user research
compound.compound. the process of studying how people use a product or service to find out what they need and like. You do this to make sure the things you build actually work well for the people using them.
compound. the systematic study of target users and their requirements to add realistic contexts and insights to design processes. It employs various qualitative and quantitative methods to identify problems and verify design solutions.
We are doing user research to improve our new app.
Before designing the new dashboard, the team conducted extensive user research to understand the daily workflows of office administrators.
Effective user research moves beyond mere preference polling, instead utilizing ethnographic observation and usability testing to uncover latent needs that participants might not be able to articulate themselves.
A compound formed from the noun user, derived from the Old French user, and research, from the Middle French recercher. The term emerged as a compositional phrase within the fields of human-computer interaction and industrial design to describe the systematic study of target audiences.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated July 22, 2026