The Pocket Universal Methods of Design, Revised and Expanded 125 Ways to Research Complex Problems, Develop Innovative Ideas, and Design Effective Solutions

This handy, portable version of the authoritative Universal Methods of Design provides the same thorough and critical presentation, updated and expanded to include 125 research methods, synthesis/analysis techniques, and research deliverables for human-centered design.

Each method of research is distilled down to its most powerful essence, in a format that will help individual practitioners as well as design teams select and implement the research methods best suited to their design culture within the constraints of their projects. This valuable guide: 

• Dismantles the myth that user research methods are complicated, expensive, and time-consuming
• Creates a shared meaning for cross-disciplinary design teams
• Illustrates methods with compelling visualizations and case studies
• Characterizes each method at a glance 

With the concise, accessible format of The Pocket Universal Methods of Design, you and your team will be designing in a completely new, more effective way.  

The titles in Rockport’s Universal series offer comprehensive and authoritative information and edifying and inspiring visual examples on multidisciplinary subjects for designers, architects, engineers, students, and anyone who is interested in expanding and enriching their design knowledge.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

01. A/B Testing

02. AEIOU

03. Affinity Diagramming

04. Artifact Analysis

05. Automated Remote Research

06. Behavioral Mapping

07. Bodystorming

08. Brainstorm Graphic Organizers

09. Business Origami

10. Card Sorting

11. Case Studies

12. Cognitive Mapping

13. Cognitive Walkthrough

14. Collage

15. Competitive Testing

16. Concept Mapping

17. Content Analysis

18. Content Inventory & Audit

19. Contextual Design

20. Contextual Inquiry

21. Creative Toolkits

22. Critical Incident Technique

23. Crowdsourcing

24. Cultural Probes

25. Customer Experience Audit

26. Design Charette

27. Design Ethnography

28. Design Workshops

29. Desirability Testing

30. Diary Studies

31. Directed Storytelling

32. Elito Method

33. Ergonomic Analysis

34. Evaluative Research

35. Evidence-based Design

36. Experience Prototyping

37. Experience Sampling Method

38. Experiments

39. Exploratory Research

40. Eyetracking

41. Flexible Modeling

42. Fly-on-the-Wall Observation

43. Focus Groups

44. Generative Research

45. Graffiti Walls

46. Heuristic Evaluation

47. Image Boards

48. Interviews

49. KJ Technique

50. Kano Analysis

51. Key Performance Indicators

52. Laddering

53. Literature Reviews

54. The Love Letter & the Breakup Letter

55. Mental Model Diagrams

56. Mind Mapping

57. Observation

58. Parallel Prototyping

59. Participant Observation

60. Participatory Action Research (PAR)

61. Participatory Design

62. Personal Inventories

63. Personas

64. Photo Studies

65. Picture Cards

66. Prototyping

67. Questionnaires

68. Rapid Iterative Testing & Evaluation (RITE)

69. Remote Moderated Research

70. Research Through Design

71. Role-playing

72. Scenario Description Swimlanes

73. Scenarios

74. Secondary Research

75. Semantic Differential

76. Shadowing

77. Simulation Exercises

78. Site Search Analytics

79. Speed Dating

80. Stakeholder Maps

81. Stakeholder Walkthrough

82. Storyboards

83. Surveys

84. Task Analysis

85. Territory Maps

86. Thematic Networks

87. Think-aloud Protocol

88. Time-aware Research

89. Touchstone Tours

90. Triading

91. Triangulation

92. Unobtrusive Measures

93. Usability Report

94. Usability Testing

95. User Journey Maps

96. Value Opportunity Analysis

97. Web Analytics

98. Weighted Matrix

99. Wizard of Oz

100. Word Clouds

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHORS