Action #1: Pretend you are the busy and important person who will be taking your survey. Carefully read every word, especially the instructions. Are you convinced it is worthwhile? Is anything confusing or ambiguous? Are there any incidents of improper jargon? Would you want to fill out your own survey?

Since humans, not numbers, tell us stories, qualitative user research is far more important in UX. Let’s start there. For the project where I ask my students to create an app that helps backpackers travel through Thailand, they have to observe backpackers in the wild, socialize with them, immerse themselves in their environment, and interview them.

Using these criteria requires great care. Note that they refer not to anyinnate characteristic of a question itself but to its powers in context. No question is inherently essential (or trivial, complex, or important). It all comes downto purpose, audience, and impact: What do you as a teacher-designer intendto have students do with the question? I

After determining what data are already available and what might meet your needs, you then can define what tools you may need to build. Typical examples of tools that may need to be built are surveys and a structured question set for interviews and focus groups.