Awkward Silences

In the world of product design, wordsmiths go by many names—UX writers, content strategists, product writers, and so on. But whatever you call them, these folks play an important role in developing seamless user experiences.Yuval Keshtcher is the Founder of the UX Writing Hub, an online education platform helping hundreds of people perfect their UX writing. He joins us to explain the difference between UX writing and content design, how the discipline is growing, and his favorite writing resources. In this episode:Creative ways to do research for UX writingHow the UX writing process works in theory and practiceWhat makes a great UX writeHighlights[2:00] Are UX Writing and Content Design the same?[6:27] Where do UX writers sit in an organization?[8:40] To be a great UX writer, you need to master research.[11:05] How to use conversation mining to communicate better with users.[17:23] How many emojis can we really use in UX copy?[25:04] How easy is it to change product copy later?[28:37] If you don't have a UX writer, start with a content design system.Sources mentioned in the episode​​Top 16 Content Style Guides 2022 (and How to Use Them)Words Matter: Testing Copy With ShakespeareAbout our guestYuval Keshtcher is the founder of the UX Writing Hub. UX Writing Hub is an online education platform for all things UX writing. The UX Writing Hub has helped hundreds of professionals transition into UX writing and content design. He also hosts the Writers in Tech podcast.

We’re changing things up a bit! Introducing a brand new series: Tacos and Tide Pods! Every month or so, Erin and JH will chat with User Interviews’s VP of Research, Roberta Dombrowski. They’ll talk about what’s going on behind the scenes at User Interviews, reflect on recent lessons learned, share their thoughts on the UXR space right now, and discuss what they're hoping to see more of in the future.

Context acts as the bridge between an abstract idea (’a comfortable user experience’) and a tangible design (‘cushioned, breathable running shoes’). Although gaining context through remote research can be tricky, our UXR friends with an anthropological background know the solution: Digital ethnography.This week, we’re joined by Megan McLean, User Researcher at Spotify. Megan shared the who-what-and-how of digital ethnography, what she’s learned about mapping the digital landscape, and how she ensures her ethnography projects succeed.Highlights[03:55] The core tenets of ethnography[06:50] Spend more time with your data throughout your study to get the most out of it.[10:01] What is digital ethnography anyway?[14:09] How Megan gets her participants to go deep on the subjects she wants to learn about[16:05] Pros and cons of the pandemic’s effect on research[19:28] How Megan recreates more real life context in her interviews[23:20] How does the audio first platform of Spotify change the way you look at things?[27:17] Who is digital ethnography a good fit for?[30:28] How Megan makes things simpler for her participants[36:36] The difference between writing analysis for usability studies and for ethnographies[39:14] What Megan’s learned about people and technology through her workAbout our guestMegan McLean is a User Research Manager at Spotify. Before Spotify, Megan received a Masters in Anthropology, worked in academia, and on UX research teams at places like Ipsos.

Public libraries have been using insights repositories for decades—and it’s time user research teams catch up. This week, we’re joined by Nada Alnakeeb, Head of Design and Research Operations at DoorDash, and Joanna Perez, Sr. Taxonomy Strategist/Digital Archivist, Studio Production at Netflix. Nada and Joanna shared learnings from their experience building the insights repository at Meta, using familiar organizational patterns to reduce mental load, tips for effective taxonomies, and more.Highlights[00:01:34] Their experience building the repository at Meta[00:05:54] How to archive fleeting or one-off insights[00:07:59] Tools and teams required to build a minimum viable repository[00:09:10] Building a low-budget repository[00:11:20] What is an ‘insight’?[00:13:23] Using familiar organizational patterns to reduce mental load[00:24:53] Buying vs. building in-house[00:33:29] Considerations for scale[00:36:52] Measuring success and value

What is design psychology? Thomas Watkins of 3Leaf compares it to ergonomics—both fields aim to make products feel as comfortable as possible for their users. Where ergonomics is concerned with things like the shape of your office chair’s back or the height of its armrests, design psychology is all about making software experiences more intuitive and reducing cognitive load.This week on the podcast, Thomas chatted with Erin and JH about the similarities and differences between design psychology and UX research, risks and need-to-knows for psychologists transitioning into business research, the power of mental models, and more. Highlights[01:08] What is design psychology?[05:44] Similarities and differences between design psychology and UX research[08:32] Practical examples: Superiority effect, perpetual intermediates, mental loads[13:59] What psychologists need to learn to thrive in business research[18:26] Risks of applying design psychology in UX[26:03] Why Thomas likes bringing his expertise to UX research[26:59] The power of mental models like JTBDAbout our guest Thomas Watkins is UX architect and Principal and Founder of 3Leaf. He is a life-long learner who has a passion for bringing greater clarity to the world. Thomas has made it his career’s focus to combine technology with design psychology in order to drive business success. He specializes in helping his business partners bring their own brilliant ideas to life, by translating complexity into simplicity. The scope of his work has included interface design for mobile, SaaS system architecture, usability research, and data visualization.

The State of User Research 2022 Report unpacks the data from our international survey of UX researchers and people who do research as part of their jobs. This week, we met with Roberta Dombrowski, VP of User Research at User Interviews and one of the creators of the report, to talk about how it was made and what she thinks of the insights. She talked about the rise of buy-in and demand for research, what democratization means for professional researchers, and her predictions for the future of user research.

Doing user research in an agency setting comes with its own set of challenges—from context switching to stubborn clients to less-than-optimal tool stacks.Karen VanHouten, Director of Product Strategy at Philosophie by InfoBeans, spent most of her career in enterprise B2B before transitioning to agency life. In this podcast episode, Karen shared some great advice on setting expectations, fostering ongoing client relationships, and why she thinks more researchers should be involved in the sales cycle.Episode highlights[00:01:29] Transitioning from enterprise B2B to agency life[00:03:05] The value of getting involved in the sales cycle as a researcher[00:06:04] Which clients does Karen not want to work with?[00:13:00] Setting clear client expectations[00:20:10] Why her team only uses essential tools[00:24:35] Building trust by saying “no” [00:27:59] Finding your champion[00:33:14] Recruiting for client projects[00:37:54] Should you make the move to an agency?Resources mentioned in this episodeKim Goodwin on stakeholder researchEssential tools: Google Sheets, MURAL, MiroJust Enough Research, Erika HallAbout our guestKaren VanHouten has over 20 years of experience as a UX professional and strategist, with a focus on B2B & SaaS. She uses human-centered design principles to build useful & accessible digital products and healthy and impactful product teams. Karen is currently the UX Practice Lead at TMG.

The democratization of research continues to grow—and with it, the complexities of research operations. This week, we chatted with Garrett Tsukada, Head of Customer Connect UX Research Operations at Intuit about how research ops supports democratization at scale. He talked about how Intuit approaches research democratization for a 14,000+ team, guardrails and processes to ensure research quality, advice for starting and scaling a research operations function, and more.Highlights[04:39] How Intuit approaches research democratization at scale[11:53] The compounding value of research education[13:28] Guardrails and processes to ensure research quality[24:02] Keeping up with the growing demand for democratization[27:37] Balancing the 6 pillars of research operations[32:18] Advice for starting and scaling a research operations functionAbout our guestGarett Tsukada is Head of Customer Connect UX Research Operations at Intuit. He leads a global Research Ops team to amplify the value and impact of connecting with customers at scale, drive operational impact, and foster a culture of innovation and customer obsession.

