Insights Unlocked
UserTesting
What does it take to create experiences customers love, craft campaigns that captivate, and drive measurable results?Insights Unlocked features candid conversations with the builders, creators, and innovators driving some of the world’s most impactful digital transformations. Tailored for marketing, product, UX and CX leaders, each episode delivers actionable insights to help you create customer-first strategies and stay ahead in today’s competitive landscape. Each episode is about 30 minutes long. From optimizing product launches to leveraging AI for smarter workflows, Insights Unlocked is your go-to resource for designing experiences that resonate, drive loyalty, and achieve business results. Guests include influential leaders like Brian Solis, April Dunford, Kate Towsey, Jacob Nielsen, Teresa Torres, and Judd Antin among others, offering their expertise in CX, UX, and innovation. The podcast also highlights strategies and success stories from leading brands such as Verizon, Signet Jewelers, Figma, Microsoft, Tesco Bank, and more.UserTesting leaders and industry experts join as guest hosts, alongside show producer Nathan Isaacs, award-winning journalist and Senior Manager of Content Production at UserTesting.Brought to you by UserTesting, the leader in human insights and proactive customer experience strategies, Insights Unlocked empowers CMOs and marketing teams to craft experiences that drive growth, loyalty, and impact.Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Show notes, curated clips and more at usertesting.com/podcast.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 8, 2022 • 24min
A major global company leans into digital innovation - Timothy Embretson, Global Vice President of Experience Design and Karolina Boremalm, Global Head of Design Operations at IKEA Retail (Ingka Group)
Timothy Embretson is Global Vice President of Experience Design and Karolina Boremalm is Global Head of Design Operations at Ingka Group, IKEA’s largest retailer. In this episode, they discuss how they are leading a digital transformation at a major global retailer. Scaling the design organizations and helping to make the special in-person IKEA experience just as delightful when a person is shopping online.
Nov 7, 2022 • 33min
When you can stop talking to your customers with Julia Austin from Harvard Business School’s Rock Center for Entrepreneurship
Julia Austin is a strong advocate for feedback never stopping, whether she is pushing her students to get out and talk with customers or talking with business leaders. “I'll get this question, especially from founders early on, of ‘when do I stop talking to my customers and getting feedback and start building my product?,’” said Austin, Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School’s Rock Center for Entrepreneurship where she currently teaches Startup Operations. “And I'm like, ‘Never ... You need to be talking to them all the time.”In this episode of the Human Insight Podcast, Austin joins UserTesting’s CEO Andy MacMillan and Chief Insights Officer Janelle Estes to discuss the importance of customer feedback, as well as:
What makes a great product manager?
How do you know when you have product market fit?
Her advice to legacy companies making the digital transition and developing new products or reinventing how their current products are offered in the marketplace?
Nov 1, 2022 • 20min
Unlocking innovation with the right research participants - Erin May and JH Forster of User Interviews and the hosts of Awkward Silences
Erin May and JH Forster of User Interviews and hosts of the Awkward Silences podcast, discuss the value of high-value research participants. Depending on where a product is in its lifecycle, an intentional pool of research participants can substantially impact the strategic direction of a product.
Oct 31, 2022 • 31min
Digital initiatives and understanding how people work with Kaj van de Loo, UserTesting’s Chief Technology Officer
You have to understand how people work, and why, says Kaj van de Loo, UserTesting’s Chief Technology Officer, on this week’s episode of the Human Insight Podcast. “What do they actually want to do or need to do to reach their goals, vs. what are they doing as weird workarounds or because they are being told to do,” he said. “Look at the former, and support it. In our case, every product manager, designer, and engineer wants to understand our customers and users and they all want to hear about how our product is being used, what people think of it, and how we can make it better. We lean into that.” In their conversation with Kaj, co-hosts Andy and Janelle ask him about business workflows and how the pandemic and digital acceleration changed the way we think about processes and workflows. The also discuss how understanding how people work, and how they leverage tools and technology, as well as customer insights, to launch products successfully.
