What Did I Miss? The Hidden Costs of Deprioritizing Diversity in User Research
Characteristics like race, ethnicity, gender, and disability status can have a significant impact on how we experience the world, and how the world experiences us. In UX research, diversity is the first thing to vanish from the recruit when the going gets tough; I will talk about what we miss when that happens, and what researchers can do about it in their own practice. This presentation will demonstrate why a diverse recruit is imperative for a strong user research study, provide examples of what we miss when the recruit is homogeneous, and offering tactics for addressing the issue.
From Passion to Execution: A Story of Evolving Research Maturity at LinkedIn
One of the hardest parts of building a knowledge management system is getting leadership buy-in and getting your team to use it properly. Join Kevin and Sarah to learn about their journey from passion-fueled side project to research-only management to fully funded knowledge/project/insights management initiatives (including an on-staff research librarian!). In this talk you will hear real-world examples of how they struggled to show how this was one of the most important things to be doing. They will share examples of how one team is leveraging the work to scale their research capabilities and provide rapid evaluation for the entire company. You will also hear about the accelerated growth and value that has come from connecting their system with the greater design org and even product management. Through all of this they will share actionable takeaways on how to show value early, what not to do, and how to use a system to amplify your teams’ work across the organization and help your Ops team scale.
Global Research Panels (Videoconference)
In this talk, Wyatt conducts a deep dive into the Airbnb Global Research Panels, the program he has been developing at Airbnb over the past two years.
- Launch: why Airbnb created the Global Research Panels, the key decisions and the internal alignment required for launching the first version of the Global Research Panel
- Process: detailed look into the current version of the Global Research Panels, including the mechanics and tools used to manage it
- Impact: demonstration of ways the Global Research Panels have provided value over the past two years at Airbnb
- Evolution: see how the Global Research Panels has grown through six iterations so far and the vision for the Global Research Panels program going forward
Bridge Building across Research Disciplines (Videoconference)
Despite all the recent focus on getting the different research disciplines to collaborate, it’s hard enough to simply get them to talk. In this Advancing Research community call, we’ve assembled an impressive group of cross-disciplinary researchers to discuss the challenges of aligning goals, language, and insight across research practices: Jamika Burge, Jem Ahmed, and Chris Geison. Collectively, they represent a variety of research perspectives, ranging from HCI and market research to UX research and data science.
Why I Left Research
After 7 years of working in UX Research Leadership roles, Lisanne left the field behind to return to education. In this talk, she will discuss the significant challenges she faced as a Black woman in UX leadership that ultimately culminated in a leave of absence and then subsequent decamping from the field. The retention rate for WOC researchers is low in the field, and there is an inherent need to understand what are some of the root causes and what can be the potential solutions to retain and potentially re-engage more WOC researchers whose perspectives, experiences, and expertise are needed in this field.
A Research Skills Evolution
How do we advance our professional practice, and decide where we invest in ourselves and our team? We start with a clear look at how our work is situated in the organization, and what it takes to build real impact through research. In this talk, Dave will walk through the core skill areas that researchers and research teams need to succeed in modern organizations, as developed from workshops involving almost 500 research practitioners. We will see how those skills evolve and support each other over time, and gain a new tool to ‘map’ a systems-view of professional growth, for individuals and for teams.
The Power of Care: From Human-Centered Research to Humanity-Centered Leadership
What is the role of care in user research? Why is care a user researcher’s greatest superpower—not only in how we do our work but how we lead? In her talk at Advancing Research 2021, Etienne Fang, Principal Researcher at Amazon Search, will discuss the importance of inclusive leadership and share lessons on leading through care, helping researchers leverage their research strengths for leadership as individual contributors, team leads, and people managers alike.
The Joys and Dilemmas of Conducting UX Research with Older Adults
The pandemic may have accelerated older people’s use of digital tools for socializations and spending, but there are limits to what some older people are comfortable doing online. When last spring’s mad dash to schedule COVID vaccine appointments stretched some seniors’ tech abilities, ‘Vaccine angel’ groups stepped in to fill the gap. The digital divide and low tech literacy among older adults needs to be addressed as an opportunity, rather than a lost cause.
This session will offer a set of practical tips for conducting UX research with older, less tech savvy adults.
HCI 2.0: Humanity Deserves the Attention that UX Research has to Offer
Data cannot interpret the world. Only humans can. Because of that, the next evolution of AI requires a more collaborative approach to building systems. And UX researchers are uniquely positioned to build the dream team responsible for managing the data collection required for more responsible AI.
Anthropology and sociology methodologies provide us the framework to interpret human behavior in a way that telemetry can’t. Qualitative research leads to more socially conscious computing decisions that will impact technology companies going forward.
Join this fireside conversation to discover…
- The power of changing one tiny acronym from “Human-Computer Interaction” to “Human-Centered Innovation”
- Expert recommendations for building more responsible technology
- What it will take to build a fundamental practice around collecting and analyzing high-quality data
- Practical steps you can take today to build ethical products in the future
Learnings from Applying Trauma-Informed Principles to the Research Process
The last two years of crises demonstrate why researchers and designers must anticipate and plan for trauma as it emerges in our work (and our lives). But how do you move your practice and your organization in a trauma-informed direction? This panel will draw upon our experiences researching sensitive topics and working with marginalized communities to discuss implementing trauma-informed practices in research and design engagements. We will explore the different ways we’ve used trauma-informed concepts to work with, and protect the mental and emotional safety of, the communities we serve. Panelists will also discuss self and team care and ways we’ve advocated for trauma-informed approaches in organizations like Code for America and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