You’ve mastered the basics, but now it’s time to take your interviews to the next level. This week, we chatted with Therese Fessenden, Senior User Experience Specialist at NN/g about how to get even better at interviewing. She talked about how to master the basics, hone your skills, and become an A+ interviewer.Highlights[3:40] You can get more out of your interviews by going in with a solid plan.[9:44] Mastering probing questions.[20:36] Common mistakes people make when they get comfortable doing research, like oversharing.[29:19] Staying objective as you get further into the research and learn more.[33:52] How do you know you're getting better at interviews?[35:10] Doing inclusive research. About our guestTherese Fessenden is a Senior User Experience Specialist with Nielsen Norman Group, host of the NN/g UX Podcast, and manager of the 1-Hour Talk program. Her research focuses on understanding human behaviors, attitudes, and expectations in order to better orchestrate system and service design strategies.

Should everyone do research? It’s a tricky question. Yes, research is a craft that takes years to master. But on the other hand, if we want research to happen all the time, everyone needs to be able to do some of the basics on their own. Today, we talked to Jonathan Widawski, Founder and CEO of Maze about how the democratization of research is actually advancing the craft. He talked about the need for researchers to be good teachers, how research can grow in the same way data and design did, and why the future is user-centric.Highlights[4:52] Ultimately, research teams need to scale to meet the rising demand. But democratization is a good way to increase an organization's learning potential and the visibility of research.[8:25] How do we balance good research practices with letting everyone participate?[14:55] Unlike disciplines like data and design, research needs to be guided by an expert at multiple points in the process.[19:13] The Maze team’s research process.[23:07] How to balance being your own user with getting out of the building. [25:06] What Jonathan is excited about as research advances.About our guestJonathan Widawski is the Founder and CEO at Maze. He’s a veteran Product Designer & former UX teacher. As a UX lead working with clients like McKinsey, Rocket Internet & PSG, he saw first-hand how hard it is for product teams to get the data, insights, and feedback they need to make confident design decisions. Now he’s co-founded Maze, the continuous product discovery platform for user-centric teams.

It’s our most meta episode yet. Today, we chatted with Roberta Dombrowski, VP of User Research at User Interviews, about doing user research about user researchers at a user research company. Listen in to learn about how adding a formal user research practice has benefited the UI team, the challenges of going from an IC to a leadership role, and building a research practice from the ground up.Highlights[2:58] What’s different about being a user researcher for a user research platform.[11:04] Roberta's biggest wins from adding a formal researcher to the UI team.[16:27] Tackling insight management when lots of people do research.[22:33] Lessons from talking to lots of different researchers about their work.[27:57] Why are so many researchers introverts?[30:50] On making the transition from an IC researcher to a research leader.[34:26] Our hosts reflect on what’s changed since Awkward Silences began.

Recruiting participants for user research is hard. Recruiting participants from a pool of your own customers? Somehow even harder. There’s client relationships, privacy concerns, and lots of red tape. This week on the podcast, Matthew Morrison joins Erin and JH to share what he’s learned after a year of B2B recruiting at Braze.Highlights[2:04]The key problems with B2B recruiting.[8:22] Make your sessions as short as possible, 30-45 minutes is best.[12:53] How to make users feel connected to research, even if you can’t offer an incentive.[16:53] How to work with internal stakeholders to get better response rates from participants.[23:08] How Matt built a study about new Braze users with a lookalike panel of people who had never used Braze. [33:09] Steering clear of over contacting participants, even with a small pool. [38:09] What Matt's thinking about going into 2022.About our guestMatthew Morrison is a UX Research Manager at Braze. Before Braze, he worked on the research teams at Etsy and WillowTree. He’s excited by the challenge of B2B recruitment and is looking forward to continuing to improve his practice.

What’s it like to be black in UX right now? Are companies sticking by their plans for diversity and inclusion? How do researchers ensure their work is as inclusive as possible? This week on the podcast, Dr. Lisanne Norman joins Erin and JH to talk about all this and more.Highlights[8:13] What to do when people try to make diversity and inclusion your job. [11:12] How including Black participants created aha! moments.[18:01] Creating an environment of openness with participants is key to understanding their experiences.[23:56] How Black UX Austin came to be.[29:52] The challenge of communicating to companies the value candidates can bring without relying on big name schools or bootcamps.[33:49] How to recognize if a company is just talking the talk or if they're walking the walk when it comes to diversity.[38:58] Lisanne talks about what’s on the horizon for DEI in tech. About our guestDr. Lisanne Norman is the Director of the Walter J. Crain Fellowship at the Hotchkiss School (formerly UX Research Lead at Gusto). She’s also a founder of Black UX Austin. She’s an advocate for creating more inclusive environments in tech and passionate about uncovering insights and trends that translate into creating inclusive digital products that anyone can use.

Creating a video game requires more than just development time and coding—to make sure the experience is enjoyable, you have to test it. In this episode, User Researcher Steve Bromley joins us to discuss the nuances of conducting user research in the video game industry.He describes integrating user feedback with the developer's creative vision, recruitment for games research, and the evolution of the gaming industry since he first started.Steve talks about…How to integrate user feedback with the developer’s creative vision.What playtesting is (and isn't).The surprising challenges of recruiting video game testers.Highlights[00:01:16] So what exactly is “games user research?”[00:03:15] What do you mean by “playtesting?”[00:16:51] How do you navigate something as broad as “making a game fun?”[00:27:48] Steve talks about what it’s like to be on the bleeding edge of games research.[00:38:17] How the field has changed since Steve first started out.About our guestSteve Bromley specializes in establishing new user research teams and in user research for video games. He wrote Building User Research Teams and How to Be A Game User Researcher. He works with mobile studios, indie teams, AAA teams and VR studios to help them run playtests and integrate user research into the production process. Prior to this, he was a lead user researcher for the PlayStation VR headset.

How do you build a long lasting research practice? Aim for a healthy one. Gregg Bernstein you how. This week on the podcast, Gregg talked to us about how to contribute to a healthy research practice every day and what a healthy practice even means.Highlights[3:26] Can you have a healthy research function without dedicated researchers?[14:20] Sharing contextualized insights with relevant teams can help you build value as you work.[24:40] What's an unhealthy research culture?[33:13] Contributing to a healthy research culture every day.[36:41] UXR Hot Topics: Democratization and research culture.[40:03] UXR Hot Topics: Burnout and research culture.About our guestGregg Bernstein is the Director of User Research at Hearst Magazines (formerly UX Research lead at Condé Nast, and wrote the book "Research Practice: Perspectives from UX researchers in a changing field." He spends his days advocating for and practicing user-centered product development. Previously he managed innovative research practices at Vox Media and Mailchimp.

