You have only one week to design a new feature. How do you include user research?

What the interviewer wants to hear

• Use existing data first: analytics, support tickets, past research
• Run small, focused research like 3-5 quick interviews or tests
• Test a rough prototype rather than a polished one
• Be clear about risks and plan follow-up research after launch

Model answer

With one week, I start with research that already exists: analytics, support tickets, sales notes, app reviews and past studies. That often answers basic questions in a day. Then I list our riskiest assumptions and pick one or two to test. I might run three to five short calls with customers, or test a rough clickable prototype by day three or four using an unmoderated tool. I keep the scope tight and focus on the main task. I share findings quickly in a short summary so the team can act. I am also honest with the PM about what we could not validate, and I plan follow-up measurement after launch, like tracking task completion and running a quick survey. Small, fast research is much better than none.

More medium UI/UX Designer questions

• A stakeholder gives feedback on your design that you disagree with. How do you handle it?
• How do you measure whether a design change was successful?
• Why are empty, loading and error states important, and how do you design them?
• An engineer says your design will take three times longer to build than planned. What do you do?
• How do you plan and run user interviews for a new feature?
• You are asked to restructure the navigation of a large website with hundreds of pages. How do you approach it?
• A team wants a custom styled dropdown instead of the native select. How do you make sure it is accessible?
• How do you turn research findings into design decisions the team actually acts on?
• How do you run a design critique session that is useful rather than a debate about taste?