Set of basic foundational questions to help a UI designer (or user researcher) get up to speed on a project, focused on understanding the core functionality, primary user goals/tasks, and targeted scenarios of use. These questions are meant as a good baseline starting point, and are not comprehensive nor exhaustive!
USER PROFILE: A quick sketch of the typical user
– Job title
– Job function
– List of responsibilities
– Departments, units, divisions
– Years of experience (min/max)
– Turnover level: wks, months, yrs
– Domains of expertise
– How much experience expect to have: none, several yrs, at least 5 yrs
– Core domain tasks expected to perform
– Percentage of time spent doing tasks
– Task frequency
– Task sequence
– Amount of training expect to have
– Min education level
– Basic computer tools expect to know/familiar/use
– Specific competitive products expected to use
– Size of companies