The Roots of Inclusion with Victor Udoewa

We hear a lot about diversity, equity, and inclusion, but you probably haven’t heard it like this. Nigerian-born Victor Udoewa, service design lead at the Centers for Disease Control’s Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology, brings a beautiful perspective that challenges current research methodologies.

Victor introduces the notion of the pluriverse, emphasizing that people inhabit different worlds with unique ways of being and knowing. He draws attention to the diverse perspectives that shape people’s beliefs and understanding, emphasizing the importance of acknowledging and bridging these gaps.

He also uses a tree as a metaphor, in which the roots are ways of being, the trunk ways of knowing, and the branches and leaves are methodologies and methods. The metaphor suggests that inclusive research should not just focus on the green parts of the tree but what’s underneath the surface, getting to the very roots of being.

Recognizing the limitations of mainstream research toolkits and critiquing methodologies grounded in Western ways of being, Victor proposes that truly inclusive research goes far beyond having diverse teams study diverse audiences.

This episode is just a taste of Victor’s talk at the upcoming in-person Advancing Research Conference, “Beyond Methods and Diversity: The Roots of Inclusion.”

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:
– The Pluriverse Concept: The idea that the world comprises multiple realities, ways of being, and existences
– Standpoint Theory: The idea that individuals at the bottom of a social hierarchy possess a knowledge that is inaccessible to those at higher levels
– Victor’s Tree Metaphor: Roots symbolize ways of being, the trunk represents ways of knowing, and branches and leaves denote methodologies and methods
– Radical Participatory Research: Allowing research to emerge organically from the ways of being of the community involved

Quick Reference Guide:
[00:10] Meet Victor Udoewa
[02:16] About Victor’s talk at Advancing Research
[04:26] The pluriverse and asymmetry of knowledge
[11:20] Social hierarchy, ways of being, and methodology
[12:52] The tree metaphor – getting to the roots
[22:20] Research starting with a way of being
[26:47] Cultural individualism on research
[33:02] Victor’s gift for listeners

Design is the Differentiator: Bringing New Design Innovations to a Very Antiquated and Very Large Industry

Technology and design are at the heart of the innovations Compass delivers to thousands of real estate agents. Compass Founder and CEO Robert Reffkin and Sr VP of Design & UXR Greg Petroff chat about the industry and the opportunity for design to make a difference.

• Learn how technology and design make Compass stand out and deliver digital innovations in a massive industry.
• Hear about the Compass culture of learning and collaboration that is at the core of high-performing design teams.
• See how design scales its efforts with the help of product and engineering partners and a powerful set of entrepreneurial principles.

Casual Inference (Videoconference)

You’ve probably heard the old adage “correlation does not imply causation” but at some point we’ve got to say that drinking boiling hot tea and burning our tongues are more than just “strongly correlated”.

Enter Causal Inference, a collection of techniques for reasoning about the relationship between effects that can be measured and causes that can be identified. It helps us bridge between what we hear when we talk directly to users and what we observe about their behavior at scale and over time.

This talk will introduce some of the key techniques in causal inference and how they can be used by UX Researchers and Designers to understand potential users, current users, and the products we might build.

Traction Heroes with Harry Max and Jorge Arango

Listen wherever you get your favorite podcasts!
Apple podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio

What happens when two brilliant minds from the world of information architecture team up to create a podcast that’s part leadership playbook, part intellectual high-wire act? That’s exactly what Harry Max and Jorge Arango set out to explore with their new podcast, Traction Heroes. Lou Rosenfeld chats with two and learns how they envision their project and how their podcast differs from traditional interview formats.

Instead of scripted discussions, Traction Heroes features Harry and Jorge reading thought-provoking passages from books to each other—without prior preparation—sparking impromptu, insightful conversations. The goal? To decode complex ideas and turn them into actionable advice for leaders and decision-makers. The pair leverage their complementary strengths: Harry’s applied, results-driven approach, and Jorge’s deep, theoretical mindset. Together, they aim to help listeners gain traction in their careers and lives, all while keeping the dialogue engaging and accessible.

Launched in January 2025, the podcast avoids technical or siloed jargon, and focuses on practical tools for structuring decisions and creating meaningful outcomes. Available on major platforms and at TractionHeroes.com, the show promises a fresh take on leadership and decision-making.

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

• The story behind Jorge and Harry’s collaboration and how Traction Heroes came to life
• How their unique podcast format fosters unscripted, thought-provoking conversations
• Why they’ve chosen to avoid technical or industry-specific jargon to reach a broader audience
• What inspired their focus on leadership, decision-making, and practical insights
• How they plan to make complex ideas accessible and actionable for listeners

Quick Reference Guide:

0:00 – Meet Jorge and Harry
2:35 – Introducing Jorge and Harry’s podcast
6:20 – How this podcast will be different
11:03 – The broadness of information architecture
15:25 – 5 reasons to use the Rosenverse
18:18 – The format of the podcast
26:46 – Traction Heroes
28:38 – Gifts for listeners

Bubbles of Belief: Dave Gray Talks Liminal Thinking & Current Events

Technology is unintentionally conspiring against you: making sure you only see more of what you like and agree with. How do we as a people expand our point of view when arguments are no longer productive? Dave Gray’s returns to talk with Lou Rosenfeld about how his latest book, Liminal Thinking, applies to Brexit and the recent U.S. election.

