There are many different techniques and methods that can be used in UX research, design and testing. Where to go if you want an overview of techniques, for exploring new methods, or for reference? Some resources are:
The methods section of the Usability body of knowledge. It presents benefits, disadvantages, descriptions, and links to further resources for a number of techniques. Not everything is complete yet, but the list is growing.
UX Techniques: Effective ways to resolve digital design challenges An iphone app listing why/when/how for 45 different UX techniques (or 15 in the free version). Grouped into categories: gather, organize, understand, explain, test. Clear and concise, nicely organized.
Ideo method cards A deck of 51 cards, with a single method on each card. Not very detailed, but can work well as an inspiration tool in the UX process.
UXBASIS has a selection of 24 methods, grouped by the stage in the project, displayed as an animated pie chart. For each of the methods there is a short description of ‘what’, ‘when’ and ‘how’.
My personal favorite methods at the moment are the contextual inquiries (talking with people and observing them while they complete a task in a natural context), low fidelity paper prototyping and focus groups/participatory design. Card sorting is great too, to find the natural structure in a large collection of items. And the classic heuristic evaluation to find issues and suggest improvements for an existing website or application.
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