How to define a design system?

Jun 14, 2023

Design system enables fast, consistent, and simplified product design processes powered by design standards (principles, components and patterns).

Duration

3-7 days

Complexity

Beginner

Contributors

UX designer, User researcher, Product manager

Getting Started

Secondary research is the gathering of information from existing sources like books, journals, online databases, videos, podcasts, etc. It is the research conducted using ‘secondary’ sources of information. Most often, it is done by browsing the internet, hence called ‘desk research’. Secondary research does not replace Primary research but supports it.

Why?

Secondary research is conducted to:

Understand the problem area
Validate assumptions earlier in a project
Get a broader understanding of the subject
To figure out what to dig deep into with Primary research

Secondary research helps in forming a view and understanding the context of a problem before starting to solve it. The secret sauce here is the combination of selecting sources of info and deriving insights. This is a cost-effective method of doing research during the earlier phases of a design project.

How to?

Here are some steps you can follow to conduct the secondary research:

Define your research question: Identify the key areas you want to explore and what you hope to achieve through your research. List out what needs to be researched, it could be a hypothesis, problem area, product, or domain.
Identify relevant sources: Determine which sources will be most useful in addressing your research question. These could include academic journals, trade publications, government reports, and online databases. Pick the most trustworthy sources of data.
Conduct a literature review: Review the existing literature on your research topic to identify key trends, debates, and knowledge gaps. This will help you to refine your research question and ensure that your research is building upon existing knowledge.
Collect and analyze data: Collect data from relevant sources and analyze it to identify key patterns and trends. Use tools like spreadsheets, data visualization software, or statistical analysis software to help you analyze your data. From the data find:

Most important points
Validated/invalidated hypothesis
Important numeric/objective information
What needs to be investigated with primary research
Unexpected but related information

Synthesize your findings: After analyzing your data, synthesize your findings to draw conclusions and identify any new insights. This will help you to build existing knowledge and contribute new knowledge to your field.
Write up your research: Finally, write up your research clearly and concisely, making sure to cite all sources used. You may also want to include a bibliography or a list of references at the end of your research paper.

Do’s & Don'ts

Do’s	Don’ts
Keep the research open-ended. Be clear on what you are looking for. Use credible sources of data. Have a timeline for completion. Conclude with numeric data. Mention the sources of data. Do pay attention to the quality of the sources.	Don’t start with a fixed outcome in mind. Don’t gather a lot of data, which ‘might’ be useful. Don’t get repeated information from multiple sources. Don’t use info from a single source. Don’t plagiarize information from sources. Don’t skip citations.

Suggested Tools

Google
GoogleDocs
Office365

References

Secondary Research in UX from NNGroup
Desk Research: How To Conduct Secondary Research Efficiently from Aela School
How to use desk research to kick-start your design process from UX Collective
UX Case Study: Encouraging Secondary Research in Design from UX Magazine
Secondary Research: Definition, methods, & examples from Qualtrics

Other Related Best Practices

User Research Basics
Get started with Design Analytics
How to Conduct Stakeholder Interviews
How to Conduct a Survey