User experience designers today understand the importance of using data to drive the design choices made during the software development process. But what types of data do you need? How do you collect it? And what should you do with the data once you have it? In this video, UX design pro Jen Matson shows you how to identify, acquire, and analyze data that not only tells you WHAT your users do when they use your products, but WHY they do it. Understanding the WHY, says Matson, is the key to better design.

• Discover the design issues that arise when you misinterpret data—or fail to use data, period
• Understand the kinds of data you need to best inform your design decisions
• Review the best data gathering and analysis tools: Google Analytics, Optimizely, and Tableau
• Identify what your project team should test prior to launch
• Learn ways to create testable hypotheses by connecting user profiles to project goals
• Explore the use of opt-in betas and A/B tests during product roll-outs
• Figure out if and when your design tests have reached statistical significance
• Learn how to use analytics data to validate or modify your designs

Jen Matson is a UX designer with over twenty years of experience designing and building websites for companies such as Amazon, Comedy Central, LEGO, and T-Mobile. She is currently the Senior UX Designer at RealSelf in Seattle, WA.