> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://www.thinkinglikeyouruser.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://www.thinkinglikeyouruser.com/researching-your-users/researching-your-users-without-talking-to-them.md). # Researching your users without talking to them There are a number of ways to get data on your users without talking to them. Note that you can also apply these to other tools and/or your competitors. ## Usage metrics Usage metrics are great for telling you what your user is doing, though not why. For instance, they can tell you that not many folks are progressing past data upload, but they can't tell you why this is happening. Still, they are useful for finding trends on your site and identifying places for potential improvement. Usage metrics are also important for showing the impact of any change that you make to the interface. Keep track of general usage data as well as important clicks, such as whether they finished the analysis. Think about what clicks you want to track and what are they going to tell you about how the user uses your site. ## Support ticket systems Going through support ticket systems, such as Github or Jira, is a great way to see what users are thinking. Look for tickets that were made in response to user feedback. Remember that you're not necessarily going to implement the feature that they request. Instead, try to understand from the context why they are asking for a feature. If you are able, reach out to them and [talk to them](/researching-your-users/researching-your-users-by-talking-to-them.md). ## Public forums Public forums are places to get use cases from your target users and help you to better understand what goals your user is trying to accomplish and what questions they have about it. If your tool is publicly available, you may even be able to find questions about it specifically. If you are able, reach out to them and [talk to them](/researching-your-users/researching-your-users-by-talking-to-them.md). ## Mailing lists and tool-specific forums Mailing lists or tool-specific forums are another place to get use cases from your target users. Every reply to a user is a place to ask for information about why they are trying to do what they are doing and ask more about how your tool fits in with their research. This is another reason why it is useful to have a way for your users to contact you, especially one that your target users will use. For instance, if your users primarily do not use the command line, having github as your place for feedback likely will not be used. Your mailing list or forum is also a great way to [find folks to meet with](/researching-your-users/researching-your-users-by-talking-to-them.md). {% hint style="info" %} AI note (August 2026): A side effect of AI is that, for many tools, users are not using forums and mailing lists as frequently. When users have a question, they ask AI rather than asking a person. This has made forums and mailing lists less useful for understanding and thinking about your user. {% endhint %} ## Surveys People tend to reach for surveys as a natural way to get lots of feedback, but they are only really useful when you already have a sense of what the possible answers will be from previous, more qualitative, feedback. Surveys can tell you what a user thinks, but not why they think that, their mental models, or other insights that can help you know how the interface should operate. Also, they are only useful if a large number of users fill them out. An example of a good use of a survey is perhaps you have heard from users that the documentation is not useful, with some users saying it's because there aren't enough hands-on examples, other users saying they want videos, and still other users saying the organization is confusing. A survey could be used to determine which of these factors are affecting more users to help you prioritize which issue to address first. If you do decide to do a survey, please come to the [US-RSE UX working group](https://us-rse.org/wg/ux/) for assistance. They would be happy to help make sure your survey results are useful. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. 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