Insights Unlocked

In this enlightening episode of Insights Unlock, we sit down with Jennifer Romano, a seasoned UX leader with experience at tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Instagram. Hosted by Lija Hogan, this discussion delves into the current challenges and promising future of the UX industry, the evolving job market, and the increasing relevance of mixed methods and AI in UX research. Show Notes: Introduction: Introduction of Jennifer Romano, detailing her extensive background in the UX industry. Overview of Romano's roles and contributions to UX at major companies and in academia. Current State of the UX Job Market: Discussion on recent layoffs and the scarcity of entry-level roles in UX. Optimistic outlook for increased hiring and budget expansions in Q2 as companies recover from initial fiscal year planning. The Evolution and Future of UX: Exploration of how UX is still a burgeoning field with vast opportunities for growth. Insight into public misunderstanding of UX roles and the potential for industry expansion. Essential Skills for UX Professionals: Importance of adapting to versatile research methodologies. Emphasis on the need for UX professionals to acquire skills in both qualitative and quantitative research, including survey design and implementation. The Role of AI in UX Research: Discussion on the supportive role of AI in UX research, enhancing efficiency without replacing human researchers. Future predictions for AI's integration into UX practices and how it can help manage and synthesize large data sets effectively. Jennifer Romano's Current Projects: Information on Romano’s latest initiatives focused on training and coaching in UX. Highlight of a unique retreat aimed at bridging the gap between academic learning and real-world UX research experience. Closing Thoughts: Reflections on the importance of educating stakeholders about the value and methods of UX research. Encouragement for UX professionals to continually adapt and integrate new tools and methodologies.

In this Insights Unlocked episode, UserTesting’s Andy MacMillan talks with David Rose about designing our augmented realities and what UX designers, product leaders and others should consider as they take on that challenge. David Rose’s Journey in Tech Innovation David discusses his wide-ranging experiences in industries from healthcare to toys and tech, highlighting his award-winning entrepreneurial journey and his role as the CEO of Lookout—an AI-powered maritime navigation system. Seamless Integration of Technology Explore how David has successfully embedded technology into everyday objects to enhance user experiences without intrusion. Learn about his projects like Lego Mindstorms and GlowCap, which seamlessly combine functionality with simplicity. The Role of AR in Everyday Interactions Dive into the transformative potential of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in making everyday interactions more intuitive and engaging. David shares insights from his books and discusses how AR can reduce social isolation by enhancing real-world connections. Practical Applications of AR in Safety and Navigation Gain insights into Lookout, the AI camera system for boats, which David developed to improve maritime safety by providing navigational aids through augmented reality, showing how AR can address practical challenges in unstructured environments like open waters. Future of UX in Spatial Computing David discusses the future of user experience design in the context of spatial computing, offering advice for UX professionals on adapting to new tools and thinking paradigms to design more engaging and useful digital and physical products. Ethical Considerations and Social Impact of Tech The conversation also covers the ethical implications of technology, particularly the risks and benefits of AR and VR. David highlights the importance of designing technology that respects privacy and promotes social engagement.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that REI, the nation’s largest consumer co-op with some 23 million members, loves to talk with its customers. In this Insights Unlocked episode, UserTesting’s LeTisha Shaw talks with REI’s Monique Lalonde about their continuous interview program with customers to support the product development life cycle. “As our product-led practice matured, we saw an opportunity to foster a habit of talking to customers on a regular basis in support of the product development cycle,” said Monique, REI’s Director of Product Design. “Layne Foit (REI’s senior manager of UX research & Content) developed a scalable framework for continuous customer interviewing with a goal to empower teams with just enough research skills so they feel comfortable talking to customers, are able to analyze what they hear, and use those customer insights to drive innovation and customer centricity.” Once a week, members from REI’s UX research and product teams meet up to talk with a customer about a specific problem they are experiencing. They then evaluate that interview together, listening for all the different things that people observed. We often talk about shifting left in the product development lifecycle when you’re talking with your customers and prospects. This helps you develop products your audience wants, needs and will pay you money. It also helps avoid or reduce the cost of rework (estimated at more than $1 trillion annually) because you built something no one wanted. REI is a purpose-driven specialty outdoor retailer dedicated to enabling life outside for all. The co-op was founded in 1938 as some mountaineering friends in the Pacific Northwest sought access to better climbing gear. As a co-op, with about 23 million members, they measure success differently than many companies. “Our goal is to run a healthy business, which enables us to make a positive impact on our employees, members, and society,” Monique said. “Our product design practice plays a critical role in supporting our goals, measuring their progress and impact in all our experiences.” So far the program has been successful in conducting continuous research that can be measured and tracked, Monique said. “This shared experience is helping in cross-functional alignment, promoting a user-centered culture, and understanding a holistic picture of our customer journeys,” she said. “An unexpected benefit has been team building. Our product teams are 100% remote and our pilot teams reported feeling more connected to their co-workers thanks to the program.”

