Democratizing research is an engaging and polarizing topic in the field. Is it a way to scale user research and increase its influence and impact? Or is it an existential threat to research’s expertise and legitimacy? COVID-19’s sudden push for businesses to rapidly digitize and improve their user experience and a historically high barrier to enter the User Research field have resulted in a large demand for user research, but a short supply of experienced professionals. This workshop will help you understand the benefits and drawbacks of democratizing research, how to determine if democratization could be right for your organization, and best practices for democratizing research.
What you will learn
Attendees of this workshop will leave being able to:
- Weigh the main benefits, drawbacks, and challenges of democratizing research
- Determine if research democratization is right for their particular context and organization
- Implement concrete, actionable strategies to roll out research democratization should it be a fit for their situation
- Draw upon learnings and best practices from a variety of researchers who have experience democratizing research
Who should attend
This will help anyone who is responsible for planning, conducting, and sharing user research at their organization. Research, Design, and Product leaders may find it particularly actionable and valuable in determining how to responsibly conduct and scale user research.
Pre-requisites
Please come with an open mind, a positive attitude, and key challenges you have previously, are currently, or anticipate facing if you’re looking to democratize research at your organization.
