As UX researchers and designers, we spend a lot of our time looking at qualitative insights – who people are, why they do what they do, what their unspoken needs are, etc. Often, in another part of the organisation, there are different people working with quantitative data and looking to understand things – what people are doing, patterns and trends in behaviour, the impact of changes on customer behaviour, and so on.
The two roles are often asked for other insights – UX people are asked to prove ROI, to predict the impact of recommendations being implemented, and to size opportunities. Data scientists are asked how to shift behaviour and patterns, and what is underlying the insights they gain.
Imagine what we could do if we joined forces! Data scientists could help UX people show ROI and predict trends. UX people could help data scientists figure out how to shift behaviour, and how to articulate why things are happening the way they are.
Let’s explore a few ways in which qualitative and quantitative insights can get together and help each other out.
