Newsletter October 12, 2021

Let’s Talk About:

Embracing UX Research

Laura Sweltz

By Laura Sweltz, Director of UX Research and Strategic Initiatives

UX research helps businesses understand the needs and behaviors of their target audience, prove or disprove underlying assumptions so they don’t move forward based on false information, and evolve their offerings strategically based on data. Ultimately, it helps them create and maintain products that attract and retain customers, enabling the business to be successful. But if your organization hasn’t embraced UX research yet, it can be hard to know where to start.

The four-step framework outlined in this article can help you figure out how to define an approach for your own UX research project. Going to others in your organization with a clear, actionable plan already in hand that requires minimal investment will make it easier to get buy-in. Once you get buy-in and complete the project, share your research findings internally. This can help generate excitement for research, build momentum over time, and make UX research a more consistent practice in your organization.

Read the Framework

Articles We Love

  1. 1. Five Ways to Create a Research Culture at Your Organization “We have to be more thoughtful about creating a research-friendly environment, balancing types of research, and including colleagues throughout our research process. In my experience, when I’ve joined organizations, I’ve often been the first or only user researcher. This meant creating a research framework and culture that made colleagues excited about how I could help and what value I could bring.”
  2. 2. Showing the Value of User Research “Often, research gets pushed to the side with flimsy excuses like ‘we don’t have time for that right now’ or ‘we already know what our customers want’. Stakeholder interviews can help you get to the bottom of why people are making those excuses, and in turn, how you can demonstrate value to your stakeholders specifically.”
  3. 3. Share this with UX research skeptics: Your guide to evangelizing research in your organization “Through practice, I understood that research is most successful when everyone who will benefit from the result is involved in the process. A collaborative approach helps you build a better research plan, ensure you’re asking the right questions, helps others in the organization get closer to customers, and provides indisputable evidence for why we should involve customers in the first place.”

What We’re Up To

Mentorship Plant

It's Week 5 of our Fall 2021 Apprenticeship. Learn more about our program in this article by former apprentice Lauren Butler.

2021 w3 GOLD

We're delighted to share several of our projects won w3 Awards this year, including our work for the Human Rights Campaign.

Accessible Content 1

UX Designer Melissa Foley’s latest article shares factors to determine whether your website is accessible and what changes should be made to ensure compliance.

Meira profile 2021

Being new is tough. Especially when your entire company is fully remote due to a pandemic. Especially when you're an introvert. But with a little bit of strategic effort, anyone can form deeper connections at work.


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