From Hype to Insight: Llewyn Paine on AI, UX, and Critical Thinking

What happens when a cognitive psychologist turned UX researcher brings a critical eye to AI? Dr. Llewyn Paine shares her unique perspective at the intersection of emerging technology and user research. With experience spanning neuromarketing, 3D television, and mixed reality, Llewyn has seen the hype cycles come and go—and learned to spot the gap between promise and practical value.

Llewyn and Lou explore the parallels between now-defunct technologies and today’s AI surge, noting how often new tools are overmarketed before their implications are truly understood. Llewyn urges researchers to engage with AI not as passive users but as experimenters: to test, retest, document, and analyze like scientists. Her recent workshop revealed how even identical prompts to the same model can yield wildly different results—an important reminder that AI is non-deterministic and context-sensitive.

Llewyn also shares a behind-the-scenes look at curating the Designing with AI 2025 conference, built around both the realities of today and the creative possibilities of tomorrow. She reminds us that critical thinking, experimentation, and thoughtful documentation are the UX research community’s superpowers in this unpredictable AI era.

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

• Why Llewyn’s background in cognitive psychology shapes her skepticism toward overhyped tech
• How past experiences with neuromarketing and 3D TV inform her approach to AI in UX
• What it means to treat AI prompts and outputs as experimental variables—not deterministic tools
• Why researchers should go straight to the models (not third-party tools) when exploring AI
• How variability in AI output challenges assumptions about accuracy and reproducibility
• What the Designing with AI 2025 conference reveals about balancing realism and creativity in tech adoption

Quick Reference Guide:

0:09 – Introduction of Llewyn and her journey as a UX researcher
5:25 – The limits and over-selling of neuro marketing
8:42 – A critique of AI as an analysis tool
11:55 – An experiment with AI
15:45 – A process to add consistency to working and researching with AI tools
17:21 – “Why Johnny Can’t Prompt”
19:09 – Why you should use the Rosenverse
21:24 – The upcoming Designing with AI conference
25:38 – The structure and panels of the conference
28:55 – Llewyn’s gift for listeners

Connecting the Ops with Jon Fukuda

Ahead of the 2022 DesignOps Summit, Lou speaks with guest Jon Fukuda, a co-founder of Limina where for 18 years he has been delivering UX and technical design to his clients. His focus is on facilitating the implementation of scalable research and design operations. Lou and John discuss the concept of digital transformation and explore what it looks like to walk a client through the difficult terrain of operationalizing their design processes, how to have those difficult conversations surrounding company culture, taking the lead as a change agent, and more.

Jon is co-founder of Limina.co with 20+ years as a User Experience Specialist with a focus on UX Strategy, Design Thinking, and UI Design with experience leading human-centered requirements, strategy, interaction design, testing, and evaluation. Most recently, Jon has dedicated his efforts to Research & Design Operations facilitation for scalable/sustainable human-centered systems.

Paying Better Attention to the Problem with Indi Young (Videoconference)

In tech culture, everyone is hell-bent on coming up with answers and solutions. We all assume we know what the person’s problem is; rarely does tech culture start at the very beginning, understanding the variety of approaches real people have to their real purposes and different moods and contexts. Instead, we build an idea into experiments to see if it solves the imagined “problem.”

Sound familiar?

We can’t go on solving things based on our own thin understanding of how others perceive the problem. We can’t go on assuming everyone is in the same mood and context. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Indeed, we have done a lot of accidental harm in the world with the assumption that the tools we design are “neutral.” We need to get better at paying attention. We need to slow down and gather a richer, more nutritious understanding of the people we are trying to support. And we need to point a beam of light into possible future outcomes.

Let’s put equal emphasis on the problem. Spending equal time in the problem space generates rich understanding. Understanding the depths, perspectives, horizons and histories of the way people achieve their purposes opens up loads more opportunities. We can begin making solutions that eschew “engagement” to truly support different people in different ways.

The problem space deserves more attention and a slow cycle all of its own.

Meet Charlotte Lee, Civic Design Co-curator

We are excited to welcome Charlotte Lee as a co-curator of our new Civic Design conference and community, which will be launching soon with our first monthly videoconference.

In this episode, Charlotte and Lou discuss the intersection of design and technology, machine learning, how the House of Representatives legislates, and more. She also shares details about her current project, redesigning congress.gov, and a peek into what you can expect from the Civic Design Conference.

Looking for a great read? Charlotte recommends: Humanocracy by Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini

Responsible Design in Reality

Technology teams have finally recognized their social and ethical impacts matter deeply. Tech giants are now pledging to turn over new leaves, to prioritize responsible innovation, and to act in more sustainable and equitable ways. But turning aspirations and promises into operational reality is hard work. Cennydd Bowles, head of responsible design and futures studio NowNext, will report on his findings from years in the ethical technology space. What approaches actually work in growing teams? Is there such a thing as an ethical design process? Should you hire specialists? And who gets to decide what’s ethical, anyway?