. This includes their responsibilities, tasks and activities, typical use cases, workflows, and other software and resources they need to perform their jobs.

Once you have a sufficient understanding of their needs, you move on to the Design phase, where the research focus shifts to getting end user feedback about design ideas and artifacts. Here, different methods are available for validating high-fidelity and low-fidelity prototypes. In the Deliver phase, usability benchmarking and surveys help to evaluate the product.

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Download the card deck with the 14 most commonly practiced user research methods at SAP.