Conference Program

We’re all ultimately charged with making our products as useful and beloved as possible, but in order to do that, researchers must widen the aperture of user research. Usability, user journeys, and the like are critical, but the reality is that wider cultural factors provide the filter through which people experience your product. We need to dedicate more attention to how wider cultural factors shape what people need from a product experience—the dialogue between the wide and the narrow apertures are crucial to creating beloved, essential products.

In this talk, Neil Barrie, Co-Founder and CEO of TwentyFirstCenturyBrand, shares his perspectives on research’s role in helping companies build deeper, meaningful relationships with customers based on his work building the brands of the likes of Airbnb, Pinterest, Headspace, Pepsico, Monzo and Bumble.

His talk will address:

• How culture is the lens through which people experience products
• Why products are the catalyst to purpose, facilitating behavior changes that can take marketing years to achieve
• What we can learn from insider cases of culturally driven UX innovation from leading unicorns like Flo Health, Pinterest and Airbnb

When research is siloed it can lead to duplicative research of variable quality. In this talk, Andy explores the benefits (and challenges) of having a unified research & insights function, based on his experiences leading teams at Airtable, Instagram, and Dropbox. Further, Andy presents practical strategies to align diverse insight-generating functions, offering guidance even in situations where forming a unified team may not be possible. Through a detailed examination of real-world scenarios and Andy’s professional journey, attendees will gain valuable lessons and recommendations aimed at fostering a cohesive and effective research ecosystem.

Join us in-person to meet Maria Giudice, author of Changemakers: How Leaders Can Design Change in an Insanely Complex World. She will be signing copies of Changemakers during the morning break on March 25th.

Moving the research function out from UX can transform how insights influence product-making in an organization. In this talk, Nalini explains how and why she led this shift for her team at Salesforce, as well as the move’s effect on their work and impact. Nalini will also share lessons learned in the process – “the how to’s” and the “absolutely how not to’s” – that may inspire and guide leaders and individual contributors alike.

Researchers must adeptly navigate a dual remit in organizations. The initial challenge involves delivering insights that matter. The subsequent task requires discerning the necessary adjustments the organization must undertake to effectively act upon those insights. In this presentation, we’ll talk about a model of change and a theory of power to enable researchers to embrace and fulfill their dual mission. It is at this intersection of meaning and action that research can impact lives.

Location: Bartos Screening Room – Museum of the Moving Image

Orthodoxies are deeply held beliefs about “how things are” or “how things are done” or even “who does what.” We all have them personally, and we hold onto them as an industry too. They largely go unnoticed and unquestioned, to the extent that they become invisible even when they no longer serve us — which can make us resistant to change and prevent us from developing. By identifying, challenging, and potentially “flipping” these orthodoxies we prepare ourselves to truly advance Research.

In this session Julie Norvaisas, dscout’s VP of User Experience, will kick things off by sharing a set of orthodoxies that came out of her team’s research on Researchers. The group will have a chance to discuss and build on them — then flip some. Prepare to be provoked and maybe even a little out of your comfort zone. This is a chance for attendees to learn from each other, to be challenged, to be inspired by successes, and to imagine a revitalized future for our field.

Imagine a future where UX Research Operations (ReOps) is not just part of research execution, but a pivotal force driving business performance and competitive edge. In this session, we will explore the hidden and often untapped superpowers of Strategic Programs already available in your team. Discover how ReOps can evolve from a supportive function for research alone to a strategic linchpin that fuels your business competitive position, at scale. Through engaging case studies, actionable program plans, and measures, this session will equip you with a practical roadmap to assess the current research lifecycle, effectively advocate for resource gaps with research intelligence, and creative approaches to your research hiring & people strategy. Don’t miss the opportunity to transform your approach to Research Ops into a strategic pillar of business strategy. This evolution will lead to a significant shift in research perceptions, excellence, and maturity.

Researchers use our work to drive organizational action, by closing knowledge gaps, clarifying user needs, or identifying opportunities. But the extent of that action is often limited. We frequently want our research to be about strategy, but that’s not how organizations usually work. Our stakeholders want tactical research on tight timelines. By contrast, Peter highlights a different, and distinctive, approach to making strategic impact: considering research as a form of “robust action,” work that solves specific problems while visibly expanding the organization’s field of future possibility. Peter gives examples of work he’s done in this fashion at Intel, Autodesk, and Airtable, and provides some guiding principles to help make our work more valuable.

Join us in-person to meet Rebecca Evanhoe, author of Conversations with Things: UX Design for Chat and Voice. She will be signing copies of Conversations with Things during the afternoon break on March 25th.

What is “impact” in the context of research? Should we strive for influencing product decisions or shifting organizational thinking? Is it measurable or qualitative? And what does it take to achieve it? Join our expert panel as they share their unique perspectives on defining and achieving research impact, offering illuminating examples from their own experiences. Don’t miss this lively, thoughtful discussion that transcends traditional metrics and explores the profound ways in which research can make a lasting difference.

Discover the transformative power of shifting from passive users to active shapers of AI in Tricia’s compelling closing keynote. Unveiling the insidious “User Trap,” Tricia exposes the pervasive sense of powerlessness entrenched in our tech-driven world. She champions a radical shift in the researcher’s mindset, advocating liberation from the confines of being “user researchers” to versatile professionals adept at navigating the complexities of human-tech interactions, especially ones that force people into becoming users. As AI tooling improves, Tricia envisions a future where human ingenuity stands as the cornerstone, complementing and enhancing the capabilities of advanced AI tools. In this world, researchers who can truly understand human beings, gather thick data, and communicate complexity and context-loss with clarity, will become even more indispensable.

Enjoy light bites, an open bar, and an absolutely unbelievable view of the Manhattan skyline at our opening reception, courtesy of Sprig. End an intense day chatting with your new friends and reconnecting with old ones.

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