Reimagining research: What does the field need to grow? [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]

As the field of research evolves rapidly, maintaining a shared understanding of our foundational principles becomes crucial. Our panelists will explore key principles, including uncovering insights from unexpected business settings, prioritizing outcomes over rigid methodologies, and using foresight to envision our futures. They will invite us to contemplate what our future as researchers could look like if we reimagined these fundamental aspects of our practice.

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!)

Coffee with Lou (Videoconference)

Lou Rosenfeld is Rosenfeld Media’s “product guy”. He oversees the acquisition and editing of dozens of UX books, and is responsible for programming of four annual UX conferences (DesignOps Summit, Advancing Research, Design in Product, and Designing with AI). In this informal session, participants gathered to share ideas, get recommendations, and ask Lou burning questions.

Lisanne Norman on Why She Left UX Research

Lisanne Norman entered the tech field as a UX researcher in 2015 and quickly advanced to lead researcher at Dell, then Visa. She founded Black UX Austin and was the UX lead researcher at Gusto.

And then she left in 2022. Because she had had enough. And because she wanted to make a difference. She is now co-director of DEI at the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut.

In today’s interview, Lisanne shares her career journey and the tools she acquired in various positions along the way. We get a glimpse of what it’s like to be a Black woman in tech. We also get a hint at what it might take to keep a Black woman (or other individuals from marginalized groups) in the space. We hear of the microaggressions that can and do occur in the workplace, and Lisanne helps us imagine the exhaustion of functioning in such an environment day after day. She has worked in established, entrenched cultures and in young, seemingly flexible startups, and she found that both environments are lacking in their efforts to bring marginalized people groups to the table.

Lisanne will be sharing more at Advancing Research 2023, March 27-29. Her talk is “Why I Left Research.”

What you’ll learn from this episode:
• What the UX research world looks like from a Black woman’s point of view
• The types of microaggressions Lisanne endured in the workplace and public places like airports
• Why being a marginalized voice at work – even in a young, flexible culture – can be exhausting
• The difference between culture-fit and culture-add
• What companies need to do to attract and retain BIPOC employees – and why it’s worth the effort to do so

Quick Reference Guide
• [00:15] Introduction of Lisanne
• [01:38] Lisanne explains how she stumbled upon research as a possible career and found herself working for Dell
• [05:19] Lisanne’s time working directly with Dell as part of their design team and her later transition to Visa
• [12:40] Lisanne explains the frustrations she endured at Visa and her switch to a young e-commerce company
• [19:13] Feeling weighed down by microaggressions, keeping notes, and educating those who should know better
• [21:13] Covid, taking a break, Black UX Austin, Gusto, and George Floyd
• [27:55] BREAK: Books recently published by Rosenfeld Media
• [30:08] On what it would take for Lisanne to get back into UX research
• [35:01] On the potential of learning from past modules of successful “adding”
• [37:41] Lisanne’s gift to our listeners: POCIT (People of Color in Tech)

Coffee with Lou: Should You Write a (UX) Book? (Videoconference)

Everyone feels like they have a book in them—and UX designers, researchers, and (of course) writers are no exception. But having an idea and making it into a book are entirely different things. If you’ve ever wondered what’s involved in the process, how it differs from other types of writing you’ve done, whether your idea even merits book treatment, or other authorial considerations, well… here’s your opportunity to have an informal conversation with a real live publisher of UX books.

Creating a More Impactful Business While Still Feeling Like a Designer with Ellen Chisa

Have you ever felt like the product people want to move too fast? You realize that speed is important, but the quality of the product is going to suffer and the results are going to disappoint.

Or have you ever wished you had a seat at the table during the initial strategy sessions of a new project, rather than being brought in mid-stream?
Do you feel intimidated when talking to the folks on the business and finance side of your organization?

If so, this episode is for you. Ellen Chisa has a background in engineering and an MB. She is a founder, venture capitalist, and partner at boldstart ventures. In short, she has to care about the business side of things. But she also cares about user-oriented product design, and she wants the voices of those in the design space to be heard.

The best place to start, she asserts, might be by listening and learning. Ellen encourages designers to familiarize themselves with their organization’s business models and financials. If you’re feeling squirmy about that prospect, Ellen lays out a workable approach that will put both you and the business analyst at ease.