Doing research with users from different cultures is (very, very) important. It can also be complicated. In this episode, we are joined by Norah Abokhodair, Senior Program Manager at Microsoft, who spoke about conducting research in Arab cultures.She explained some of the nuances of Arabic and Arab cultures, how to recruit diverse participants, and how to adjust your research style depending on the context.Highlights[2:11] If you want to build products for everyone, include a more diverse audience in your research.[6:44] Diversely designed experiences are our right—overcoming a cultural hesitancy to critique “Western” products.[12:57] Context matters—adjusting your research style to different cultural expectations.[18:07] Norah's top recruiting tip for recruiting participants from Arabic cultures.[20:02] How to remain sensitive when doing research in a culture that is not your own.[31:56] Balancing confusing research logistics with recruiting a diverse population.About our guestNorah Abokhodair is a product manager and UX leader focused on global, ethical, and inclusive tech. At the time of our interview, Norah was a Senior Program Manager at Microsoft where she led UX research planning and strategy for Microsoft Learning Innovation Studio including projects focused on machine learning, personalization, and AI fairness. Prior to Microsoft, Norah received her PhD at the University of Washington, where her research focused on social media in Arabic cultures.

What is participatory research? And how do you include it in your UXR practice? Alexis McNutt Unis, Lead UX Researcher, Homeowner Experience at Better is here to explain.Alexis shared how she involves stakeholders in engaging workshops, co-creates with participants, and takes research readouts to the next level to drive a participatory research practice that works for everyone.Highlights[1:29] What is participatory research anyway?[4:58] How Alexis does participatory research.[11:54] The five Es—Entice, Enter, Engage, Exit, Extend.[23:09] How do you decide when to involve which people in participatory research?[32:35] Participatory research strategies for beginners.[37:20] How Alexis sets expectations for participatory sessions.

We learned so much in this week’s episode of Awkward Silences. Samuel Proulx, Accessibility Evangelist at Fable, joined us to talk to us about accessibility and why it (really, really) matters.He taught us about the assistive technologies that many people with disabilities use to navigate the digital world, why accessibility is more important now than ever, and how designing for accessibility makes everyone’s user experience better.Highlights[2:09] What an Accessibility Evangelist does.[7:39] ​​How to start doing research with people with disabilities.[15:59] Start your accessibility journey by making sure accessibility feedback has somewhere to go. [17:21] How to find users with disabilities without collecting HIPPA-protected information.[19:19] People who use assistive technology are a skilled pool of participants and should be compensated accordingly.[25:52] Why online research is often more accessible for people with disabilities.[34:56] A few things researchers can do to make participants with disabilities feel more comfortable during research.[44:11] Think of accessibility as a way to improve user experience, not as a checklist you have to comply with.

Eniola Abioye—user research career coach—joined us for a special live episode of Awkward Silences. She answered audience questions and shared some of her best tips for crafting a research portfolio that stands out, transitioning from different fields, and why not everyone needs a bootcamp.Highlights[6:16] How to learn more about user research on your own. [17:17] Tailoring your resume to UX research roles.[22:38] Building a standout user research portfolio.[26:40] Eniola’s honest opinions on bootcamps.Resources mentioned in the episodeEniolaAbioye.com Thinking Fast and SlowLevels.FYIUXRC UX Research Salary ReportCourseraLinkedIn LearningAustin KleonAlso recommended: 81cents.comMore from Eniola: Getting in the Game: Driving Inclusive Innovation – UXRConf21About our guestEniola Abioye helps UX Researchers improve their research practice. From seasoned researchers looking to level up to new researchers looking to get their bearings, Eniola helps researchers focus their practice. She’s also a Senior UX Design Researcher at Silicon Valley Bank. With a background in biotech, healthcare, fintech, she enjoys holding space for users to have real conversations.

This week we’re joined by Zack Naylor, CEO and co-founder of UX research tool Aurelius. We spoke about what researchers need to know about their company, why tying research outcomes to business impact is so important, and how to navigate the waters when business goals and user research don’t align.Zack talked about…Conducting stakeholder interviews to deeply understand your business.Choosing a company that aligns with your values and personal goals.Using business knowledge to get high level stakeholder buy-in.Highlights[3:52] Get to know the business by taking the time to conduct stakeholder interviews.[7:31] Talk to people as high up the ladder as possible. [10:01] What happens when what you learn in research doesn’t line up with business goals? [20:14] Striving for business impact with your research projects. [24:38] Examining your internal drivers can help you do more meaningful work.About our guestZack Naylor is the CEO and Co-Founder of Aurelius. He’s helped organizations from startups to Fortune 500s build and establish user experience design practices to deliver valuable products and services.

As a seasoned researcher who has led teams at Unilever, Netflix, and DoorDash, Zach Schendel has come up against every type of skeptical stakeholder you can imagine.He joined us to chat about the research myths he runs into most often, how he debunks them, and why he wants to banish “let’s do a qual” from everyone’s vocabulary forever.Zach talked about…The 4 UX research myths he’d like to debunk once and for all.Stories from his time at Unilever, Netflix, and DoorDash.How he gets stubborn stakeholders onboard, even if they’re hesitant about the merits of research.Highlights[4:22] Myth #1: You can’t just ask people what they want.[9:39] How to maintain trust in research when users don't do what they say they will.[17:14] Myth #2: Five people isn’t enough for a valid finding. [29:20] Myth #3: People can reliably articulate what's good and what's bad.[38:01] Myth #4: User research is qualitative researchAbout our guestZach Schendel is the Head of Research at Doordash. There, he leads the product and UX research teams and partners with design, engineering, product management, strategy and operations, and data science to innovate on the consumer, driver, and merchant experiences. Before Doordash, Zach led research teams at Netflix and Unilever.

Rajesh Nerlikar works with companies to help them build great products. As the CEO of Prodify, he and his team advise startups on how to build impactful, vision-led products that get customers excited. In his experience, the best way to get teams on the same page is with a compelling product vision that’s easy to understand.In this episode, Rajesh joins Erin and JH to chat about why great product visions are like comic strips, the hard work of actually putting those visions into action, and how to get stakeholders on board with it all.Highlights[6:19] Why the ideal product vision is a comic strip.[11:34] Look at the gaps between your product vision and what your product looks like today to find the right strategies for improving your product.[20:09] How Rajesh and his team create product visions for startups.[25:53] How often do you need to update your product vision?[33:16] Getting buy-in as a user researcher working with product and design teams.About our guestRajesh Nerlikar is the VP of Product at Regrow Ag and Partner & Co-Founder at Prodify. He’s an experienced product advisor, coach, and consultant who applies best practices from 15+ years of hands-on startup and enterprise product management to help companies accelerate the creation of customer and shareholder value.

