The UX Life Chose Me Newsletter #37
November 2023
Happy Birthday newsletter — 3 years old today!
This month I ask you for your thoughts on the newsletter, before sharing some of the highlights from the past year.
There are of course a set of interesting resources to peruse and a couple of events — I’ll be attending both!
If you find the newsletter interesting or helpful, please do pass it on to your friends and colleagues. The more the merrier!
I hope you enjoy it.
Penny
From the Editors Keyboard
Today marks 3 years of creating and sending out this newsletter.
When I started it, I had no idea I would keep going for so long. Thank you to everyone who has joined me over this time. There isn’t much point to a newsletter if no one reads it.
This time of year is also mid-year review time at work, where we review the first half of our year (starting in April) to see how we’ve done. While I might not really enjoy the process, I do think looking back at what we’ve done and achieved on a regular basis is a good idea.
If I look back over the last 6 months at work, I can see how I’ve been working on my mindset of just doing research to becoming a manager and having to do both. This is something I’m still working on, but I am getting used to the idea that my output now might not be just research reports, it also includes what my apprentices are doing and the improvements they are making as they learn more about research.
If I look back over the last year of the newsletter I see a small but dedicated following — thank you. I’m sad to see only 6 interviews in the ‘From the Horse’s Mouth’ section, but also know that all good things have to have a break from time to time. However, I am pleased with the quality of articles and books I’ve managed to include each month.
But just because I’m happy with it doesn’t mean I can’t make it better. So I’d like to ask you all to fill in a really quick survey (4 questions) to see if the content I’m including is right for you or if I’m wide of the mark. I’d love to hear your views, after all I am a researcher and what my readers want and need is important to me. I’ll include the results in the next newsletter.
From The Horse’s Mouth
This year I got to speak to five great researchers including: Paul Blunden, Franny Gant, Paul Boag, Natasha Kapur and Anja Maerz, before finishing the season by answering my own questions. I’m hoping to come back to this series at some point as it was fascinating and inspiring speaking to everyone.
If you know someone I should speak to, or would like to speak to me yourself for one of these interviews, please let me know.
Interesting Stuff
Re-evaluating Usability: Delivering Value Via Research Practice
Joyce S. Lee, 2023, 6 min read
An interesting piece about usability testing. Have some teams moved too far away from creating impact for companies as they focus on conceptually rich research but without tangible applications?
A Better Way To Do Competitive Analysis
Lade Tawak, August 2023, 5 min read
We’ve all done competitor analysis right? Where we look at the features our competitors have and see if we should be doing the same. Lade suggests understanding customers thoughts on these features is more powerful and gives suggestions on how to capture them.
What I Wish I Knew, When Transitioning From Academic Research To UX Research
Martina Dove PhD, September 2021, 14 min read
I’ve seen a few of these posts but I think Martina goes into the most detail. While they are very similar there are definitely some things to be aware of before making the move.
Brave UX With Brendan Jarvis Podcast
Brendan Jarvis, 1hr — 1hr30mins listen
I haven’t had a chance to listen to this yet, but the list of people Brendan has spoken to is impressive. Not totally UXR focused, but as I keep telling my apprentices, there is more to digital than just research.
Introducing UX Research To Your Organization — How To Communicate Your Value And Navigate Misconceptions
Audrey O’Keefe, April 2022, 5 min read
Joining a company as a UX team of one? Then this article is a great starting point on how get everyone onboard and get the most out of your work.
Great User Research (For Non Researchers)
Steve Portigal, September 2019, 27 min watch
Have you got people in your wider team who are interested in doing research but need some training? You could do worse than show them this video. Steve gives a great break down of how to do the basics.
UX Vocabulary Inflation
Jakob Nielsen, October 2023, 10 min read
I’ve seen this for myself over the past 10 years working in digital, and while I’m aware change happens, I agree that some of these changes are not very helpful for us or our stakeholders.
Book of the Month
I love sharing the books I’ve found interesting, inspiring and helpful. Here is the list from the last year!
Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath,
UX Psychology Lens,
Do Story by Bobette Buster,
The Making of a Manager by Julie Zhuo,
Seeing What Others Don’t by Gary Klein,
Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman,
Surveys That Work by Caroline Jarrett,
Drive by Daniel H. Pink
Researching UX: User Research by James Lang and Emma Howell,
Research Practice: Perspectives from UX researchers in a changing field by Gregg Bernstein, and
Truth by Hector Macdonald.
Events
Journeys Into Leadership: A Panel Discussion
LTUX London, 15 November 2023
This in-person event is one of my favourites, where our panel of inspiring UX leaders talk about how they moved into leadership and how we can do the same. Plus I’ll be moderating the discussion, so if you attend, come and say hi! 👋
Let’s Team Up And Define Your UXR Goals For 2024
UXinsight, 14 & 30 November 2023
This is actually two online events. The first one is all about setting strategic goals and being inspired by their guest speakers, before going off to work on your goals for 2024. The second session will give you time to share your goals and get feedback, and get help on how to take your idea to action.
And Finally
I think we’ve all seen this when conducting usability testing, right? 🙄
Seen something out in the wild you think other UX Researchers would be interested in or a new research related book perhaps? Send me the link and maybe I’ll include it in my next newsletter.
