What guidance and inspiration do UX Research veterans have for other researchers? Seven experienced researchers share theirs.
Learn more from these seven researchers at the upcoming Advancing Research 2023 conference by Rosenfeld Media.
For an introduction to the Advancing Research 2023 conference and its themes as well as more from these leaders, see the first post, second post and third post in this conference blog post series.
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” — Helen Keller
Have you been going it alone too much lately? Trying to “figure it out,” sitting alone with your computer, driving at hard problems on your own?
A lot of us have. After all:
- So many are working remotely, with fewer opportunities to have those serendipitous “desk drive-bys” during which we used to give and get so much camaraderie, mentorship and connection.
- Even if you’re working amongst others, if you’re a UX Researcher, it wouldn’t be unusual for you to have no other UX Researchers in your midst to turn to with a knowing look or a question.
- And — sadly — right now many are just not working. Recent layoffs have left many researchers more isolated from the rich UX Research community they once enjoyed.
- Leadership can also be an isolating experience. So often UX Research managers need to be supportive of their reports but have fewer opportunities to get that support from others.
Wouldn’t it be great to…
- break this latest bout of having to do it all yourself?
- be more inspired, encouraged and informed?
- get more strategies, tools and tactics for handling the daily issues that come your way?
- not have to reinvent the wheel? Let someone else’s hard-won learning benefit you?
You can do all that and more at the thoughtfully-designed Advancing Research 2023 conference. Here’s a mere sampling of the richness of information, inspiration and connection awaiting, described on the conference website, where you can register and learn so much more about the experience:
You can opt into our industry-leading facilitated cohorts so you can socialize with other attendees and learn together
You’ll benefit from high-quality sponsor-led sessions which emphasize learning over selling
Our speakers are incredibly well-prepared, spending months working on their presentations with our curators and our speaker coach
How often do you walk away with these and the many other benefits for those who attend?
This is no ordinary conference — every aspect of the Rosenfeld Media Advancing Research 2023 conference has been thought through and designed with an excellent conference attendee experience in mind.
And that includes the speakers themselves:
You’ll learn from new voices; representing diverse perspectives and experiences, rather than the celebrities who happen to inhabit an organizer’s rolodex
This post will give you a taste of the new voices and diverse perspectives waiting for you at this conference. You’ll see that for yourself in this post. Below, seven of the conference speakers have generously offered their guidance and inspiration for you and other UX Researchers to benefit from.
So, have a read and see what inspires, informs or delights you.
The Speakers of Theme Three: Transforming Our Craft
Jennifer Fraser, who is speaking on What would Emmy Noether Do? Math, Models and Mulling in UX Research
What advice do you have for researchers just starting out today?
You can learn something from everyone.
What advice do you wish your younger researcher self had internalized?
To build on a quote from Donella Meadows, regardless of your discipline, we are all just creating models to understand the world around us, and thinking in that way can help us create bridges between each other.
Speakers Cara Maritz and Rachel Ny on The Art of Extrapolation
What advice do you have for researchers just starting out today?
Don’t be discouraged by needing to justify UXR further — hold practitioners accountable to share best practices and support your work and goals.
What advice do you wish your younger researcher self had internalized?
You are the expert. Your perspective as a UXR practitioner is much more valuable than you think (or might have been led to believe).
Speaker Mansi Gupta, presenting Women-Centric Research: What, Why, How
What advice do you have for researchers just starting out today?
To do research is to also to be in relationship with one another. Treat it as such — engage with who you research with in a way that works for them; create feedback loops; acknowledge and have deep awareness of power dynamics.
What advice do you wish your younger researcher self had internalized?
The same as my advice for others.
Victor Udoewa, speaking on Research in the Pluriverse
What advice do you have for researchers just starting out today?
Be humble and wiling to learn. Use research methods indigenous to each place you occupy and where you work. Give credit where it is due. Use local and indigenous understandings of rigor when evaluating local and indigenous understandings of research.
What advice do you wish your younger researcher self had internalized?
I wish I had known and experienced and practiced asset-based, decolonial, place-based methods earlier. And I wish I used local methods wherever I was.
The Speakers of Theme Two: Researchers As Organizational Changemakers
Speaker Prayag Narula, who is presenting a panel with Rida Qadri, on their topic HCI 2.0: Humanity Deserves the Attention that UX Research has to Offer:
What advice do you have for researchers just starting out today?
Share your knowledge with peers and stakeholders. Elevate your work so you don’t get pigeonholed as an individual contributor. Teach people to find their own answers, and they’ll continue to come to you for help and advice.
What advice do you wish your younger researcher self had internalized?
Everything in the previous question. Also: Don’t be bitter. Be better. :)
Speaker Mike Oren, who is speaking on Why Pharmaceutical’s Research Model Should Replace Design Thinking:
What advice do you have for researchers just starting out today?
Technical research skills are useless if you can’t quickly learn a business context and frame questions and results appropriately
What advice do you wish your younger researcher self had internalized?
Similar to the advice I’d give a new researcher: it’s not about the technical execution of the research (while that’s still important), it’s about balancing with the business context and adjusting to condition.
Something else it would benefit newer researchers to know:
While current market conditions may make exploration into new areas less likely, the tech industry has a major gap in exploring ecosystems of humans. The interactions augmented by computers are one piece of it, but humans are social creatures and whether consciously or not almost everything we do involves other people but almost all interfaces currently on the market are built for individual users vs their wider ecosystem.
Carl Turner, whose topic is You Can Do This: Understand and Solve Organizational Problems to Jumpstart a Dead Project:
What advice do you have for researchers just starting out today?
Learn about your vertical, learn about your organization, learn how to promote all the sources of value of performing research.
What advice do you wish your younger researcher self had internalized?
All the churn and problems going on around your projects are just data to be analyzed and used at a later date. Stay balanced and focused.
What’s your next step?
I’m looking for people who are thinking about how to bridge the gap between the academic literature on team performance and practitioners who are living in the project world, leading teams in real time.
What Stood Out For You?
What are your takeaways? What inspired you? Delighted you? Made you think — or disagree?
Be sure to tell us in the comments. And, while you’re doing that, if you can return the favor by sharing your guidance and inspiration, the conference speakers and everyone reading this blog post will no doubt appreciate and benefit from your experience.
There’s lots more learning, sharing and togetherness to experience at the Advancing Research 2023 conference — come get it!
Anne Mamaghani is a User Experience Strategist with decades of UX and leadership experience. She founded Wisdom Driven UX to leverage user experience to drive business results in a variety of industries, on- and off-line.
She’s also a speaker and sought-out mentor on topics of user experience, user experience research, leadership, thriving as a woman in the corporate world, thriving as a parent in the corporate world, mindfulness and personal growth.
