User Research · Durham
User Research in Durham
Finding out how Durham organisations' customers actually behave, which is reliably different from what they say. People describe their intentions accurately and their habits poorly, so research that asks what someone would do produces confident answers with little predictive value.
Why this comes up
The problem
Product decisions rest on assumptions about users that nobody has checked, and the loudest internal opinion tends to win.
What you get
What we deliver
- Research questions defined, since studies without one produce interesting nothing
- Observation of real tasks rather than opinions about hypothetical ones
- Questions worded so they do not lead, which is harder than it appears
- Participants who resemble your users, not colleagues and their friends
- Findings separated from interpretation, so others can judge the reasoning
- Recordings and consent handled properly, as sessions capture personal data
Want this scoped for your business in Durham?
Thirty minutes, no charge, no sales script. You leave with a written summary of what user research would actually involve — whether or not you use us.
Working in Durham
North East
Durham's economy is dominated by its university and cathedral, so the commercial base is small and much of the local demand comes from spinouts and suppliers attached to the institutions rather than from independent industry.
Research spinout software and visitor systems, usually on institutional procurement timelines rather than commercial ones.
Sectors we work with in Durham
- Higher Education
- Tourism & Heritage
- Public Sector
- Retail
- Research
What we work with
Technologies and platforms
- Maze
- Zoom
- Dovetail
- Figma
Who we work with
Industries we serve
- Technology and SaaS
- Public sector
- Healthcare
- Financial services
- Education
Why us
Why Durham businesses choose Asionis
- Projects typically launched within 4–8 weeks
- No long-term contracts required
- All team members UK-based
- Dedicated account manager and development team
- Transparent reporting with monthly performance metrics
- Scalable from startup to enterprise
How we work
- Step 1
Free consultation
A 30-minute call to understand the problem. You keep the written summary either way.
- Step 2
Proposal
Scope, timeline and a fixed price, in writing, before anything starts.
- Step 3
Build
Short cycles with regular check-ins, so you see progress rather than hear about it.
- Step 4
Launch and support
We handle the go-live and stay available afterwards.
Other services in Durham
Looking for the full picture? See our User Research services, everything we do in Durham or browse everything we do.
User Research in Durham — common questions
- How many people do we need?
- For usability testing, around five per group finds most serious problems, and more adds little. For questions about how common something is, you need survey scale. Confusing the two — generalising from five interviews — is the most frequent misuse of qualitative research.
- Why not just ask what they want?
- Because people answer helpfully rather than accurately. Asked whether they would use a feature, most say yes; asked to complete a task, they reveal what actually gets in the way. Watching behaviour predicts far better than collecting stated preferences.
- What makes a question leading?
- Anything implying an expected answer — asking how helpful something was rather than what happened when they used it. Neutral wording feels stilted to write and produces answers you can rely on, which is the entire point of doing the research.
- Is there a data protection angle?
- Yes. Recordings of sessions are personal data, participants must understand what is being recorded and why, and incentives do not remove the need for proper consent. Retention and who can access recordings should be decided before the first session rather than afterwards.
- Do you work with businesses across County Durham?
- Yes. We are based in Leicester, United Kingdom and work with clients throughout North East, including Durham and the surrounding County Durham area. Most collaboration happens remotely, and we travel for kick-offs and key milestones.
- What kind of Durham businesses do you usually work with?
- Research spinout software and visitor systems, usually on institutional procurement timelines rather than commercial ones. Beyond that we work across Higher Education, Tourism & Heritage, Public Sector, Retail and Research.
- Do you cover the areas around Durham?
- Yes — we work throughout North East, including Newcastle, Sunderland, York. Durham is an urban area of roughly 70,000+, and we take on work across the wider County Durham region rather than the city boundary alone.
Talk to us about User Research in Durham
A 30-minute call with someone who would actually work on it. No sales script, no obligation.
- Projects typically launched within 4–8 weeks
- No long-term contracts required
- All team members UK-based
- Dedicated account manager and development team
- Transparent reporting with monthly performance metrics
- Scalable from startup to enterprise