Collaboration: learning from other fields beyond our own [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]

For the best part of 15 years, user researchers have been experimenting with how to collaborate and join up insights and practices with data analytics, market research, CX, and more.

As ad hoc and sometimes structural collaborations start to become the norm, we will be taking a step back and asking ourselves…

• As we become more joined up are there still fundamental differences between market and user researchers?
• Are we becoming people who just do research? And if we are, what does that mean for our field?
• Where should the balance lie between generalization and specialization?
• And what might happen if we look to collaborate and learn outside of our own insight-generating field, and start collaborating with communities beyond our walls?

Attend all of our Advancing Research community workshops

Each free virtual workshop is made up of panelists who will share short provocations on engaging ideas to discuss as a group, as well as a leader in our field to moderate. If you’re looking for discussions that challenge the status quo and can truly advance research, look no further than our workshop series. (P.S. We’ll be drawing most of our Advancing Research 2025 conference speakers from those who present at upcoming workshops—so tune in for a sneak peek of what’s to come from #AR2025!)

Democratization: Working with it, not against it [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]

Perhaps no word is more likely to get researchers agitated than “democratization.” The debate about democratization is vigorous, though verging on pointless: it’s here and unlikely to be dialed back. And other research functions are talking to customers, running surveys, and conducting A/B testing.

In this community workshop, we take a step back and take a broader look at the field of insight. With viewpoints honed in data analytics, market research, and user research, our panelists discuss how democratization has been made to work effectively in their fields for quite some time, and what we can do to imagine a future beyond the debate.

Attend all of our Advancing Research community workshops

Each free virtual workshop is made up of panelists who will share short provocations on engaging ideas to discuss as a group, as well as a leader in our field to moderate. If you’re looking for discussions that challenge the status quo and can truly advance research, look no further than our workshop series. (P.S. We’ll be drawing most of our Advancing Research 2025 conference speakers from those who present at upcoming workshops—so tune in for a sneak peek of what’s to come from #AR2025!)

Methodologies: Beyond the interview [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]

Researchers are being asked to help address challenges that are increasingly complex, strategic, and high-stakes. Our toolkit of methods needs to keep up with those challenges, as does our confidence and comfort with choosing, using, and combining those methods. Our Methods panelists will describe some of the exciting techniques they’re applying in their work, and discuss how they’ve overcome barriers to enriching their UXR toolkits.

Attend all of our Advancing Research community workshops

Each free virtual workshop is made up of panelists who will share short provocations on engaging ideas to discuss as a group, as well as a leader in our field to moderate. If you’re looking for discussions that challenge the status quo and can truly advance research, look no further than our workshop series. (P.S. We’ll be drawing most of our Advancing Research 2025 conference speakers from those who present at upcoming workshops—so tune in for a sneak peek of what’s to come from #AR2025!)

What emerging methods are advancing UX research [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series] (Videoconference)

Four of your research colleagues discussed and defended their respective positions on what emerging methods are advancing UX research. Participants engaged with them in a discussion and Q&A, facilitated by Victor Udoewa.

“Thanks to online culture, we have all become savvy content creators, alert to meanings. But while the user can tell you what they like, semiotics unlocks the system of imagery, narratives and environments that makes them think that way, showing brands how to be distinctive and credible.”

     – Soma Ghosh & Rob Thomas

“Using AI for the “science” of user research (data collection, analysis) leaves you with more time to devote to the “art” of it—drawing connections only you could draw, telling stories that resonate in a way only you can.”

     – Savina Hawkins

“The value of User Research is easily missed (dismissed) if our colleagues don’t come out from behind their computers or down from their 47th-floor office, and join us in talking to the people using their products or experiencing their services. There is no such thing as second-hand empathy.”

     – Dave Hoffer

What UX research maturity looks like and how we get there [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series] (Videoconference)

Three of your research colleagues discussed and defended their respective positions on what UX research “maturity” looks like. Participants then engaged with them in a discussion and Q&A, facilitated by Lada Gorlenko.

“Absent a strong baseline level of data fluency, product teams struggle to harness the power of insight in their work. As UX and UXR leaders, we are uniquely positioned to define what fluency looks like for our organizations and help teams transform to achieve it.”