Oct 25, 2022 • 14min
Leadership is just another design problem - Jesse James Garrett, Design Leadership Coach
Jesse James Garrett is a Design Leadership coach, author and speaker with over 25 years of experience in the UX industry. Jesse was part of the first wave of professional user experience designers and co-founder of one of the first user experience consultancies, Adaptive Path. In this episode, we talk with Jesse about what UX leadership needs in order to keep the industry thriving.
Oct 24, 2022 • 33min
Cultivating customer empathy in a data-driven world with Brian Solis
Producer’s note: This week’s episode is a conversation with futurist and author Brian Solis at The Human Insight Summit held in New Orleans in 2022.Do you know how your customers experience your brand today? Do you know how they really feel? Do you know what they say when you're not around? You think you know your customers, but you really have no idea–until you talk to them!Brian Solis, author of X: The Experience When Business Meets Design, joined Janelle Estes, UserTesting’s Chief Insights Officer and co-author of User Tested, met onstage in a fireside conversation at The Human Insights Summit last week in New Orleans to discuss the importance of customer understanding and empathy in an always-on world, and why today customer experience is your brand.Solis is a world-renowned digital anthropologist, futurist, 8x best-selling author, and international keynote speaker. He serves as VP, Global Innovation at Salesforce and has consistently been recognized as one of the world's leading voices in innovation, business transformation, and leadership for over two decades.Leveraging insights from each of their books and professional experiences, Brian and Janelle spoke about the parallels in their books and beliefs on powering customer-centric experiences.
Oct 18, 2022 • 16min
Harnessing big data can transform research practice- Malini Leveque, VP of User Insights and Research at SAP
Malini Leveque is VP of User Insights and Research at SAP. A huge multinational software company, SAP has over 100,000 employees. In this episode, Malini shares how she’s leading product teams throughout the organization using big data, analytics, and live user insights to drive actions that generate real business value.
Oct 17, 2022 • 30min
Why human-centered government matters with Amanda Renteria, the CEO of Code for America
Amanda Renteria, the CEO of Code for America, joined the Human Insight Podcast to talk about using technology AND regularly talking with your audience to reimagine government to better serve communities. Amanda has worked in the financial sector, been a teacher in her hometown, and spent most of her career in the public sector, from serving as Chief of Operations at the California Department of Justice to being national political director for Hilary Clinton’s 2016 US presidential campaign. And, oh yeah, she ran for the U.S. Congress and for California’s state governor.Among the topics discussed include:
Simplifying tax filing
Code for America’s Safety Net Innovation Lab
What is human-centered government
Amanda’s thoughts on Hispanic Heritage Month following her recent appointment by President Biden to his Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics.
Oct 11, 2022 • 15min
Research Operations isn't admin, it's fundamental - Kate Towsey, Research Operations Manager at Atlassian
Kate Towsey is Research Operations Manager at Atlassian. In this episode, Kate challenges how we think about Research Ops, saying it’s not an administrative effort. It’s foundational in providing the necessary tools and training to make sure research can be democratized while maintaining the highest quality insights.
Oct 10, 2022 • 39min
Solving business problems with big 'D' design with Andrew Hogan from Figma
The digital acceleration is changing everyone’s lives, especially for designers who are more and more in demand across companies, industries and geographies. The past decade has seen incredible changes to design, and who is a designer.In fact, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics this year officially recognized the job of “web and digital interface designer,” says Andrew Hogan, who leads insights and analysis at Figma and was this week’s guest on the Human Insight Podcast. “And there’s also this realization that design can impact things at a business level, call it Big D design,” Hogan said. “It’s not just about moving pixels, it’s also about solving business problems.”Podcast co-hosts Andy MacMillan and Janelle Estes talked with Andrew before Adobe’s announced its intentions to acquire Figma for $20 billion.In addition to discussing how much design has changed, as well as what’s ahead, they also discussed what are the best practices across the industry, especially as it pertains to big, global, and/or enterprise organizations.
