#151 - Improving Your UX Research Efficiency with Auzita Irani of AirBnB
Jun 25, 2024
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Erin talks with Auzita Irani from AirBnB about optimizing UX research efficiency. They cover strategies for doing more with less, balancing tactical and strategic work, avoiding burnout, and leveraging tools like AI. They also discuss the impact of research, adapting to blurred work boundaries, and predictions for the future of UX.
Balancing short-term wins with strategic planning is crucial in UX research.
Fostering innovation and adaptability is vital in achieving more with limited resources.
Implementing 'doing more with less' requires balance to avoid burnout and compromised quality.
Effective prioritization and collaboration aid in managing temporal constraints in research projects.
Deep dives
Balancing Tactical Work with Strategic Vision
It is essential to strike a balance between short-term wins and long-term strategic planning in research initiatives. Trust is built through quick wins, yet the future success relies on prioritizing and aligning tactical work with broader strategic goals.
Maximizing Resources Across Company Sizes
In different organizational settings like large companies and startups, the challenge persists to achieve more with limited resources. From tight timelines and agility in large firms to unconventional methodologies in startups, success lies in fostering a culture of innovation and adaptability.
Critical Evaluation of 'Doing More with Less'
Embracing the concept of 'doing more with less' depends on its implementation and balance within an organization. While it can foster innovation and efficiency, overstretching resources can lead to burnout, compromised quality of work, and increased stress.
Efficient Time Management Strategies
Prioritization is crucial to handle temporal constraints effectively in research endeavors. Setting up rolling or rapid research programs, planning ahead with project timelines, and leveraging collaboration with product and program managers aid in managing resources and time efficiently.
Impactful Research Communication and Collaboration
Enhancing impact and visibility of research findings necessitates effective communication and collaboration across diverse teams and functions. Building trusting relationships with stakeholders, seeking and incorporating feedback, and emphasizing research impact on product decisions are essential for success.
Future Trends in Research Practices
Anticipated trends include the continued adoption of remote research methodologies post-COVID, the rising relevance of AI and machine learning in research processes, and the holistic approach towards understanding user experiences amidst evolving technologies like AR.
Recommended Resources for Researchers
Helpful resources for researchers include Google's People and AI Research Guidebook, the book 'Design Products People Love,' and 'Scaling Yourself While Avoiding Burnout' conference talk insights. Exploring AI tools, attending UX conferences, and connecting on professional platforms like LinkedIn can enhance research capabilities and knowledge sharing.
Erin is joined by Auzita Irani, a research manager at AirBnB to discuss being a more efficient user experience researcher. In today's work world, resources—time, budget, headcount—always seem to be in limited supply. How can we balance these things along with other important elements of our research practices? Auzita has been thinking about "doing more with less" for a long time and shares practical strategies.
After discussing the challenges facing today's UX researcher, the conversation shifts to what Auzita has seen work for researchers, both those working in large and small companies. Erin and Auzita touch on tools (like AI), tactics (like prioritization frameworks), and collaboration approaches to work more productively with stakeholders and teammates. They also discuss burnout's effects and the ways of combatting it.
Finally, Erin and Auzita make some predictions on where UX is headed in the months and year ahead, and what these trends might mean for our work.
Episode Highlights
03:53: Challenges and strategies of "doing more with less"
11:23: Addressing time and deadline constraints
21:38: Failure modes and avoiding burnout
32:05: Balancing tactical and strategic work
38:21: Emphasizing your research's impact
44:57: Adapting to blurred work boundaries
About Our Guest Auzita has a background in computer engineering and Human Computer Interaction. She currently leads teams dedicated to optimizing customer support experiences and developing cutting edge AI tooling solutions at Airbnb. Prior to this she led the research and annotation teams at Sprig working on streamlining the process of obtaining real-time insights for product teams.