  – Megan Blocker

“Research has come a long way, but we have a long way to go. Our future success rests on two pivotal aspects of maturity: our leadership’s proximity to power and the use of ‘Strategic Research Programs’ to deliver value beyond Design and Product.“

 – Fatimah Richmond

“Does UX maturity matter in the age of Generative AI? Is your ability to do well as a team going to depend on your UX skills? Or your tech or people skills?”

 – Molly Stevens

Communities of Practice for Civic Design (Videoconference)

At the April Civic Design Community call, hear from new community curator Kara Kane. She shares her experience scaling and leading the UK government’s user-centered design (UCD) communities and International Design in Government community while working at the Government Digital Service.

Kara talks about how communities of practice are central to the transformation of public services. The communities she developed built design capability, aimed to create a culture of equity and inclusion and were core to developing and delivering standards and guidance for government.

When UX Research and Institutional Racism Collide: A Case Study

Our recent UX engagement on a federal grant focused on a challenge in Alzheimer’s research: Black, Hispanic, and/or Latinx people are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease more frequently than their white counterparts, yet participate in clinical trials, particularly prevention trials, at a lower rate. We were tasked with solving “usability issues” that prevented underrepresented populations from participating in research. Predictably, we surfaced more about inequality than usability. In this talk, we will share some of the mistakes we made and lessons we learned about broadening the definition of usability. Additionally, we will discuss how we articulated systemic inequality as part of our usability findings, and how this experience continues to influence our thinking about usability, inclusivity and anti-racism in our present research endeavours.

The Real Point of Research: a Chat with Erika Hall, author of Just Enough Research

Erika Hall wants us to get one thing straight: getting research right isn’t about the method you choose. It’s about gathering research to make the right design decisions for your business. Hear Erika’s ideas for how to bake research into the product design process. And why every organization needs a “team philosopher.”

Complex Problem? Add Clarity by Combining Research and Systems Thinking

Enterprises are increasingly complex. Workers are faced with more information, more tools, more demands, and research needs to keep up. The field of Systems Thinking can help researchers uncover the models behind this complexity. This talk covers practical techniques for illuminating how models are interconnected, where feedback loops exist, and how we might transform these complex systems to drive innovation. It highlights how we can understand these systems without losing sight of the workers themselves… their ideas, concerns, motivations, and needs. Marrying systems clarity with this human perspective is critical, and is something researchers are uniquely positioned to do.

Making a Classic Even Better with Leah Buley and Joe Natoli

Leah Buley and Joe Natoli have teamed up to make something great (check out the reviews on Amazon!) even greater. How? Well, considering that The User Experience Team of One: A Research and Design Survival Guide was written more than a decade ago, it was time to revisit the content and make it even more relevant for today’s UX teams. After all, times have changed.

But the fundamental principles of the original book haven’t changed. They are as solid today as they were 11 years ago. What has changed is that the methods have been adapted for the speed of change in today’s businesses.

Joe says it best: “These methods are shorter. They’re simpler. They’re more direct in a lot of ways, and they cut to the chase in a way that longer processes don’t. I’ve met plenty of senior people who are throwing up their hands and going, ‘We’re doing all the things. Why isn’t this working?’ And the truth is, they’re kind of overworking and overthinking. Everything in this book is practical and direct and gets you from point A to B. I just don’t think there’s any better way to get there.”

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

• About Leah’s experience as a solo UX practitioner and the inspiration behind the first edition of UX Team of One
• How the UX field has changed over the past decade
• How the second edition aims to provide comprehensive yet practical UX methods that can be applied in various organizational settings
• About the shortcomings of UX boot camps and educational programs
• A perspective that balances UX advocacy with business objectives and the reality of corporate politics
• How to navigate and thrive in a UX career despite industry challenges, focusing on practical, adaptable methods and tools.

Quick Reference Guide:
0:46 – Introduction of Leah and Joe
1:33 – The User Experience Team of One, second edition
6:46 – Large or small team, Leah and Joe’s book is comprehensive without being overwhelming
8:58 – Righting wrongs
12:14 – What’s new in the second edition – striving to do more with less
15:58 – Break – plug for the Rosenverse
18:20 – The current shitstorm
21:39 – On speed
24:40 – On toolkits. Tools and methods are two different things.
28:16 – Who needs The User Experience Team of One?
30:45 – Leah and Joe’s gifts for the audience