In this Insights Unlocked episode, Andy MacMillan, CEO of UserTesting, talks with Dave about the rapidly transforming UX research landscape, shedding light on how technological advances are reshaping our approach to understanding user experiences. Dave has written several essays on the subject over on his website. “What we're doing in user research compared to what we were doing 10 or 15 years ago is a much more understood set of activities,” Dave said. “And that means that the way that we undertake them, the amount of effort that it takes to undertake them is decreasing and the amount of knowledge that we as an industry have about how the craft of user research itself works is increasing. “User research is only one small piece of the puzzle,” he said. “And the user of user research are the product teams who are actually taking these insights and are weaving them into our ongoing processes. So as we look to the future of user research, I think we actually need to shift our view a level higher and look to the future methods of product development that will unfold along with a now more commoditized version of research.” Dave suggests the future of UX research is to be closer aligned to the product development process.

In this Insights Unlocked episode, UserTesting’s Sean Treiser talks with UI/UX and product designer Karla Fernandes about designing, developing, testing and launching products on your own.

In this Insights Unlocked episode, UserTesting’s CEO Andy MacMillan talks with Chris Messina, co-founder of the Ride Home AI Fund. They discuss AI’s rapid integration into our lives; ways in which AI will revolutionize work; the key elements of a successful product today; as well as Chris’s investment strategy for AI startups.

In this Insights Unlocked episode, Lawrence Williams talks with Dawn Procopio, founder and principal UX researcher at AI-Ethicist.com. They explore the critical role of UX researchers in ensuring that machine learning models are human-centered and ethically sound.

In this Insights Unlocked episode, UserTesting’s Lija Hogan talks with Jorge Arango, author of the new book Duly Noted: Extend Your Mind Through Connected Notes. They discuss the power of note-taking to help you be more knowledgeable and creative, both at a personal level and collaboratively with teams.

In this Insights Unlocked episode, Teresa Torres — author of Continuous Discovery Habits, which has now sold more than 100,000 copies — talks about the importance of customer input earlier in the product development lifecycle to better dial in product market fit and reduce wasted costs. Teresa has coached hundreds of teams at companies of all sizes, from early-stage startups to global enterprises, in a variety of industries. She has taught more than 11,000 product people discovery skills through the Product Talk Academy and her coaching practice.

In this episode of UserTesting’s Insights Unlocked podcast, Andy MacMillan talks with Pablo Stanley about AI’s impact on design. Pablo is the founder or co-founder of several design brands, most recently Bueno and the Musho AI plugin for Figma. Previously he was a lead designer at InVision, as well as a staff designer at Lyft and Udemy. He teaches art and design on his YouTube channel Sketch Together, as well as supports the Latinx community through his projects Latinx Who Design and Dreamer Stories. “I am a techno-optimist,” Pablo said. “I believe in the potential of these tools to enhance our lives in general and, specifically, that of creative individuals, assisting them in taking their creations to a different level.” The pace of the change is happening quickly, he said, and some people may get caught in that disruption, including on the creative side, and get left behind. “It would be naive not to see the challenges this brings,” Pablo said. “The pace of the AI evolution is making traditional systems and industries slow to adapt, sometimes causing an existential crisis. So, there's going to be a transition period where a lot of people will be affected by this shift.