Meg Pullis Roebling, Head of CX Research, Data & Analytics Solutions at BNY Mellon, talks us through her approach to building relationships with stakeholders, finding people to support her research efforts, and making research visible to the whole organization.Meg discussed...How she convinces relationship managers to get clients involved in research.What metrics she uses to make the case for research.How to know when research is weaving its way into the fabric of your organization.Highlights[2:48] A few reasons your organization may not believe user research is important (yet). [8:41] How to get through to relationship managers who don't want to give you access to their clients for research sessions.[13:52] Be the research changemaker in your organization.[17:04] Generate buy-in over time by keeping stakeholders updated on research progress.[20:04] Start with evaluative, tactical research to get some quick wins and show the impact of user research.[26:46] How to know you're having an impact on the research culture at your organization.[30:54] Ultimately, it’s your relationship building skills that will help you get buy-in for research projects.About our guestMeg Pullis Roebling is the Head of CX Research, Data & Analytics Solutions at BNY Mellon. There, she has built and democratized the CX Strategy teams’ research and insights framework across the enterprise. Before BNY Mellon, Meg worked on design and research teams at AIG, American Express, AKQA, and Digitas.

Your research question is where it all begins. It’s what drives your research forward, informs when you’re ready to wrap up your project, and it’s what gets everyone involved on the same page. But how do you know you’re asking the right research questions? This week on the podcast, Amy Chess, UX Researcher at Amazon, chatted with Erin and JH about how she chooses which questions to ask in her user research projects.Amy talked about…The difference between research questions, research objectives, and interview questionsHow to ask the right research questionsWhy you can’t pick a methodology before you know your research questionHow building trust with stakeholders can push your research questions furtherHighlights[1:30] What's the difference between a research question and an interview question?[7:38] What comes first? The research question or the methodology? [11:13] How to not to ask bad research questions. [19:07] Go where the research leads you, even if it’s not where you planned to go. [25:53] Structuring user interviews to answer your research questions.[36:09] Work with user research before you have it all figured out.About our guestAmy Chess is a UX research leader (formerly at Amazon, Walmart) and educator. She specializes in qualitative data collection techniques and the meaningful synthesis of qualitative and quantitative user data. Amy is intensely invested in developing new methodologies to evaluate integration efforts from a UX perspective, promoting the value of UX research amongst stakeholders, and pioneering approaches for UX practitioners, technical teams, and product management to collaborate and partner together.

Insights can come from a lot of different places. Support tickets, sales calls, market research studies, and of course, dedicated user research are all a part of an organization's insights funnel. But how do you synthesize all that data into useful insights for your business? Dave Chen, Director of Consumer Insights at Flipp, does it by blending his CX, UX, and Market Research teams into one superpowered insights group. Erin and JH chatted with Dave about how he handles all that research, who does what in a blended org, and how he gets stakeholders on board by using research from multiple teams. Dave talked about…What each team brings to the insights table.How the team triangulates incoming research questions to find the best answers.Why some traditional market research methods—like focus groups—are so difficult to get right.Highlights[1:36] How Dave thinks about his blended CX, UXR, and market research team.[7:02] Managing research questions in a blended organization.[12:53] Why focus groups are so difficult to get right. [17:37] How the UX, CX, and Market Research teams work in practice.[22:36] How Dave presents data from multiple teams to get stakeholder buy-in.About our guestDave Chen is the Senior Director, UX Foundations & Enablement at 1Password. Formerly, he was Director of Consumer Insights at Flipp where he was responsible for leading Market Research, UX Research and Customer Experience (CX) teams to drive customer-based insights for both B2C and B2B verticals. Before Flipp, he worked in research and consumer insights at General Mills, Nielsen, and Staples.

Researchers talk a lot about the importance of empathy. But what the heck does ‘empathy’ actually mean? What does empathy really look like in practice? Babz Jewell—an ethnographic sociologist and Principal UX Researcher at Variant—is here to explain. She joined Erin and JH to share her practical approach to empathy and active listening, and how these skills have transformed her UX research practice.Babz talked about…How active listening can help UX researchers improve their entire research process.Building better relationships with stakeholders. Using notetaking to be a better active listener. Highlights[3:47] What is empathy anyway?[7:40] Being empathetic with your stakeholders can create more impactful research.[17:03] How radical listening can change your research practice.[24:52] How Babz uses note-taking skills she learned with Russian diplomats to improve her listening.Resources and people mentioned in the episodeHmnty Cntrd’s coursesTeresa Torres’ Continuous Discovery HabitsJor-El CaraballoVivianne CastilloAbout our guestBabz is a sociologist and leader in leveraging ethnographic research methods for corporate UX, CX and product design. She is currently UX Research Manager at FanDuel. At the time of our interview, she was Principal User Experience Researcher at Variant, a driver-focused long-haul trucking company. There, she leads research operations and projects for driver-facing products and support with ethnographic methods.

Indi Young has been researching people (not users), coaching, writing, and teaching about inclusive product strategy for over 25 years. Earlier this week, she joined Erin and JH for a live podcast episode to explain why researchers and designers are doing it all wrong! Okay, not exactly. But she did explain how researching and designing for the majority or “average user” actually end up ignoring, othering, and harming the people our designs are meant to serve. Indi shared how she finds patterns in people’s behaviors, thoughts, and needs—and how she uses that data to create thinking styles that inform more inclusive design decisions.Indi talked about…Why researchers should look for patterns, not anecdotes, to understand real user needs.What are thinking styles and how to uncover and use them.Why your “average” user often doesn’t exist in the real world, and how we can do better.Episode highlights[00:04:13] How do you simplify the world without losing sight of the individuals within it? [00:07:47] When is it important and meaningful to consider demographics—and when does using them in your research cause harm? [00:11:23] Speaking of harm… what does Indi mean when she talks about causing harm in the context of user research and product design? [00:15:20] What are thinking styles, exactly? [00:28:43] Why you should never ask: “what is the right number of thinking styles for us to have?”[00:31:33] How Indi looks for patterns.[00:33:57] How can you uncover thinking patterns through user interviews (vs. ethnographic observational research)?[00:44:41] The “average” often doesn’t really exist. So why do we design for them?Resources mentioned in the episodePractical Empathy (2015) and Mental Models (2008) by Indi YoungMixed Methods (2019) by Sam LadnerWeapons of Math Destruction (2016) by Cathy O’NeilJoy Buoalmwini’s work toward algorithmic justiceOnline courses and resources available through Indi’s websiteArticles on thinking styles and more at medium.com/inclusive-softwareYou can follow Indi on Twitter @indiyoung54 Templates for User Personas, Jobs to Be Done & Other Mental ModelsAbout our guestIndi is a renowned researcher with over 25 years of experience who coaches, writes, and teaches about inclusive product strategy. Her work is rooted in the problem space where the focus is on people, not users. Indi pioneered opportunity maps, mental model diagrams, and thinking styles. Indi has written two books, Practical Empathy and Mental Models. She was also one of the founders of Adaptive Path, the pioneering UX agency.

Shortly after Lucy Denton joined Dovetail as Product Design Lead, she was tasked with running a large-scale opportunity research project—and then making sense of all the insights. And the stakes were high; after all, she was researching user researchers! This week on the podcast, Lucy chatted with Erin and JH about how she knew it was time for a big generative research project, how she got the whole team involved, and what she did with all that research. Lucy talked about…How she and the team knew it was time for a big generative project.What Dovetail built with all this research.What she would do differently if she had to do it all again.Highlights[4:30] How to know when you need to zoom out and look at the big picture rather than taking feature requests as they come.[11:13] Turning over 300 atomic insights into a roadmap.[17:30] What the Dovetail team has shipped from their research.[22:01] How Dovetail fast-tracks customer empathy by creating onboarding packs with key insights and interviews for new team members. [26:42] What Lucy would do differently if she had to do it all again.About our guestLucy Denton is the Head of Design at Dovetail. She leads the team’s design and research efforts. Before joining Dovetail, Lucy was a designer at Atlassian for over five years. At Atlassian, she led user-centered design projects, a multidisciplinary team, and contributed to strategic design decisions.

