#UXRConf Preview: Meet Vivianne Castillo
A Q&A on encouraging self-care in our research practice, checking privileges and more
As we gear up for the 2019 UXR Conference in June, we are super excited to share some pre-conference conversations with our speakers!
One of those speakers is Vivianne Castillo.
Vivianne is a UX Researcher with 7 years of psychology and research experience spanning multiple contexts, cultures, and industries. At last year’s conference, she gave an insightful talk on “Ethics & Power: Understanding the Role of Shame in UX Research,” and we are thrilled to have her speak again at the conference this year.💥
At Strive 2019, Vivianne will be speaking on the main stage with a talk entitled “The Siren Call of Self-Neglect”. To learn more about Vivianne and her unique approach to user research, continue reading below. 👇
What is your current role at Salesforce and how did you get started into UX research?
I just moved back home to Chicago after living on the East Coast for about 5 years! At my current role at Salesforce I have the opportunity to leverage research to help C-suite executives across various industries and companies convey what is really meaningful to their internal and external customers. I work with an incredibly smart group of people and have really enjoyed the space and creativity we’re given in the early stages of research and discovery.
The short answer into how I got started in this field is: by gobbling up any and all material on UX design/research and establishing relationships with mentors in the field! But my love for UX Research is deeply rooted in my past experiences as a Human Services/Counseling professional. I’ve always loved working closely with people and creating the intimate space to connect as individuals.
What have you been up to since your talk last year at our first ever UXR Conference?
Wow, I’d say I’ve been up to quite a lot! I’ve been able to speak internationally at three conferences, I gave an internal talk to employees on the Oculus VR team, was interviewed for a Slate Magazine piece on ethics in design, wrote a small handful of pieces on Medium, relocated back home to Chicago to work at Salesforce, wrote a foreword for Mike Monteiro’s new book Ruined by Design, and have continued to mull over how to dismantle systemic and institutionalized injustice and oppression in the tech industry.
Oh and I bought an air fryer — which I love and adore. 😁
I love your honest and direct tone both on stage and in your medium articles. How has being authentic helped you in your practice?
Being authentic has helped me gain clarity on what type of work I want to be doing, what type of company I want to be associated with, and what values I’m not willing to compromise on. I’ve learned to be comfortable challenging the status quo and thoughts/ideologies about UX research from industry influencers. In my practice, it’s helped me to understand the value of my voice — the unique perspective and experience I bring into how I conduct research and connect with people. If I can’t be authentic, why should I expect my participants or anyone I work with to be authentic with me?
Your talk will be focused on self-neglect in our industry. How did you first detect and become aware of the impact of compassion fatigue and trauma within our industry?
After presenting my talk “Ethics & Power: Understanding the Role of Shame in UX Research” people started reaching out to me asking about self-care. As I heard their stories and understood better what they were experiencing, I thought, “Wow, this is stuff professional counselors learn about and are actively training for in graduate school and beyond — why aren’t we having this conversation in our industry?” Unfortunately, I think that many of our UX Founding Fathers taught us that our profession is more closely aligned to the product & tech industry, when in reality I think we’re more closely aligned to the human services & counseling industry. But more on that in June! 😉
How has your background in counselling and psychology influenced your approach to UX research?
My background has allowed me to understand the complexity of people and the ethical and psychological considerations researchers should take when engaging with them. Curiosity is great and should be encouraged in our field, but curiosity without the proper training can lead to incredible harm. For example, training in elements of cognitive-behavioural psychology, developmental and cultural sensitivity, identifying distress and pain in a participant, or being aware of how our own social prejudices impact our interpretation of data, are some factors to consider. My background and training in professional counseling allows me to consider these factors and limit the possibility of harm. We aren’t just dealing with research, we’re dealing with people’s lives. This is important.
“Curiosity is great and should be encouraged in our field, but curiosity without the proper training can lead to incredible harm.”
What do you think are the biggest challenges the UXR industry is currently facing and how would you approach them?
I wrote about this last year in a piece called An Overdue Conversation: The UX Research Industry’s Achilles Heel. I believe that one of the biggest challenges in UXR is our inability to discuss, acknowledge, and absolve the effects of unchecked white privilege and male privilege within our leadership, organizations, conferences and research. I bring up white privilege and male privilege (more like heterosexual-cisgender male privilege) because — well — the majority of our industry leaders are white men and white women. There’s nothing wrong with that per se but if we’re being honest with ourselves, most white people aren’t known for their reputation of being super eager and willing to talk about privilege & bias and the real benefits it affords some people over others, let alone acknowledge the role it plays in understanding and advocating for people.
What we have instead is the constant repackaging and selling of best practices and ideas about how to “do” research better and faster. Without the call to do the personal work necessary to overcome our biases and acknowledge the role that our experiences play in interpreting research, we run the risk of negatively impacting individuals and the products we help create. We’ve bought into the lie that UX Researchers must learn how to create and increase empathy between ourselves (or our stakeholders) and the user, when in reality we need to learn to stop hoarding it.
“…one of the biggest challenges in UXR is our inability to discuss, acknowledge, and absolve the effects of unchecked white privilege and male privilege within our leadership, organizations, conferences, and research.”
The UX research space is continuously evolving. Where do you find inspiration?
I’m always looking for anything outside of the typical go-to voices in our industry for inspiration:
- Listening to and writing spoken word poetry.
- The book The Power of Moments by psychologists and business strategists Chip and Dan Heath.
- Observing the craft of some amazing storytellers like Luvvie Ajayi, Issa Rae, and Jordan Peele.
- I’ve also been inspired by other black women in tech. Shout out to women like Ovetta Sampson (IDEO), Renee Reid (LinkedIn), and Nancy Douyon (Uber) for doing big things in this field!
Thanks Vivianne! Lots of food for thought! We can’t wait to hear your talk on June 7th on the Main Stage at Roy Thompson Hall.
To hear Vivianne’s talk on “The Siren Call of Self-Neglect”, join us at Strive: The 2019 UX Research Conference
📅 June 6–7
📍 Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St, Toronto, ON, M5J 2H5
