Awkward Silences

People are 22% more likely to remember something when it’s presented as a story, rather than a cut and dry fact. So if you’re struggling to get stakeholders to care about and utilize your research, storytelling can be the key to getting research to stick. This week on the podcast, Erin and JH chatted with Harrison Wheeler, UX Design Manager at LinkedIn and host of Technically Speaking, about the power of storytelling. Harrison talked about how getting everyone on board with storytelling can make the facts of research stick around for longer, learning if your research presentations are engaging, and reminding everyone that it’s all about the users. Highlights[4:13] Ideally, research is the base for everything. Your whole team starts with research and learns to use it to tell compelling stories about the product.[8:17] Understanding your audience, their expertise, and how they like to consume data is incredibly important to telling a story that sticks.[13:47] Telling your user story by using quotes is really impactful at the beginning of a project.[19:07] Practicing telling fact-based stories about research helps you reflect on how well you know the information.[23:23] Knowing what kinds of media resonates well with your key stakeholders can help you tell a better story on their terms. About our GuestHarrison Wheeler is the Director of Product Design at LinkedIn and the host of the podcast Technically Speaking. He’s passionate about UX, design, and empowering everyone to tell great stories. 

AI is becoming a part of everything we do. With voice-activated smart homes, ad targeting algorithms, and increasingly smart cars, AI is more and more a part of the fabric of daily life. But how do we make sure AI is built in a way that is user-friendly, unbiased, and ethically sound? That's where user research comes in. Erin and JH chatted with Hana Nagel, a Service Designer at Element AI, about how she researches for AI, why inputs are just as important as outputs, and the ethics around improving AI through your data. Highlights[2:53] Establishing the ethics around AI is a collaboration between private enterprise, governmental organizations, and the civic sector.[4:53] The difficult part of researching for AI is assessing how people may feel about something they've never interacted with before.[9:25] A big challenge for theAI industry as a whole is how comfortable are we with giving up our data in exchange for optimization?[14:42] How the system as a whole is responsible for AI outputs, not just the individuals who work on the AI.[24:59] It is incredibly important to identify our own biases when building AI systems. This involves a lot of self-reflection to root out biases you may not know you have.[32:42] In Hana's dream world, the work of creating and researching AI would be more widely shared among people with different expertise to create something more reflective of many perspectives. Mentioned in the episodeMoral Crumple Zones: Cautionary Tales in Human-Robot Interaction by Madeline Claire Eilish

It's time to take the next step in your research career, but is management right for you? Erin & JH chatted with Amber Davis, UXR Director at Audible, about her journey as a research manager, how to evaluate what you really want from your career, and who to talk to when you're ready to level up. Highlights[5:03] Even if you think you don't have management experience to look back on, research is full of management and leadership.[8:17] Being a manager gives you many more opportunities to contribute at the strategic level. [12:00] Straying too far from day-to-day operations can make being a manager really tough, especially when you're managing researchers.[20:12] As a manager, being a coach is more important than telling people what to do.[23:12] You have to really connect with your direct reports and learn how to show up for them. Amber takes 10 minutes before every 1:1 to ensure she's grounded and there for that meeting.[34:21] Even though it's important to build good connections with your direct reports, make sure you keep enough distance socially so you can stay professional.

Looking to add a new research method to your stack? Diary studies are a great way to get to know what your users are thinking in context, plus they can be run remotely! We chatted with Tony Turner, Lead UX Researcher at Progressive Insurance, about how his team uses diary studies to build out better customer experiences. He offered some tips on scaling up diary studies, which tools he uses to get the job done, and how he uses the data he gathers from diary studies to build out customer journey maps. Highlights[4:03] Diary studies are all about context.[9:08] Tony talks about how he combines self reported data from diary studies with in-app analytics.[10:27] Using a mixture of open ended questions and closed ones is incredibly important to getting the most useful feedback.[12:32] Recruiting early is key in a dairy study because it gives you time to find the best participants for your work.[14:54] It's ok if every participant doesn't answer every prompt, as long as you're getting the moments that matter.[19:37] If diary studies seem intimidating, start small with just a few participants. You can hone your skills and get lots of great insights.[21:44] After each diary study, Tony and his team make individual journey maps for each participant that help them understand how different people experience the process.[28:05] User research is all about helping people share their stories and experiences. Resources Mentioned in the EpisodeExpiwell - Diary study toolAdobe XD - Customer journey mapping toolAbout our GuestTony Turner is a Senior Product Designer at Paramount (formerly Meta). At the time of our interview he was Lead UX Researcher at Progressive Insurance where he led all kinds of user research, like usability testing, contextual inquiries, card sorts, tree studies, first click studies, surveys and interviews. He's interested in HCI and studied Cognitive Science during undergrad.