Ellen’s goal is to help you create more business impact while still feeling like a designer. Ellen will be the opening keynote at the November 29 Design in Product virtual conference.

What you’ll learn from this episode:
– About Ellen Chisa’s background, her current position, and the contribution she’ll make at the Design in Product Conference 2023
– Where Ellen sees the future going—combining APIs with generative AI
– Why designers will benefit from learning about the business and financial side of their organization
– How a designer can approach a business person with ease and curiosity
– A strategy for getting a seat at the table for the initial strategy sessions of a project

Quick Reference Guide
[0:00:20] Introduction of Ellen Chisa and Design in Product Conference
[0:02:22] The double diamond approach to design
[0:04:09] Potent combinations of design tools
[0:05:02] Ellen looking ahead at where technology will go
[0:07:08] Creating more business impact while still feeling like a designer
[0:09:45] How to get a financial toolkit for designers
[0:12:08] Accessible metrics for non-business people
[0:17:32] Design Ops Summit, October 2-6, 2023
[0:19:02] Feeling like a designer and building a coalition
[0:21:12] How to slow the cadence
[0:23:04] Is it better to focus on revenue and growth or derisking?
[0:25:09] Advice for those who feel reserved about approaching others
[0:27:06] Ellen’s gift for listeners

Jenae Cohn on Designing for Learning

Jenae Cohn is executive director at the Center for Teaching and Learning at UC Berkeley and, along with Michael Greer, author of the new book Design for Learning: User Experience in Online Teaching and Learning. Jenae and Michael’s book helps designers create compelling educational content. Think of it as required reading for anyone designing an online course, webinar, training, or workshop.
Designing a platform intended to educate goes beyond traditional UX design.

Jenae’s book does the following:
• Looks at the science behind learning and articulates how to help someone be a learner
• Helps designers understand the complex array of needs that learners have and create more purposeful learning experiences

Learning is motivated by social interactions and emotions. In fact, the learning process is typically social, and most are motivated knowing that they’re not learning in isolation but in or for community. Designers should capitalize on these motivations.

Tips for making online learning more social:
• Take “temperature” checks throughout the course – for example, a poll or quiz
• Allow comments on shared artifacts and shared annotation
• Prompt discussions and assign roles if needed
• Remember that a webinar will not necessarily create a social experience

As designers get started on creating online instructional material, Jenae reminds them to be kind to themselves. After all, designing for learners is an iterative learning process. Also, it’s critical to create checkpoints and opportunities along the way to garner feedback. With the aid of Jenae and Michael’s book, we can depart from the days of dull online courses and make them truly vibrant spaces of growth.

What you’ll learn from this episode
• Why typical online learning platforms are so dull and what can be done differently to make them more engaging and compelling
• How instructional designers and UX designers can learn from one another
• How designers can make online learning more social
• How designers can know if they’re meeting their goals

Quick Reference Guide
[0:00:21] Introduction of Jenae Cohn
[0:01:41] Design for Learning – Why we need a UX book for learning/teaching products
[0:05:17] Why UX designers may be surprised by what they didn’t know about designing with learning in mind
[0:08:58] What instructional designers can learn from UX designers
[0:12:14] Hybrid environments in learning products
[0:15:07] DesignOps Summit – Oct 2-6, 2023 rosenfeldmedia.com/designopssummit2023/
[0:16:13] Learning is social – how to help online learners stay engaged
[0:24:58] How a designer can determine if their learners have had a good outcome
[0:30:40] Advice for designers moving into the learning design space
[0:33:29] Jenae’s gift to listeners

Erica Jorgensen on Tools and Techniques for Testing your Content

Erica Jorgensen is one of Rosenfeld Media’s newest authors with the publication of her book, Strategic Content Design: Tools and Research Techniques for Better UX. With a background in journalism, her book draws on her experiences as a content designer with the likes of Chewy, Microsoft, Slack, Amazon, Starbucks, Nordstrom, and Expedia.

Erica’s book is a toolkit of research techniques for anyone struggling to create content that makes an impact. Not all companies have dedicated research budgets or teams, yet research can save us from redos and yield more targeted, effective content.

