User Testing and Market Research

SUMMARY:
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POSITION INFO:

Role purpose:

To conduct UX and market research for Vodacom Financial & Digital Lifestyle Services’ Digital & Marketing team. The responsible individual will need to handle day-to-day UX research activities including recruitment, planning and coordinating usability tests, observing and running of tests, documentation of insights, reporting and presenting outcomes to stakeholders. The person will have to support the UX team by maintaining an up to date view of our users’ digital habits, behaviour’s and needs. The objective is to support the UX lead in achieving research goals.

Key accountabilities and decision ownership
• Conduct UX research for Vodacom Financial & Digital Lifestyle Services.
• Design studies that address both user behavior and attitudes.
• Conduct research using a wide variety of qualitative methods, subset of quantitative methods (i.e. surveys), and interpret analysis through the lens of UX, HCI (Human-Computer Interaction), and social science.
• Recruit participants and assist UX designers in running user testing studies.
• Generate insights, that both fuel ideation and evaluate designs.
• Research the latest visual design, UI and interaction concepts, presentation layer technologies, digital best practices, online trends, and provide recommendations for improvements
• Conducting best practice research to develop and improve UI and interaction design to solve end user problems effectively.
• Create sound recommendations after each stage of testing and ideation based on research and user observations.
• Research market, customers and potential customers to keep an up to date view of digital habits, behaviors and user needs.
• Generate profiles to be used in the creation of empathy maps and personas.
• Work on multiple projects at one time, using strong communication skills to manage time and expectations appropriately.
• Work cross-functionally with UX designers and product management.
• Support our UX design lead on studies and assist in achieving research goals.
• Work with product leaders to prioritize research questions based on analysis of current knowledge, project goals, identified risks, and project impact. Identify best method or mix of methods to address research questions, with consideration for timeline and resources with minimal guidance.
• Advise UX design team and product managers on research opportunities and best practices at all stages of an agile product development process.
• Build strong stakeholder relationships, effectively to make decisions based on a strong understanding of business, customer and design tradeoffs.
• Participate in team activities and team planning with the aim of improving team skills, awareness and quality of work.
• Present results from usability tests and other user research to project teams.
• Monitor statistics and analytics (such as Adobe Analytics) across sites with an aim of obtaining a better understanding of user behaviour and improving user journeys.
• Actively work on improving user experience and engagement across all our sites and products.
• Evangelise good user experience, demonstrating measurable value to other team-members and stakeholders, and encouraging a culture of UX.
• Foster a healthy tension between stakeholders, encouraging discussions that take into account business needs, user needs, and what is possible. Core competencies, knowledge and experience
Competencies:
• Comprehensive knowledge in a variety of industry-centric qualitative research methods, such as semi-structured interviews, contextual inquiries, usability studies, diary ethnographic studies, unmoderated remote studies, paper prototyping, surveys, A/B testing and Card sorting.
• Demonstrated ability to plan and conduct research in close collaboration with people in a variety of roles, including design, technology, and product management.
• Knowledge of quantitative, behavioral analysis, and statistical concepts
• Experience with survey research (questionnaire design, sampling, analysis).
• Experience working in a collaborative team and working directly with developers for implementation of designs
• Excellent communication (presentation and interpersonal skills )
• Understanding of qualitative analysis and reporting methods suitable for the fast pace of industry; ability to quickly shift the methodology and scope of research projects to meet short deadlines while collecting the best possible data and delivering actionable results.
• Experience in creating user testing scripts and leading testing sessions.
• Experience creating UX test protocols, specifications and presentations.
• Good understanding of UX and UCD design principles.
• Experience working with Agile processes.

Must have technical / professional qualifications:
• 5 - 8 Years' experience within a Design Research role

Preferred Qualification
• Degree in the humanities: Psychology, Sociology, Politics, Anthropology, etc
• Commerce Degree is also welcome
• Post graduate qualification is an added bonus

Preferred Certifications
• Usability Analyst Certification

Type of Exposure
• In-depth understanding of human behaviour
• Ethnography
• Human Computer Interactions
• Behavioural studies
• Translating behaviour to create predictive models
• Analysing and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data
• Communicating Research results to stakeholders
• Finding better/new ways to do things / improve / redesign

Technical / Professional Knowledge
• UX design
• Research + testing
• Market awareness
• Concept presentation
• Communication and negotiation
• Report writing

Behavioural Competencies
• Relationship Building
• Decision Making
• Critical Appraisal
• Analytical Thinking
• Persuading & Influence
• Active Listening
• Perseverance, good work ethic and initiative.

Key performance indicators [max 3]:
• Facilitate user experience research into the design of products and services and design interfaces to effectively communicate the brand and enrich the customers experience.
• Advocate for the end-user throughout the development process and work closely with other members of the Design Team to craft a world-class user experience
• Conduct research to develop and improve features of products and to balance user needs, technical constraints, and business objectives to solve user problems effectively.