How do you handle conflicting or contradictory user testing data?

1 Define your goals and metrics

Before you start analyzing your user testing data, have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure it. What are the main objectives of your web design project? What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect your success? How will you collect and quantify your user testing data? For example, you might want to increase conversions, reduce bounce rate, or improve user satisfaction. Use surveys, interviews, analytics, or usability tests to gather your data. Consider numerical, behavioral, or attitudinal metrics to evaluate your data.

2 Organize and visualize your data

Once you have your data, organize it and make it easy to understand and communicate. Utilize different tools and methods to sort, filter, group, and label your data. Use charts, graphs, tables, or diagrams to visualize your data and highlight patterns, trends, or outliers. For instance, you might use a spreadsheet to categorize your data by user type, task, or scenario. Different kinds of charts can emphasize various components. A pie chart can show the distribution of user preferences, a line chart can show the changes in user behavior over time, and a heat map can show the areas of your website that attract the most attention.

4 Prioritize and act on your data

Finally, prioritize and act on your data. Decide what are the most important and urgent findings and recommendations that you can use to improve your web design. Plan and execute the changes and test their impact. Use different frameworks and tools to prioritize and act on your data, such as the MoSCoW method, the RICE score, or the A/B testing. The MoSCoW method can help classify your findings and recommendations into must-haves, should-haves, could-haves, and won't-haves. The RICE score can be used to rank your recommendations by reach, impact, confidence, and effort. A/B testing compares the performance of your original and modified web design.