UX research that
starts in the field.
Ethnographic studies, contextual inquiry, usability testing, and quantitative analysis — run in the places where the work actually happens.
Most software that fails in daily use was not badly built. It was built against a description of the work rather than the work itself — and the gap between those two is where the failure lives.
UX research closes that gap. It is the part of the project where you find out that the warehouse supervisor cannot use the tablet app because the warehouse has no reliable signal past the second aisle, or that the “optional” field everyone skips is the one the finance team later spends four hours a month reconstructing.
What we do
Ethnographic field studies
We spend time in the environment where the software is used — the dispatch room, the site office, the clinic — observing without intervening. Participant observation surfaces the informal practices that never appear in a requirements document precisely because everyone involved considers them too obvious to mention.
This is the method we are built around, and it is uncommon in the Bangladeshi market. Most local research offerings stop at interviews and surveys, both of which are self-reported and both of which systematically miss workarounds.
Contextual inquiry
A structured hybrid: the participant works normally while we ask questions about what they are doing and why. It produces the reasoning behind an action, which observation alone does not give you and an interview alone gets wrong.
Usability testing
Task-based sessions against a prototype or a live system, moderated in Bangla or English, with findings rated by severity so your team can triage them. Five to eight participants per user group; more only when the segments genuinely differ.
Quantitative research
Surveys with properly constructed instruments, behavioural analytics, funnel and cohort analysis, and where the question warrants it, statistical testing. We use quantitative work to establish how widespread a problem is after qualitative work has established what the problem is. In that order — the reverse produces confident measurements of the wrong thing.
Accessibility research
Testing with assistive technology users and auditing against WCAG 2.2 AA. For public sector and EU-facing clients this is increasingly a procurement requirement rather than a nicety, under the European Accessibility Act.
How an engagement runs
- Framing. We agree what decision the research needs to inform. Research that is not attached to a decision is expensive trivia.
- Design. Sampling strategy, screener, protocol, consent, and ethics review.
- Fieldwork. Observation and sessions, typically two to four weeks.
- Analysis. Coding and synthesis, with every finding traced back to specific evidence so you can challenge it.
- Report and handover. Findings, prioritised recommendations scoped against your team’s actual capacity, and the raw data.
Why the fieldwork matters more here
Operating conditions in Bangladesh do not resemble the conditions most software is designed under. Intermittent connectivity, shared devices, mixed literacy, Bangla and English used interchangeably in the same sentence, and processes that run on personal relationships as much as on systems. None of this is exotic — it is simply the actual context, and it is invisible from a conference room.
A research programme that never leaves the office will not find it. That is the whole argument for going.
What you get
A findings report where every claim is attached to evidence, journey maps, a prioritised recommendation set scoped to what your team can realistically ship, and the raw data so you can re-analyse it when your questions change.
Research usually continues into product design and software engineering, but many clients take the findings to their own team. Both are fine.
See the method applied in our case studies, or tell us what you need to find out.
Common questions
What is UX research?
UX research is the systematic study of how people actually use a product or service — through observation, interviews, testing, and behavioural data — in order to decide what to build or change. It is distinct from market research, which asks what people say they want, and from analytics, which shows what they did without explaining why.
How much does UX research cost in Bangladesh?
Cost tracks scope and participant count rather than a fixed rate card. A two- to three-week diagnostic study covering one user group is the smallest engagement we recommend; a full discovery programme across several groups runs six to ten weeks. We scope after a first conversation and quote a fixed price for the agreed scope.
How many participants does a usability study need?
For qualitative usability testing, five to eight participants per distinct user group surfaces the large majority of severe issues — additional participants mostly repeat what you have already found. Segment first, then run five to eight per segment. Quantitative studies, where you need statistical confidence in a rate or a comparison, need substantially more.
Can you run research in Bangla?
Yes. Our researchers work in Bangla and English. Conducting fieldwork in the participant’s own language is not a convenience — people describe their workarounds far more precisely in it, and those descriptions are the most valuable data in the study.
Do you handle research data under GDPR?
Yes. For studies involving EU residents we run consent, minimisation, retention, and erasure processes under GDPR, and we can sign a data processing agreement. Recordings are stored encrypted and deleted on the agreed schedule.
How is research different from just asking users what they want?
People are reliable reporters of their problems and unreliable designers of their solutions. Asking what someone wants produces a feature list. Watching someone work produces the constraint that makes the feature list wrong. We do both, and weight the observation more heavily.