In this special episode, two UXR CEOs geek out about their work, the challenges of building tools for user researchers, and the future of UX research tools.This week we’re mixing things up a bit. Basel Fakhoury, CEO and cofounder of User Interviews, and Benjamin Humphrey, CEO and cofounder of Dovetail, braved transpacific timezone scheduling to chat about starting a company in the UX research space, what their teams are working on now, and what they think the future holds for user research tools.Their conversation is available as both a video recording and an audio episode, so go ahead and pick your poison!Basel and Benjamin talked about…How User Interviews and Dovetail beganThe future of the UX research software spaceHow they think about the value of UX researchHighlights[2:15] How User Interviews and Dovetail began.[9:22] User research tools take a whole lot of user research to build. [13:32] What’s behind the rise of user research?[18:32] How do researchers measure the effectiveness of their work?[26:18] Where does user research fit into an organization?[32:07] What’s next for Basel and Benjamin?About our guestsBasel Fakhoury is the CEO and co-founder of User Interviews. User Interviews’ goal is to help companies make smarter decisions by connecting them with consumers who are interested in sharing their feedback on your products and ideas. The User Interviews platform simplifies the entire process of recruiting, vetting, and scheduling qualified participants for product tests and market research interviews.Benjamin Humphrey is the CEO and co-founder of Dovetail. Dovetail helps you store, analyze, and collaborate on user research in one place, making it easy to see patterns, discover insights, and decide what to do next. Thousands of researchers, designers, and product managers use Dovetail worldwide.

How do you measure success in a still-evolving field? Joey Encarnacion has been working in research ops since 2017. He joined Erin and JH on the pod to talk about Slack’s Rolling Research program, what success looks like for his team, and how he builds systems that scale.Joey discussed…Ensuring research ops can scale by building the smallest operable system firstHow he measures the success of his efforts in such a new field Slack’s Rolling Research programHighlights[2:14] Research operations as connective tissue within an organization.[8:45] To make your operations scalable, build the smallest operable system first.[16:34] Slack's Rolling Research Program.[21:54] How Joey knows if his research ops program is working.[24:48] Trends in participant recruitment during the pandemic.[28:08] Research ops as a signal that user research as a field is growing in importance. [36:08] How to measure success in research ops.[36:42] Checking your biases in civic research.About our guestJoey Encarnacion is a Research Operations leader (Twitch, Slack, Airbnb). He has been working in research operations since 2017. He’s a black belt cat herder and loves bringing organization to chaos.

To celebrate our launch on Product Hunt, we're taking some time to reflect on what Awkward Silences is all about. Guests featured in this episode, in order:Jon Macdonald, Founder of the GoodCat Noone, CEO of StarkRoy Opata Olende, Research Operations Manager at ZapierMaria Rosala, User Experience Specialist at Nielsen Norman GroupJoel Klettke, Founder of Case Study BuddyErika Hall, Co-Founder and Director of Strategy at Mule DesignHarrison Wheeler, Senior Manager, Product Design at LinkedIIn

Whether you’re paying a parking ticket or getting a divorce, chances are high that you’ll go through some (if not all) of that process online. Chances are also good that the UX of that process will be… not great. Cyd Harrell wants to change that.Cyd—prominent Civic Design Consultant and Service Design Lead at the Judicial Council of California—has been working in civic tech since 2012. She’s passionate about helping governments create digital services that meet people where they are. In this episode, Cyd joins Erin and JH to talk about her past projects, navigating the public sector, what inspired her to get involved in civic tech, and how people can contribute to the field. Cyd talked about…The unique difficulties that come with designing for the public sectorThe importance of creating equitable digital experiences How to get started in civic tech, even if you don’t codeHighlights[1:23] Civic tech, explained. [4:09] Metrics for public services have to be different from the private sector because growth really isn't the focus. [7:54] How Cyd got started in civic design.[13:23] Cyd talks through a project she worked on for California’s court system.[22:13] How do civic tech projects get started anyway? [32:46] How to work with stakeholders in the public sector.[36:42] Checking your biases in civic research.Resources mentioned in the episodeUS government agenciesU.S. Digital ResponseCode for America and Code for [Insert your city]U.S. Digital Service18FConsultancies that work with the US governmentA1MBloom WorksNavaPluribus DigitalCommunities, conferences, books, etc.Cyd’s book: A Civic Technologist’s Practice GuideRosenfeld Media’s Civic Design 2021Code for America’s Slack channels#CivicTech on TwitterAbout our guestCyd Harrell is Chief Digital Services Officer for the City and County of San Francisco and on the Board of Directors for Technologists for Public Good. She has previously worked at Code for America, 18F, and Charles Schwab doing UX, research, and product work. She’s the author of A Civic Technologist’s Practice Guide. Her favorite tools are empathy and duct tape.

Information architecture is everywhere. Page Laubheimer, Senior User Experience Specialist at Nielsen Norman Group, joins our hosts to shed some light on the complicated topic of IA and how the way we organize data impacts how we interact with products. He explains how and when to do IA work on a UX project, which research methods you’ll need, and how to launch your IA career.Page talked about…How and when to do IA work on a UX projectWhich research methods you’ll need to use to improve your IAHow to launch your IA careerHighlights[1:15] What is information architecture anyway?[10:07] Why IA is the eternally relevant UX discipline.[12:40] The term "architecture" makes many people think IA has to come first, but this isn't always the case.[23:17] How Page got started in IA.[27:11] What kind of research do you need to do to create good IA?[36:00] If you're doing IA as a part of your UX work, take some time to really focus on words.About our guestPage Laubheimer is a Senior User Experience Specialist at Nielsen Norman Group. His background in library and information science helps him create usable and organized interfaces. At NN/g he performs independent research, leads courses and seminars, and works with clients to create well organized UX.

