User Research

Talking to and observing real users to understand who they are and what they need, instead of guessing.

User research is how you keep your personas and audiences grounded in reality rather than in assumptions made around a conference table. It covers a lot of ground, including interviews, surveys, field observation, and usability testing. The common thread is that you're gathering evidence from real people instead of relying on the loudest opinion in the room. A little research early tends to be far cheaper than rebuilding the wrong thing later.