UX Interview

What is the difference between contextual inquiry and usability study?

CI: Observe the person using the product in their natural environment and ask follow up questions. Gives us info for personas and tells us how it might perform. Can tell us about issues we didn't consider Usability: Create the scenario for the user and then observe. If moderated, often artificial environment. Usability - we set the scene CI: They set the scene

If your team is designing a submarine that will go to the bottom of the ocean, how would you do research on a project like this?

First, I want to know what they want me to research. So, you're designing a submarine, what would you know about it? A: User experience of it. Then, you know, designing a submarine that goes to the bottom of the ocean is a very innovative idea. I can't ask users about their experiences using a submarine at the bottom of the ocean because it's never been done before. So, I will ask users about experiences that are similar. So, when have you been in a submarine in the past? Or even broader, tell me about your experience being in a very enclose space for a long period of time - airplane, MRI machine, smartcar, etc. That takes the futuristic and makes it realistic. They now have an experience that they can relate to and talk about. So I'll ask - okay. What are some pain points that come up from being in these spaces? What are things that keep from returning to these spaces? What would you like to see? Then, based on what I've learned, I'll connect the dots and make an inference or a recommendation on how users might use a submarine to go to the bottom of the ocean.

Something backfired and we need to figure out what went badly

Functionality issue? (low task completion as measured by logs) Usability testing Go through different formats for this and structure Satisfaction issue? (less adoption, low ratings, complaints) Evaluate over time - is it just change aversion? Is everyone impacted equally? Before this, what data do we have to draw from?

Walk me through this: How do you design a research study for a new or concept product that focus group participants may not fully understand?

Futuristic Relate the product to something they can understand Understand their attitudes and experience with that product, inquire about their behaviors using it Connect the dots and generate recommendations and hypotheses Or, if it's a product that exists, go through a usability test. Introduce the product, give the background, and have them try it out. Would be helpful in ascertainng how majority of users may interact with it, give us ideas on how to either clarify it or improve it to better fit users understanding

Why are you interested in working at Google?

Google is a cool company! Google has integrated itself so seamlessly into our lives that it's not only a noun but also a verb. From the search engine, to YouTube, to phones, to booking flights, Google is everywhere. And Google became this powerhouse because of its focus on the users at the end of the day. I'm a UX Researcher. I want to work at a company where i know that not only do they value the users, but they value all the users. I love that Google emphasizes accessibility and inclusivity and equity into their every day practices through having dedicated groups and dedicated practices aiming at giving underrepresented people a seat at the table and also letting them speak at that tabel.

Describe a situation in which your initial ideas were rejected and how did you deal with that.

Here the interviewer is measuring your creativity in problem solving. Maybe you can think about methodology selection, participant demographics, protocol design or recommendations from a research study? They aren't so much looking for the emotional reaction, but how you were able to pivot and still achieve the goals. "I don't have an example at the moment on when an idea was rejected and I was able to successfully pivot, but I can tell you about a time where an idea was rejected and I didn't advocate and resulted in Y."

Tell me about your experience working with cross functional teams.

I love working cross-functionally and do so often Current role - work with doctors, program managers, programmers, data analysts, UX researchers, designers In general, really important to me to explain concepts and projects to someone with some background of the topic but maybe not my work specifically. Ensures that I know what I'm talking about. If I don't, they won't either. In cross-functional teams, everyone is an expert on something and it's important that we're all on the same page. An example is right now I'm gearing up to do pilot testing for a product with a specific health care population. I provide a lot of input and expertise on the topic area when it comes to how to deliver the product and I currently meet with the programmers, clinicians, UX researchers, and designers to share my insights for development.

Tell me about a time when you worked on multiple projects. How did you prioritize?

I was working on my thesis and covid at the same time on top with class projects. I prioritized based on the answers to the following questions: When is the next part due? How much time will completing this next piece take? Who is involved with these next parts, and what is their availability (students in class projects may have more availability to meet outside of normal work hours vs professional stakeholders)

If you had two products and had to ask one question of users to determine which they preferred more, what would you ask?

I'd need to know what the product is, and what kind of a construct we're most concerned with: ease-of-use, learnability, satisfaction over time, etc. If it's truly just generic user preference, I would literally just ask: "Do you have a preference for either of these products? Tell me what you think." Why are we asking for preference?

How do you know if you are asking the right research questions for a project?

If the questions generate actionable responses - so, will their answer tell me what I need to change? Is it aligned with the stakeholder's needs? So, what information they're after and in the way that they need the information? (So quantitative data, qualitative data) Do these questions consider my limitations? So do the questions avoid topics I shouldn't bring up? Do they ask in a way that participants are able to answer? Is the data not found elsewhere in another data set? Would the answer help me solve my hypothesis?

YouTube makes us money or doesn't and we need to figure out how good we're doing that, what do we do well, what do we need to change, how do we figure out what changes we might make

Lit review/background research on existing problems/solutions Contextual inquiry or diary study or interviews

"What's your favorite non-Google website/mobile app? Pretend that a team wants feedback on some designs, but they don't have time for any usability testing. What kind of feedback can you give the PM when they come to you for help?"

Measuring creativity in problem solving

Tell me about a tough problem you solved, how did you solve it, walk me through it. (Googleyness)

Step 1: Think about career highlights or something you're most proud of Step 2: STAR Method Participant could not figure out how to activate diary study app on his phone or desktop and study team couldn't figure out how to activate loaner devices. Worried about protocol deviation. Ended up going step by step over the phone troubleshooting left and right, even staying on the phone while he updated his computer. Tasks I typically wouldn't do, but integral to the study. We learned a lot on how to trouble shoot the more technical sides of the study and I developed a guide for future issues

Imagine YouTube is more popular in India than it is at U.S.. Why? How would you research about it?

Step 1: What does YouTube do? Step 2: What does "popular" mean? More users? More videos watched? More videos uploaded? Step 3: What would you like to learn from this? Ex. - how do we increase engagement in the U.S.? Overall? Step 3: Once that's been determined, I'd like to do narrow the scope of the question. So, "Why do more videos get watched in India than in the U.S., and how can we increase engagement on YouTube in the U.S.?" Then, if possible, I think a contextual inquiry would be cool. Follow people throughout their days to see when they're watching youtube. Get an idea on how the world around them influences their abilities to watch Also, do interviews asking about users attitudes about YouTube. Do people in India value YT more than in the U.S.? Where do both groups turn to when they want to watch a video?

Describe a research or design decision you made that wasn't popular. How did you handle it?

Using RE-AIM Using focus groups for COVID

How do you know when you've talked to enough users?

When I feel like I have gathered enough insights to fully understand the problem and can generate insights and recommendations. I don't want too few that I generate recommendations too quickly, leading to poor designs I don't want so many that the data is fully saturated and I'm hearing the same thing over and over. That would be a waste of time.