Our third annual State of User Research survey gathered insights from 525 people who do research around the world. Katryna Balboni, our Content Director, joined the hosts of Awkward Silences to talk about how the 2021 report came together. They discussed the challenges of survey design, the changing landscape of user research, improving stakeholder buy-in for user research, and (nerd alert!) large-scale medieval surveys.In this episode, Katryna talks about…How we (re)designed our survey and distributed it to user researchersThe relationship between stakeholder buy-in and UX researcher job fulfillmentGetting philosophical about survey distribution and representative audiencesThe “Great Survey” and Domesday Book of 1086 ⚔️Read the full report: The State of User Research 2021Highlights[8:20] Thinking about ways to improve survey distribution for a more diverse audience—and the implications that has on how representative that makes the results.[11:40] On average, researchers rated their fulfillment at work as 6.4/10. How does stakeholder buy-in and engagement with UX research affect that score? [18:51] A staggering 90% of user researchers said they worked exclusively remotely since the pandemic began. How has that affected research? [27:00] How to get stakeholders engaged with research by involving them early and often.[28:34] 34% of people who do research start planning their research sessions 2-4 weeks in advance. We ask: Will we see that timeline shrink in the future?[32:20] Survey nerds need to know about the Domesday Survey of 1086, and Katryna’s here to tell you about it.Resources mentioned in the episodeThe State of User Research 2021 Report6 Strategies for Doing Faster User Research—Without Sacrificing ValidityHow to Organize, Automate, and Tidy Up your User ResearchResearch Ops: What It Is, Why It's So Important, and How to Get StartedEp #15: Kate Towsey on Starting a Research Ops PracticeHistory Extra podcast: Domesday Book: Medieval big data*About our guestKatryna Balboni is a marketer by day, thankless servant to cats Elaine Benes and Mr. Maxwell Sheffield by night. Loves to travel, has a terrible sense of direction. Bakes a mean chocolate tart, makes a mediocre cup of coffee. She is leads Creative Content & Special Projects at User Interviews.*Psst—Katryna here… Bonus extra fun fact that I forgot to mention: In the 11th century, many rents were paid in kind (i.e. not with money). One of the most common forms of payment was eels. Yes, as in the slippery fish. Domesday data shows that people in England paid their landlords over 500,000 eels each year. 🐟🐍

Is your company truly customer-centric? Are your systems actually helping you create better experiences for your customers?Last week, Kim Salazar, Senior User Experience Specialist at Nielsen Norman Group, joined us for a live podcast episode to share valuable insights from her own work with teams trying to create truly customer-centric companies through CX transformation. She highlighted the importance of drawing from multiple sources of data and communicating the business benefits of CX work. Highlights[4:51] To achieve CX transformation, we have to break down silos to connect people and technology.[10:29] User-centered companies typically have better business outcomes, which is why so many organizations are focused on this now.[17:05] When undertaking a CX transformation project, you can refine, rebuild, or remodel.[18:57] Make yourself a casserole of data with lots of different sources and ways to measure data. This means if your NPS score goes down, you have things like click data to tell you why.[25:36] Start with passive data collection, which can give you the clues you need to know where to dig a little deeper.[33:09] Showing user frustration to build buy-in is okay, but it’s showing the business impact of poor experience that really brings stakeholders on board.[45:40] Use metrics your company is already familiar with to build stakeholder buy-in.About our guestKim Salazar is a Senior User Experience Specialist with Nielsen Norman Group. Kim combines her background as a developer and education in Computer Science and HCI with her user experience expertise, particularly around complex applications, to bring well-rounded insights to her work.

Are your research discoveries really discoveries? Or are you collecting validation for your own assumptions?That’s just one of the big questions Maria Rosala, Director of Research at Nielsen Norman Group, tackled in our second-ever live “podinar.” Maria shared her expertise on conducting thoughtful discovery research and user interviews.Listen to (or watch!) the episode to learn:Why the discovery process is a non-negotiable part doing quality user research Maria’s favorite discovery methodsHow to get stakeholder buy-inTips for conducting better, more insightful interviews& more...Highlights[00:01:33] What exactly is discovery research?[00:04:41] Are your discoveries really discoveries? Maria explains what many research teams get wrong about the discovery process.[00:12:16] The importance of evangelizing the discovery process to get the buy-in you need.[00:16:40] Does discovery research have to be a big, lofty undertaking? Maria shares how teams can adapt the process to the needs and constraints of their project.[00:24:25] How do you know when you’ve gathered enough insights? How many people do you need to talk to?[00:30:02] How to use an interview guide (not a script) for better user interviews.[00:32:04] Recommended tools and processes for analysing discovery research results.[00:34:36] Discovery research for B2B software.[00:40:04] Measuring the ROI of discovery research.

Building great products is hard. Building great, secure, products is even harder. This week on Awkward Silences, we talked to Ted Harrington about the intersection between security and UX. He outlined what exactly ethical hackers do, how he challenges stakeholder assumptions about security work, and what teams can do to ensure their systems are secure.Ted talked about…What UX and security work have in commonHow teams can ensure their work is more secureSome of the common issues and myths he encountersHighlights[2:53] In both UX and hacking, bad systems are built on bad assumptions.[8:04] How stakeholder research helps security teams understand what data they need to protect.[14:10] How security teams deal with psychological acceptability in their work.[22:58] Making security matter to the user is a huge part of ensuring more secure practices.About our guestTed Harrington is the author of HACKABLE: How to Do Application Security Right and the Executive Partner at Independent Security Evaluators (ISE), the company of ethical hackers famous for hacking cars, medical devices, and password managers. He’s helped hundreds of companies fix tens of thousands of security vulnerabilities, including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix, and more.

Being a research team of one isn’t easy. When you’re the only researcher at a company, you have to do every type of research, recruiting, planning, and analysis by yourself—all without the resources of a large team. But for Imani “Izzy” Nichols, being a UX research team of one is an exciting challenge. She’s been a team of one twice now and has learned a lot from her experience. In this episode of Awkward Silences, Izzy talked about how being a team of one allowed her to focus on championing research, leveling up her career in meaningful ways, and growing her skills.Izzy talked about…How she finds mentors and a sense of community.How to educate your teammates about the differences between market and UX research.How to conquer the inevitable imposter syndrome that comes with being the first and only researcher.Highlights[4:16] Doing UX research as an introvert.[9:20] Level up by finding good UXR mentors outside your organization.[13:55] The biggest challenge of being the first and only researcher is educating the company about what UX research is—and why it matters.[17:53] There are a lot of benefits to working in a team, like each member having expertise in a specific area.[23:21] Conquering imposter syndrome.Resources mentioned in the episodeHexagon UXDesign for Good Nikki AndersonKevin Liang About our guestImani “Izzy” Nichols is the Founder & Principal Researcher at Yzzi Research. There, she uses her research skills to help businesses understand her customers. She also coaches aspiring UX researchers to help them break into UXR and has her own podcast. She has also worked at WeWork and Octane.

In March 2020, Google Classroom’s user base grew from 30 million to hundreds of millions almost overnight.As schools closed, teachers needed new ways to conduct lessons and manage their work. This meant that Amanda Rosenburg, a Staff UX Researcher & Team Lead working on Google Classroom, had a lot of work to do. Research requests were suddenly piling up, and her team needed to execute quickly to help the product team adapt to new and unexpected challenges.Amanda talked about…How she adjusted her research strategy to cover more ground, faster.Her biggest challenges, and the changes she’s sticking with.How students and teachers are coping with all this change.Highlights[2:23] Google Classroom went from 30 million users to hundreds of millions overnight[6:32] Amanda is grateful to have a team that values research—and each other's opinions. At the beginning of the pandemic, her biggest challenge was turnaround time.[10:26] The hardest thing for the Google Classroom team to tackle was the sudden change in primary use case. [25:44] At the beginning of the pandemic, Amanda started getting way more requests from PMs for research—so she had to change her strategy for taking on projects.[28:17] How are the kids coping with all this change? [33:10] Amanda is excited about the conversations people are having around equity in education as we move into the new year.About our guestAmanda Rosenburg is Team Lead & Head of Google Classroom, where she leads a team whose work impacts close to 200 million students and educators on a daily basis globally.She comes from a background in education and research.

