Selected Papers by the Authors

Following are some works that may be of interest to Quant UXRs and others, related to the topics in the book.

Quant UX Careers and Community

Area Author Overview Paper (PDF)
Careers Chris Chapman Quant UX at Google. Discusses the role and requirements for Quant UX Research positions at Google, as of the time Chris led the Quant UX hiring process (until mid-2022). Notes on Quant UX Research at Google (2022)
Careers Chris Chapman Psychologist in the Software Industry. An early paper by Chris discussing what general UX researchers do, and how training as a psychologist translates to industry work. Software User Research: Psychologist in the Software Industry (2005)
Community Chris Chapman, Kitty Z. Xu, Mario Callegaro, Fei Gao, Maria Cipollone Quant UX Con 2022. Compiled presentations from the Quantitative User Experience Conference, 2022. [Large PDF] Proceedings of Quant UX Con 2022
Community Kitty Z. Xu, Chris Chapman, Fei Gao, Maria Cipollone, Mackenzie Sunday, Mario Callegaro Quant UX Con 2023. Compiled presentations from the Quantitative User Experience Conference 2023. View the "Abstracts" document first to find presentations of interest. [Google Drive folder] Presentations from Quant UX Con 2023

Research Methods

Area Author Overview Paper (PDF)
Conjoint analysis; segmentation; personas Chris Chapman, Kate Krontiris, John Webb Quantitative profiles. Proposes a solution to arguments in the 2006 and 2008 papers below about concerns with personas, namely that personas are (1) fictional, and (2) match near-zero users. The Profile CBC method uses conjoint analysis to construct profiles and assess gather users' own identification with them (solving the fiction problem), and to size them probabilistically (solving the near-zero matching problem). Profile CBC: Using Conjoint Analysis for Consumer Profiles (2015)
Conjoint analysis Chris Chapman Mistakes with conjoint analysis. Reviews common problems and misunderstandings with conjoint analysis, including overly optimistic expectations about the questions it can answer; survey fielding issues; and misuse of simple statistics. 9 Things Clients Get Wrong about Conjoint Analysis (2013)
Conjoint analysis Chris Chapman, James Alford, Chad Johnson, Ron Weidemann, Michal Lahav Conjoint analysis for real world preference. Applies two conjoint analysis methods, choice-based conjoint analysis (CBC) and adaptive choice-based conjoint analysis (ACBC) to a problem of product strategy. Demonstrates that ACBC was somewhat preferable, and achieved a result very close to real-world sales of a product (assessed a year later). CBC vs. ACBC: Comparing Results with Real Product Selection (2009)
Conjoint analysis Chris Chapman Attribute importance. Proposes a method to identify the "importance" of attributes in conjoint analysis studies, as being the degree to which prediction accuracy is degraded when conjoint analysis data are randomly permuted. Attribute importance poster (2011)
Conjoint analysis; portfolio modeling Chris Chapman, James Alford Portfolio optimization using conjoint analysis. This talk demonstrates how the results from conjoint analysis may be paired with genetic algorithm optimization to find optimal product portfolios. [slides] Product Portfolio Evaluation Using Choice Modeling and Genetic Algorithms
Conjoint analysis; portfolio modeling Chris Chapman, James Alford Portfolio optimization using conjoint analysis. This is the complete whitepaper for the talk above, on how to use genetic algorithm optimization to find optimal product portfolios. [paper] Product Portfolio Evaluation Using Choice Modeling and Genetic Algorithms
Personas Chris Chapman, Russell Milham Persona theory. Argues that personas, as inspirational but fictional constructions, are not related to scientific aspects of UX research. The Personas' New Clothes (2006)
Personas Chris Chapman, Edwin Love, Russell Milham, Paul ElRif, James Alford Persona sizing. Using data from multiple consumer surveys, the authors show that personas with more than a small number of attributes are likely to match few or zero users. Argues that person creators need to demonstrate empirical evidence that their personas match real users. Quantitative Evaluation of Personas as Information (2008)
Survey methods Chris Chapman, Mario Callegaro Critical review of Kano analysis. A theoretical and empirical examination of the Kano method to assess user perception of features. Argues that the Kano method is theoretically flawed, uses poor survey practices, and is not supported by empirical evidence. Suggests alternative methods with better grounding in survey science. Kano Analysis: A Critical Survey Science Review (2022)

Applied Product Research

Area Author Overview Paper (PDF)
Microsoft SenseCam, Field Research Chris Chapman, Edwin Love, Susan Burgess, Michal Lahav User field trials with an automated camera. The Microsoft SenseCam was a prototype device designed to take photos automatically and to deliver easily made, enjoyable videos. This paper reports fieldwork from the US, Japan, and South Korea, arguing that the narrative aspects of the experience are far more important that the documentary or memory aspects. Consumer Usage of a Digital Memory Device Prototype (2010)
Digital pen (ditigal notebooks) Chris Chapman, Michal Lahav, Susan Burgess Ethnography for digital writing. Reports a year-long series of field research in the US, Japan, Canada, and India to examine consumer and enterprise usage of a digital writing product in development. A key finding is that digitized writing is able to cover only a small subset of important use cases, which limits the appeal and adoption of such technology. Digital Pen: Four Rounds of Ethnographic and Field Research (2009)

Theory and Ethics

Area Author Overview Paper (PDF)
Research Ethics Chris Chapman Products and ethical space. A philosophical paper discussing how the design of technology products requires implicit choices about ethics. All tech products instantiate ethical systems, even if they do so unintentionally. Fundamental Ethics in Information Systems (2006)
Research Ethics Chris Chapman Designing ethical worlds in software. Complex software implements a moral system with underlying ethical assumptions. However, when these conflict with users' implicit frameworks — such as an assumption of personal identifiability and consequences — software worlds become uncanny and unsatisfactory. Product designers can benefit from attention to the deep ethical systems they adopt. Designing Software Ethics (2002)
Research Ethics Chris Chapman Participatory ethical design. Describes an approach to engaging users in participatory design of ethical considerations, which was attempted in a live study with only partial success. The underlying approach, modeled on Rawls's philosophical framework of an original position, is too abstract for participatory design. However, the considerations and approach may be valuable for UX designers, researchers, and stakeholders to use amongst themselves. Exploration of a Contractarian Procedure for Participatory Design (2006)