» Desire paths spring up as users’ needs and goals change

» The effort paradox: the effort of forming a new path versus the desire to take the path of least resistance

» In digital products we use analytical tools to help us observe desire paths

» When a new desire path emerges, question your old assumptions — user behaviour is changing

» Ask your team: what do we actually need to know, by when, and how confident do we need to be?

» Don’t ask users what they do. Ask them for an example of a time they have done something, and then ask if it was typical

» When recruiting participants, say what the study is for, how long it will take, and what’s in it for them

» More specific questions yield better user research findings

» User research works well when the team collaborates with a specialist user researcher

» Increased team user exposure hours correlates with more successful product improvements by the team

» The sooner you start user research, the greater impact it will have on your product

» A Kanban board helps the team to collate and track the questions to be researched