#48 - Rising to the Moment: UXR, Diversity, & Inclusion with Randy Duke

Sep 2, 2020

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This week on the podcast, Erin and JH chatted with Randy Duke, Senior Research & Design Strategist at Cantina. They covered a topic that's on many people's minds right now, systemic racism and inequality, and how UX research can have a positive (or negative) impact on these systems. Randy talked with us about UXR's role in all this, how we can work to change the systems we work in, and how we can create more inclusive research.

Highlights

[4:58] A good place to start thinking about how to address inequality is to reflect on the system we work in.
[6:03] People in UXR help to bring truth to the organization through research, which puts them in a good position to do it in a greater context.
[8:46] Now is the time to really dig into the messiness that comes with the details of user research.
[10:22] You need to be actively seeking out feedback and information from all of your users and thinking about their unique situations. If you don't, you're opening yourself up for failure.
[12:49] We spend a lot of time asking if we can build something, rather than should we built it.
[14:57] Don't look at where you can go wrong when solving a new problem, look at what you can do to get it right. That means including people of diverse backgrounds from the start.
[18:25] To make more inclusive panels when you recruit, think about the demographics that are actually important to your study. If you're recruiting for a test of a new keyboard on a mobile phone, does the person's income or location really matter?
[26:35] Inclusivity is not only the right thing to do morally, it's also the law.
[28:25] Randy talks about the difference between how think something will be used vs. how it is actually used and the importance of checking in.
[31:35] It's also important to think about how features and products could be abused.
[35:08] At the end of the day, systems work because we allow them to work. Taking the time to stand up and say things should be different is the only way to create change.

Additional Reading

Randy recommended a few books for those interested in learning more about UXR, design, racial inequality, and inclusion.

Design Justice by Sasha Costanza-Chock
Cross Cultural Design by Senongo Akpem
Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design by Kat Holmes