The consulting firm IDEO helped pioneer "design thinking" as a way to create products that better solve customer wants and needs, creating fans. Over 30 years later, the interplay between design and research has never been more important.Will Notini joins to dig into that interplay—how research is at the heart of design and vice versa. In particular, he thinks the best companies are using design research principles to explore new opportunities, both what they create and how those experiences function.Will also shares a framework for researching "fast and slow," the importance of participant recruitment, and how building trust with colleagues creates more impactful, lasting user insights.Highlights04:11 Uncovering Unbiased Insights Through Exploratory Design12:20 Finding Participants Who Truly Care and Invest19:43 Building Trust for Collaborative Design Discussions24:54 Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Expertise-Sharing at IDEO30:37 Simulated Research: Addressing Urgency and Resource Challenges34:10 Iterative Learning: Updating Assumptions and ApproachesAbout WillWill Notini is a Senior Design Research Lead at IDEO, where he is a generalist —drawing on his training in social science research to execute design and innovation work for clients in a range of industries. In his role, he manages multi-disciplinary teams and leads the research.His background is in anthropology and did mixed methods market research in the restaurant industry before transitioning to design research and has been at IDEO since. He has also recently picked up an MBA and a potentially unhealthy (unrelated) obsession with tennis.More ResourcesThe Designer's Guide to User ResearchHow to Recruit Participants for ResearchStorytelling Basics for UX Researchers

The craft of UX research is at an all-time high. How research leaders structure, staff, and scale their teams is more important than ever. Erin and Carol are joined by Brad Orego, Head of Research at Webflow, to talk all about the ways we can build better research teams.Brad shares their three-step process for creating a research practice that's ready to deliver for the business, including the questions you must ask stakeholders. Using examples from Webflow, Brad also talks about tactical considerations such as managing cross-team research requests, the importance of Operations, and how they think AI will help with democratization.This is must-listen for anyone building a research team, looking for ways to expand their influence or impact, and even early career folks who want a look inside an innovate team. Highlights03:14 Building Relationships and Networks for Long-Term Success16:18 Monitoring Customer Trends for Strategic Insights22:26 Optimizing Best Practices and Research Insights Activation29:37 Enhancing Efficiency and Reducing Risk Through Automation36:22 Four Key Questions to Guide Your Research40:41 Strategic Evolution and Research Maturity at WebflowAbout BradBrad (they/them) is a UX Leader, User Researcher, Coach, and Dancer who's been helping companies from early-stage startup to Fortune 500 develop engaging, fulfilling experiences and build top-tier Research & Design practices since 2009. They have helped launch dozens of products, touched hundreds of millions of users, managed budgets ranging from $0 to $10M+, and coached hundreds of Researchers.More ResourcesBuilding a UX Research Team From ScratchCreate Lasting UX Impact With StakeholdersThe Three Facets of High-Impact Research

In our Season 3 finale, Erin and Carol are joined by Caroline Morchio, Head of UX at Dashlane, a credential management platform. Their conversation explores UX research best practices at a security-minded organization like Dashlane, highlighting other what teams can bring to their own work. Caroline shares the ways she structures the UX team to support the product landscape at Dashlane, their processes for empowering colleagues to contribute to research, and why she prefers a "decentralized" model. The conversation also unpacks the core skills that Caroline emphasizes no matter the company: storytelling, actionable insights, and templates. Together, these help her team maintain rigor while scaling to meet new user experiences opportunities.Finally, Caroline discusses how to balance the security and usability when conducting UX research, and forecasts what the future of data privacy and security might have in store, like passwordless authentication. Episode Highlights04:27 Implementing research in stages07:22 The strategic impact of UX on a business11:23 Focusing on ICP segmentation and user sophistication18:06 The importance of privacy and data security23:01 Decentralizing research processes30:17 The importance of research in complex technologyAbout Our GuestCaroline is a Design leader with experience in innovative companies transforming their industries. She has led design teams through all phases of product development and fostered a culture of open collaboration and feedback. Caroline was previously VP of Design at Handshake, Neuralink, and is now an AWS Design ambassador and Head of UX at Dashlane.More Resources on Security in UXRA Researcher's Guide to Data Privacy RegulationsNDAs and Consent Forms for UX ResearchExamining Ethical Design and Respectful UX

Jo Widawski, founder of Maze, discusses the future of research with three key trends: growing demand, democratization empowering decision-making, and new technology like AI scaling research. The conversation explores the rise of research generalists, stakeholder influence, and necessary skills for future researchers, offering a roadmap for growth from tactical to strategic partnerships.

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.

Three UX research experts, Judd Antin, Dave Hora, and Christiana Lackner, discuss the industry's evolution, adapting methods for team dynamics, balancing business and user focus, fostering shared understanding, planning strategically, and the promise of AI. They share insights on future-proofing research practice, creating business value, and building cross-functional partnerships.

Tyler Wanlass, lead product designer at CommandBar, shares practical strategies for user research for designers and PMs. He discusses scrappy approaches, creative participant recruitment, and mixed-methods continuous discovery. Tools like session recordings and account impersonation offer deeper insights. Proactive research, social listening, and competitive analysis are key. Helpful for those without a dedicated research team looking to build thoughtful products efficiently.

Claudia Natasia, CEO of Riley AI, discusses linking research to revenue, strategic frameworks for growth, leveraging competitive analysis, creating meaningful insights, tracking research impact, and elevating projects. She emphasizes triangulating data types, balancing primary research with existing information, and making impact with decision makers and executives.

Healthcare design advisor Nadyne Richmond discusses challenges in healthcare research, like engaging professionals and patients, legal requirements, and data protection. She emphasizes the rewards and intricacies of healthcare research, including the importance of thorough planning, sensitive topics management, and balancing objectivity with empathy.

Julian Della Mattia shares insights on starting a UX research team from scratch, including strategies for success, building bridges within organizations, essential processes, and scaling research capacity. He discusses balancing research with operational tasks, connecting insights from different teams, and aligning user research with core business goals to maximize impact.