Five Ways to Perform Research in the Enterprise Without Talking to a Single User

We have the difficult task of solving enterprise problems, often without having direct access to end users or understanding the domain we are designing for. When we do talk to end users, there is an expectation of subject matter knowledge and a respect for their domain before asking a single question. Additionally, organizational resistance makes traditional research methods unrealistic.

Not all hope is lost: there are ways you can get a base level of knowledge and design for the enterprise without talking to a single user.

We’ll walk through five research and information architecture approaches available to learn the domain, the application, and who your users are. We’ll also discuss how to use those findings so you can successfully design for the enterprise without performing typical user research methods.