User Research for App Development: Beginner's Preparation Guide

User research is key. It matters if you're building a big app business or a small project for a niche group.

If you’re reading this, you likely lack the tools and background necessary for high-end user research.

You’re probably asking yourself:

How do you go about app user research as a beginner?

First, we need to understand exactly what user research is.

User research is the foundation of your app design.

Without a solid structure, you risk building something people don’t love.

The truth is, you should be conducting user research throughout the entire design process.

Think of it like a scientist working in a lab, constantly testing their hypothesis.

You should create an ongoing process of feedback and iteration. Obviously, this shouldn’t get in the way of actually building your app. But user research and building should work together and reinforce each other.

To put it another way…

Bad apps are based on guesswork. Amazing apps are built on evidence.

Now, you might be wondering: “But what are the exact steps to conduct user research?”

First off, you want to write a user research brief.

This is your kick-off document, which shows why you want to conduct your research.

There are three important elements of this document.

The goal.

This explains why you’re conducting the research.

For example, if you’re designing a community app, you would want to find out how people are looking to make connections.

If you're making a productivity app, you need to understand how people manage tasks. Find out what stops them from being productive. Also, learn which workflows or systems work best for them.

The questions.

When you’ve written down your research goal, you need to think about the research questions.

Note: these are the questions you want to answer, not the ones you’ll ask your interviewees!

These should be specific enough to guide your research, but broad enough to allow for unexpected insights.

For example, if you're researching that productivity app, your research questions might include:

"What are the top three reasons people abandon their current productivity systems?"
"How do users decide which tasks deserve their attention first?"
"What emotional states trigger procrastination versus action?"

These questions will become your North Star throughout the research process. You’re going to be using these to create an interview guide later on.

The method.

Once you have your goal and questions clear, it's time to choose how you'll get your answers. Different methods work for different situations:

User interviews are perfect when you need deep, qualitative insights. Schedule 30-60 minute conversations with 5-8 users to uncover motivations and pain points.
Surveys work when you need to confirm findings at scale. After identifying patterns from interviews, use surveys to confirm if these apply to a larger audience.
Observation studies reveal what people actually do versus what they say they do. Watch users in their natural environment using existing solutions.
Usability testing is ideal when you have a prototype or existing product to test. Have users complete specific tasks while thinking aloud.

Choose your method based on where you are in the process and what type of data you need.

Early stages often need interviews and observations. Later stages benefit from usability testing and surveys.

Before we continue. You need to understand exactly what qualitative research is.

Qualitative user research is all about answering the question “why?”

With qualitative user research, you aim to grasp the behaviors and motivations of a small group of interviewees.

Think of it like a small and intimate fireside chat where you connect with your potential users. Doing this effectively is what’s going to deliver the specific insight you need to build something better than your competitor.

At this point, you’re probably asking: “Awesome, but who should I interview?”

Great question.

Avoid talking to friends and family! Find people in your target audience.

Of course, if they’re a part of your target audience, then go ahead.

But a big mistake a lot of app designers make is that they talk to friends and family about their idea.

Be honest, do you really think your mother is going to tell you she hates your idea?

Say you’re designing a dating app.

One of the screening requirements could be single people between the ages of 18-45 years old who regularly use mobile apps.

The more specific you get, the more accurate your data will be, which means a better-designed app.

Subreddits and Facebook groups are a great way to find the specific niche communities to talk to.

Remember, this is qualitative research, so you only need to find 5-7 people to interview.

Once you’ve completed these steps, it’s time to create your interview guide.

There are a few important tips you need to keep in mind:

Remember your research goal.

What is it you want to find out? Don’t lose sight of this.

Plan a few key questions.

These are the most important questions you want to ask.

Leave room for follow-up questions.

You want the conversation to flow naturally rather than follow a script.

This also allows you to dig even deeper if the opportunity arises.

Once you've done this, you're ready to conduct your first user interview.

At this point, you've laid the groundwork for meaningful user research.

You have a clear goal, focused questions, the right method, and most importantly, real users from your target audience ready to talk.

But preparation is just the beginning. Real magic occurs when you sit with users. That's when you uncover insights that can transform your app idea.

In our next guide, we'll explore user interviews. We’ll cover how to ask questions that get honest answers. You’ll learn techniques for digging deeper and methods for turning interview data into useful design decisions.

Your app's success starts with understanding your users. Now it's time to meet them.