Every interview subject is a rich font of information, both in the words they say and the actions they take as they use your product in a lab setting. What's even better is when users are in their natural environment, acting as they normally would without trying to impress, divert or satisfy an observer.

Workshops 

I love running workshops. Letting a group bounce ideas off each other, to more easily expand on ideas and dig in deep. Whether with users or stakeholders, workshops run well have a lot to offer. I now have a nifty set of tools, games and templates to keep the momentum going.

Interviews vary as much as human beings do, depending on personality, how talkative a person is, how engaged they are. I've interviewed hundreds of users and no two interviews are the same. Storytime is a technique I favour most, helping an interview subject remember more details as they describe their day or experience. 

Identifying usability issues quickly, early and cheaply helps kick start a project especially when users are difficult to reach for issues of privacy or even budget concerns. The value I always approach first is accessibility, moving through language used, mental models etc until I have a clear picture of what issues we need to tackle most. 

The analysis is only as good as the report. I aim for actionable items, not just a list of issues. A current example is work I'm doing for The Australian Greens. I found substantial issues with the accessibility of their site, largely contrast, alt tags, navigation and text size. I didn't just hand over a list of problems, I'm actively working with the team to find solutions that fit within the brand(green on white is a nice brand, but not actually accessible).

I find that personas can frequently feel shallow or reductive, not reflecting the depth and complexity of any real user. Mindsets can reveal values, desires and decisions as unique to individuals and the context they find themselves in. 

I build behavioural archetypes that reflect the way that people's behaviour can change as they move through the journey

Most useful in products with a massive array of users with different goals needs and drivers, user types are a source of truth for describing the users with a common language. In a university context our users types were students, administrators, lecturers etc. Meetings go much more smoothly when everyone know what user they're discussing.

My user journeys typically include thinking, feeling and seeing along with the verbs and happy-neutral-mad wave. I find the context more illuminating than just how negative or positive an experience was. 

Experience maps bring it all together. Using insights from all our research, we establish a journey filled with detail. Each step in the journey deserves just as much attention as the last so each step gets a write up. Each step is understood and contextualised with the most common mindsets encountered, what we need to deliver and why.