The year is wrapping up and it’s finally time to say bye forever to 2020 👋. The hosts of Awkward Silences, Erin May and JH Forster, took this opportunity to reflect on some of the things that happened in research this year, what changes they think are here to stay, and what they see on the horizon in 2021. They also revisited some of the best conversations we’ve had on the podcast so far, like chatting with Vivianne Castillo about self-care, Cat Noone about accessibility, and Randy Duke about diversity and inclusion in UXR.Erin and JH talked about…How work and research changed this year.What changes they think are going to stick.What they expect for 2021.Highlights[2:48] Erin and JH talk about the world going remote and vulnerability at work.[16:08] Dark design patterns and how UXers are working on fixing them.[19:31] UX Collective's 2020 lessons and what we learned.[22:49] Accessibility is a growing focus for researchers and designers.[26:46] How are we going to adjust to life after COVID?

There is a growing need for research operations.As more companies embrace the importance of user research and scale their UXR efforts, a dedicated ops function is quickly becoming a necessity.Research ops—which involves things like participant recruitment, research processes, and programs to help non-researchers do better research—can be a career path for many different kinds of people. Roy has worked with ops pros who come from traditional business operations, marketing, UX, and of course, research. He says the key to succeeding in a research ops role isis to being comfortable with blazing a new trail and taking joy in creating processes that work.Roy talked about…How to decide if research ops is a good career for youWhat he does on a day to day basisHow research ops works at Zapier📖 Read more: Research Ops: What It Is, Why It's So Important, and How to Get StartedHighlights[4:50] Roy was the first research ops hire at Zapier. He's happy to be brought on early in the process so research can scale with the company.[6:45] The first thing Roy did was research the way UXR is done at Zapier. He wanted to understand where the problems were and what he could do to fix them.[10:52] You'll enjoy research ops if you're comfortable being an explorer. Research ops is a really new space and you'll be in uncharted territory most of the time.[16:06] Does Roy use Zaps to get his work done?[27:02] Roy has been most surprised to learn who he is serving in his role. He thought he would mainly be working to create services for the UXR team, but has spent a majority of his time working on things for people who sometimes do research, like PMs and marketing folks.[34:10] A typical day for someone in research opsAbout our guestRoy Olende has been involved in user research and service design for nearly a decade. He is currently the Head of UX Research at Zapier, where he launched the company’s Research Operations practice to support user research across the entire company and accelerate product development.

Understanding your product from start to finish is easier said than done. The same goes for integrating research into every stage of a project. Danielle Smith found that she would often work on foundational projects for a product team, then move right along to the next thing, losing sight of the end-to-end experience. When she was tasked with building the research team at Express Scripts, she knew she wanted to have a better view of the big picture. So she brought data scientists, analysts, pro survey designers, and user researchers together to create a superpowered experience team.Danielle talked about…How combining different disciplines has improved her recruitment process.Being able to support more cross-functional career interests.What she’d do differently if she built a team like this from the ground up again.Highlights[2:28] Combining different disciplines is the best way Danielle has found to actually get that end-to-end view of the product.[5:23] Danielle's multi-disciplinary team grew out of a need to understand complex analytics more thoroughly.[8:22] Having everyone involved in research from start to finish helped Express Scripts build more representative research panels.[10:27] Career development is easier for team members who would otherwise be siloed. [20:08] Working in cross-functional teams means there's more buy-in from stakeholders, since they're working with researchers more often.[21:23] If Danielle did it all over, she'd focus on finding more mixed-methods people to help build connections between specialists. About our guestDanielle Smith is a user research leader, most recently Managing Director of Digital Inclusion & Research at Express Scripts. She became passionate about building an end-to-end experience team when she saw there was a gap in her team’s understanding of core analytics. She has previously worked on the User Research teams at Dell and Paypal.

User research and anthropology have more in common that you may realize. Both involve studying the way people interact with their surroundings and make critical decisions, though anthropologists focus on the cultures and societies that shape behavior. This week on Awkward Silences, Erin and JH chatted with Vanessa Whatley—a Senior UX Researcher at Google—about what researchers can learn from anthropology.Vanessa talked about…How anthropology can teach user researchers to look more closely at the context of participants’ decisions and behaviorsThe benefits of a diverse research team,And how she puts insights into perspective for stakeholders.Highlights[4:58] Anthropology is about looking at the differences we may not notice in our own familiar environments, which is also an important mindset for researchers to adopt.[7:14] It's easier to see bias with lots of practice and by starting in your analysis. It's something that you grow in as you grow in experience and exposure to other researchers.[10:28] Vanessa illustrates how race and experience may color how different researchers think about a situation.[19:13] Having a team of diverse researchers that reflects the population you're studying is incredibly important because we're all human and can miss important context or cues.[26:07] How Vanessa puts things in context with contextual inquiries and video clips.[32:15] Everything is by design, so when something bad happens, we need to look to the systems to see why.About our GuestVanessa Whatley is the UX Director - Research & Documentation at Twilio (previously at Google). Her background in Anthropology has inspired her to think about ways in which companies can prioritize user/customer needs when building products and executing business strategy. She seeks to promote humanistic/people based solutions to the challenges that institutions and individuals face.

People are 22% more likely to remember something when it’s presented as a story, rather than a cut and dry fact. So if you’re struggling to get stakeholders to care about and utilize your research, storytelling can be the key to getting research to stick. This week on the podcast, Erin and JH chatted with Harrison Wheeler, UX Design Manager at LinkedIn and host of Technically Speaking, about the power of storytelling. Harrison talked about how getting everyone on board with storytelling can make the facts of research stick around for longer, learning if your research presentations are engaging, and reminding everyone that it’s all about the users. Highlights[4:13] Ideally, research is the base for everything. Your whole team starts with research and learns to use it to tell compelling stories about the product.[8:17] Understanding your audience, their expertise, and how they like to consume data is incredibly important to telling a story that sticks.[13:47] Telling your user story by using quotes is really impactful at the beginning of a project.[19:07] Practicing telling fact-based stories about research helps you reflect on how well you know the information.[23:23] Knowing what kinds of media resonates well with your key stakeholders can help you tell a better story on their terms. About our GuestHarrison Wheeler is the Director of Product Design at LinkedIn and the host of the podcast Technically Speaking. He’s passionate about UX, design, and empowering everyone to tell great stories.