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 ReadingRandy 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 AkpemMismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design by Kat Holmes

Jon MacDonald, founder of The Good, shares insights on improving conversion rates through user research. He emphasizes giving customers what they came for, the importance of qualitative data, and the impact of targeted recruiting. Jon also discusses A/B testing, handling data overload, and optimizing e-commerce trends.

When Andrew joined Adobe back in November, he faced an interesting design challenge. How do you manage a vast library of help content, spanning tons of different products in different industries, so that users can easily find what they need to know to fix their problems? Andrew has learned a lot about leveraging the power of community to problem solve, experimenting with different formats to make technical explanations more accessible, and proving the value of great help content. Erin and JH chatted with him about how he positions help content to stakeholders, tackles creating content for products that have evolved from box software to the cloud, and uses research to focus on the right things at the right time. Highlights[1:43] Great product doesn't need as much help content, but people will always need help, and the more powerful your product is, the more help they will need.[8:53] By connecting customers with the right information through communities, they're 3x less likely to reach out to support for help.[10:59] Early engagement = better retention, so Adobe segments out its customers to focus on what gets them started.[13:35] Adobe has segments and chapters to keep everyone on the same page and communicating well.[25:20] People who get value from help content actually end up having a higher lifetime value. It's all about trust and mutual respect.[27:41] How Adobe creates help content for different languages and cultures.[32:09] How Andrew is thinking about simplifying solutions, and making help content work smarter, not harder[37:58] Help content and product can work together to create even better solutions for users.[39:32] Quantitative information can tell you what some of the issues are, while qualitative can help your team dig deeper into why they're there[43:03] Building out recommendations for other things you may be looking for helps your help content build a story for the user. 

Jonathon Hensley spends a lot of time creating strategies for businesses. So Erin and JH chatted with him about what's changed since COVID-19 and why alignment matters more than ever right now.  The takeaway? Everyone needs to be aligned around a common goal. They also need to understand how every project supports that larger goal. In a world that's moving faster than ever, user research is a pivotal part of making sure each effort is serving that goal well.Highlights[7:06] The key to individual alignment is clarity on your goals and purpose, and providing people with the ability to fulfill those things.[10:46] Coming into research with bias or trying to validate an idea you already have can be a sign of misalignment[16:46] Right now, people want something concrete. While making a plan can feel good now, having a strategy and goals you're clearly aligned around is the key to long term, agile success.[25:13] Strategy is equating things to value and sharing values across your organization[30:47] The strategy, not the plan, will keep everyone working towards the same goals[37:52] If you can't afford to fail, research is one of the things that will ensure you don't.

Learn about the difference between being data-informed and data-driven, the importance of putting data in context, building data narratives, and navigating data interpretation in a misinformation age. Hear how Hannah Shamji approaches large amounts of data and works towards unbiased research while staying focused on answering her research questions.

Kate Moran, VP of Research & Content at Nielsen Norman Group, dives into the world of UX benchmarking. She simplifies the process of demonstrating design ROI and highlights its importance for getting stakeholder buy-in. Kate discusses how to choose the right metrics and differentiate between summative and formative studies. She shares real-world case studies, effective strategies for gauging task efficiency, and addresses audience questions on minimizing bias in research. A lively exploration of UX's quantitative side that combines learning with fun!