Laser Focused

As researchers we are trained to seek out the question behind the question…specifically the research question behind the business or product question.

A query like “How can a solution generate high ROI for our product?” might translate to “What unmet needs do our customers have?” in UX research speak. Given our team’s diverse methodological backgrounds (ethnographic, survey, data analysis, hardcore UX design, psychological and identity studies) we’re well prepared to dig deeply into discovering what our customers need and what they’ll pay for, satisfying all stakeholders’ requests for knowledge.

To accomplish this, we must of course remain laser focused, as Mayank likes to remind us.

Key Steak-holders!?

We’ve got teams on teams on teams. Teams local to Atlanta, teams in Ireland (where my team sits), teams in Italy, and New Zealand. Our UX design and strategy team, UX Research team, Product team, and Development teams work together from at every phase of the project cycle. We lean on each other’s expertise in order to find answers to the nagging questions underlying our respective domains:

• What do our users need?
• How can we build this?
• How will we position this solution in our organization’s overall Hoshin plan?

Each “team” approaches their work from a slightly different angle and with our powers combined, we can cover as much ground as possible at every phase of our agile product cycles. Having our interdisciplinary teams working collaboratively at regular standups ensures that we’re aligned across the larger team.

IMPORTANT: Trust is key! Though we don’t always speak the same language or operate along identical schedules, our work is only successful when we rely on each member’s expertise.

The UX Research Question

Our initiatives at Verizon Connect include UX Research in the early stages of product development. And as representatives of “the user,” we start by uncovering what we need to understand about our customers.

Ultimately our team’s goal is to generate insight from talking to users, inviting them to complete surveys, and visiting them onsite to see how they fold our products into their workflow.

My specialties include ethnographic interviewing and fieldwork. In the most practical sense this means that I talk to users in a semi-structured conversation to learn about their work and what they need to accomplish their professional tasks. Seems simple, but it takes training, practice, and sensitivity to gain an understanding of what people do and how they do it.

I’m really honored to talk to so many professionals about their work, frustrations and dreams on a daily basis. Plus the knowledge I gather and relay back, helps us build the best products that meet both the specific and universal needs of our customers.

This is the question behind the question:

How can our products help our customers achieve their goals?

Written by Babz Jewell

Babz is a Senior UX Researcher for Verizon Connect’s Innovation Team. She specializes in ethnographic and sociological methods and still finds time to do CrossFit and chase chickens… separately.