AI is becoming a part of everything we do. With voice-activated smart homes, ad targeting algorithms, and increasingly smart cars, AI is more and more a part of the fabric of daily life. But how do we make sure AI is built in a way that is user-friendly, unbiased, and ethically sound? That's where user research comes in. Erin and JH chatted with Hana Nagel, a Service Designer at Element AI, about how she researches for AI, why inputs are just as important as outputs, and the ethics around improving AI through your data. Highlights[2:53] Establishing the ethics around AI is a collaboration between private enterprise, governmental organizations, and the civic sector.[4:53] The difficult part of researching for AI is assessing how people may feel about something they've never interacted with before.[9:25] A big challenge for theAI industry as a whole is how comfortable are we with giving up our data in exchange for optimization?[14:42] How the system as a whole is responsible for AI outputs, not just the individuals who work on the AI.[24:59] It is incredibly important to identify our own biases when building AI systems. This involves a lot of self-reflection to root out biases you may not know you have.[32:42] In Hana's dream world, the work of creating and researching AI would be more widely shared among people with different expertise to create something more reflective of many perspectives. Mentioned in the episodeMoral Crumple Zones: Cautionary Tales in Human-Robot Interaction by Madeline Claire Eilish

It's time to take the next step in your research career, but is management right for you? Erin & JH chatted with Amber Davis, UXR Director at Audible, about her journey as a research manager, how to evaluate what you really want from your career, and who to talk to when you're ready to level up. Highlights[5:03] Even if you think you don't have management experience to look back on, research is full of management and leadership.[8:17] Being a manager gives you many more opportunities to contribute at the strategic level. [12:00] Straying too far from day-to-day operations can make being a manager really tough, especially when you're managing researchers.[20:12] As a manager, being a coach is more important than telling people what to do.[23:12] You have to really connect with your direct reports and learn how to show up for them. Amber takes 10 minutes before every 1:1 to ensure she's grounded and there for that meeting.[34:21] Even though it's important to build good connections with your direct reports, make sure you keep enough distance socially so you can stay professional.

Looking to add a new research method to your stack? Diary studies are a great way to get to know what your users are thinking in context, plus they can be run remotely! We chatted with Tony Turner, Lead UX Researcher at Progressive Insurance, about how his team uses diary studies to build out better customer experiences. He offered some tips on scaling up diary studies, which tools he uses to get the job done, and how he uses the data he gathers from diary studies to build out customer journey maps. Highlights[4:03] Diary studies are all about context.[9:08] Tony talks about how he combines self reported data from diary studies with in-app analytics.[10:27] Using a mixture of open ended questions and closed ones is incredibly important to getting the most useful feedback.[12:32] Recruiting early is key in a dairy study because it gives you time to find the best participants for your work.[14:54] It's ok if every participant doesn't answer every prompt, as long as you're getting the moments that matter.[19:37] If diary studies seem intimidating, start small with just a few participants. You can hone your skills and get lots of great insights.[21:44] After each diary study, Tony and his team make individual journey maps for each participant that help them understand how different people experience the process.[28:05] User research is all about helping people share their stories and experiences. Resources Mentioned in the EpisodeExpiwell - Diary study toolAdobe XD - Customer journey mapping toolAbout our GuestTony Turner is a Senior Product Designer at Paramount (formerly Meta). At the time of our interview he was Lead UX Researcher at Progressive Insurance where he led all kinds of user research, like usability testing, contextual inquiries, card sorts, tree studies, first click studies, surveys and interviews. He's interested in HCI and studied Cognitive Science during undergrad.

This week on the podcast, Erin and JH chatted with Randy Duke, Senior Research & Design Strategist at Cantina. They covered a topic that's on many people's minds right now, systemic racism and inequality, and how UX research can have a positive (or negative) impact on these systems. Randy talked with us about UXR's role in all this, how we can work to change the systems we work in, and how we can create more inclusive research.Highlights[4:58] A good place to start thinking about how to address inequality is to reflect on the system we work in.[6:03] People in UXR help to bring truth to the organization through research, which puts them in a good position to do it in a greater context.[8:46] Now is the time to really dig into the messiness that comes with the details of user research.[10:22] You need to be actively seeking out feedback and information from all of your users and thinking about their unique situations. If you don't, you're opening yourself up for failure.[12:49] We spend a lot of time asking if we can build something, rather than should we built it.[14:57] Don't look at where you can go wrong when solving a new problem, look at what you can do to get it right. That means including people of diverse backgrounds from the start.[18:25] To make more inclusive panels when you recruit, think about the demographics that are actually important to your study. If you're recruiting for a test of a new keyboard on a mobile phone, does the person's income or location really matter?[26:35] Inclusivity is not only the right thing to do morally, it's also the law.[28:25] Randy talks about the difference between how think something will be used vs. how it is actually used and the importance of checking in.[31:35] It's also important to think about how features and products could be abused.[35:08] At the end of the day, systems work because we allow them to work. Taking the time to stand up and say things should be different is the only way to create change. Additional ReadingRandy recommended a few books for those interested in learning more about UXR, design, racial inequality, and inclusion. Design Justice by Sasha Costanza-Chock Cross Cultural Design by Senongo AkpemMismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design by Kat Holmes

We've been more and more curious about how user research can be used by more than just researchers. This week, Erin and JH chatted with Jon MacDonald, founder of The Good, about how marketers can use research to improve conversion rates. He talked about what conversion rate optimization really is, how to get stakeholders to see the value of research work, and why the key to conversion success is really just giving users what they came to your site for in the first place. Highlights[1:43] Everyone expects Jon to have great stories about one quick thing that 20x'ed conversion rates, but unfortunately the truth is that his work is a lot of research and testing to make meaningful changes. [7:05] The trick to better conversion rates is giving the customers what they came to your site for in the first place.[9:33] Why onsite surveys may be hurting your customer experience, instead of getting you valuable qualitative data.[12:21] How Jon changed a real stakeholder's mind with feedback and business impact.[13:51] Jon suggests starting with quantitative data to identify the right areas to test, then following up with qualitative to learn what's wrong.[15:37] How Jon worked with baseball bat maker Easton to improve their buying process and doubled their conversion rates.[21:14] Why recruiting is one of the most important factors of research. [27:18] The gang talks about A/B testing, including the tools they use.[35:11] How Jon cuts through the noise created by lots of different data sources.[38:58] Following up on your work at a regular cadence is a huge part of success.

When Andrew joined Adobe back in November, he faced an interesting design challenge. How do you manage a vast library of help content, spanning tons of different products in different industries, so that users can easily find what they need to know to fix their problems? Andrew has learned a lot about leveraging the power of community to problem solve, experimenting with different formats to make technical explanations more accessible, and proving the value of great help content. Erin and JH chatted with him about how he positions help content to stakeholders, tackles creating content for products that have evolved from box software to the cloud, and uses research to focus on the right things at the right time. Highlights[1:43] Great product doesn't need as much help content, but people will always need help, and the more powerful your product is, the more help they will need.[8:53] By connecting customers with the right information through communities, they're 3x less likely to reach out to support for help.[10:59] Early engagement = better retention, so Adobe segments out its customers to focus on what gets them started.[13:35] Adobe has segments and chapters to keep everyone on the same page and communicating well.[25:20] People who get value from help content actually end up having a higher lifetime value. It's all about trust and mutual respect.[27:41] How Adobe creates help content for different languages and cultures.[32:09] How Andrew is thinking about simplifying solutions, and making help content work smarter, not harder[37:58] Help content and product can work together to create even better solutions for users.[39:32] Quantitative information can tell you what some of the issues are, while qualitative can help your team dig deeper into why they're there[43:03] Building out recommendations for other things you may be looking for helps your help content build a story for the user.