Without research, you may be flying blind without even realizing it. We assume the words and phrases on our websites and apps are effective, and a little due diligence can confirm those assumptions or enlighten us about something that was previously completely outside our awareness.

Erica warns us to be prepared because content research will open proverbial cans of worms. False assumptions will be exposed, and what you learn may take your work in unexpected directions. Oftentimes, the whole company will need to get on board when language has to be changed or cleaned up.

In a nutshell, content research will expose problems. But it will help you make progress, and the payoff is worth it.

What you’ll learn from this episode:
• About Erica’s career journey in content design
• Case study: The impact of one company’s confusing language, and how content research came to the rescue
• How to incorporate content research into non-research roles
• How to prioritize and strategize content research
• How to harness content audits to highlight what needs attention
• Why it’s important to present your team’s work in the most flattering light possible

Sheryl Cababa on Systems Thinking for Designers

Sheryl is the author of the soon-to-be-released Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers.

With a background in journalism and political science, and having worked at or with Adaptive Path, Substantial, Frog, Ikea, Microsoft, and the Gates Foundation, Sheryl has an interest in the big picture of systems thinking and how it applies to designers.

Working on projects of enormous scale that could directly or indirectly affect thousands or millions of people can put researchers and designers in a state of paralysis as they realize the potential consequences of their work. Systems thinking can help move us out of that state of paralysis and into one of thought, collaboration, and action.

Sheryl explains how systems thinking fills the gaps that design thinking alone can leave behind.
• Expand your scope from the user to anyone who could be affected by the product.
• Don’t just ask how the product will be used. Asked why the product is needed at all.
• Expand your thinking. Think broadly about who the stakeholders are and the various contexts that could be impacted by your design.
• Imagine different solutions that you might not be able to execute, solutions that might require a policy change or a different business model.

An approach like the above will feel slower – at least initially. If you have impatient supervisors and engineers, gain alignment with them by getting them involved in the process.
• Help them understand the status quo and envision the future.
• Have them go through the exercise of creating visual maps with you.

What you’ll learn from this episode:
• The relationship between design and systems thinking
• How design thinking falls short
• How systems thinking fills in the gaps by expanding your thinking and looking outside your scope of expertise
• Why systems thinking feels slower but is more collaborative and more efficient in the long run
• How to gain alignment with your decision-makers

Quick Reference Guide
[00:00] Introduction
[01:44] Ways to overcome decision paralysis
[04:55] Navigating the complexities of the world through systems thinking
[06:45] The problem with formalized systems thinking
[08:24] Design thinking vs. systems thinking
[13:22] The kinds of interventions that drive successful innovation
[15:42] How long-term thinking helps overcome compliance issues
[17:38] The difference between Cloud Space and Clock Space
[22:10] How designers can tell their superiors to slow down
[25:22] An easy way to gain alignment with your decision-makers
[30:38] Sheryl’s gift to the audience
[32:05] Parting thoughts

From Solo to Scaled: Building a Sustainable Content Strategy Practice

Natalie Marie Dunbar joins Lou to discuss the lonely pursuit that is content strategy. She also digs into what it means to build a content strategy practice—whether you’re just starting out as a solo practitioner, scaling up in a large organization, or trying to make a case for your CS practice’s value. Her new Rosenfeld Media book, From Solo to Scaled: Building a Sustainable Content Strategy Practice, serves as a “companion” to address this loneliness as much as it is a guide to the resources needed to create a sustainable content practice.

This episode offers a preview of what Natalie calls the Content Strategy Practice Blueprint. There are five components to that blueprint, including making the business case, building strong relationships, creating frameworks and tools, and establishing meaningful measures of success.

Changemakers: How Leaders Can Design Change in an Insanely Complex World

Authors Maria Giudice & Christopher Ireland join Lou to discuss their new book, Changemakers: How Leaders Can Design Change in an Insanely Complex World, which comes out on January 17.

Get a taste of what they cover in the book, from systems thinking to navigating change, and how to look broadly at patterns to understand the context in which you are establishing change. The authors explain the wide range of industries they drew from in their research and interviews, as well as the highly emotional aspect of changemaking in society today. Bonus: they share some tools you can use to become a changemaker.