In this bonus episode, we look back to our conversation from Season 6, Episode 53 with Monal Chokshi, Head of Research & Insights at Dropbox. In this clip, Monal shares tips for anyone looking to build a research team from the ground up at a company, as well as tips for next leveling a research team that already exists. She also explains how she created an internal Insights Council to help inform and influence business decisions. Enjoy the episode.

In this bonus episode, we look back to our conversation in Episode 87 with Ari Zelmanow and UserTesting’s Michelle Huff. Ari is a former police detective turned UX researcher and now leads User Experience Research at Twilio. In this clip, Ari explains why he thinks we need to reinvent UX researchers role within organizations to be less of a service provider and more of a consultant providing strategic advice. Enjoy the episode.

Welcome back to Insights Unlocked. Our next season kicks off in a few weeks with some incredible guests such as Judd Antin, Jennifer Romano, Teresa Torres, and Pablo Stanley among others. In this episode, we look back to our conversation in Episode 17 with Christian Idiodi, Partner at Silicon Valley Product Group. We ask him about how teams and individuals should think about innovation within their organizations. Enjoy the episode.

Welcome back to Insights Unlocked and a very happy holidays to everyone. For many people, the holiday season is a time for taking a break from work as we visit friends and loved ones and otherwise recharge our batteries. In this short encore episode, we listen to the conversation UserTesting's CEO Andy MacMillan had with Sarah Doody from Career Strategy Lab about making ourselves recession proof. One recommendation they had was investing time at least once a year in updating your LinkedIn profile, resume or CV. Seems like these slow days between the holidays are a perfect opportunity to track your accomplishments over the past year, update your LinkedIn profile, and make a plan for the new year. Enjoy the show.

In this episode, UserTesting’s Lija Hogan talks with Leeyat Tessler, Senior User Experience Researcher at Capital One's Innovation Lab. Leeyat provides an inside look into the Lab's purpose-built space, where groundbreaking digital products are born. From initial research to the Wizard of Oz testing, they explore the intricacies of UX research and digital product design.

In this Insights Unlocked episode, we talked with Siena Hickey from Sanzo Strategy Group about why startup founders should lean into talking with their customers more, and what the risks are if they don’t. Siena has consulted brands across America, Europe, Asia, and Africa on the nuances of product market fit. Customer feedback allows you to identify and remedy small problems before they have the chance to become critical issues down the line. “People hear that word feedback and they often assume that it’s inherently negative,” Siena said. “Customer feedback is the way to decide how your business moves forward, and it does take a different type of vulnerability to open up your hard work to the people that you want to like it the most.”

In this week’s Insights Unlocked, Alex Mullans, product lead at Figma, provides insightful perspectives and strategies for maintaining human connections in remote design teams during his conversation with Liz Miller, vice president and principal analyst at Constellation Research.

In this week’s Insights Unlocked, we chat with Aline Thomé, a senior UX/UI designer at Raiffeisen Bank International about the challenges she faced introducing UX research to a large and established international organization, highlighting the importance of resilience. The Austrian banking group operates 13 subsidiary banks in Central and Eastern Europe and serves 16.3 million customers through more than 2,100 business outlets. Aline has been there just over two years, but has been a UX designer since 2009. She quips that her relationship with her profession “is my most stable relationship.” “I love it, I love design. I went into this field because I love challenges and I love problem solving,” she said. “And what I really love about it is that you can make a true impact in people’s lives. We are using websites, we are using apps all the time. And we have the power to make them better, to make them more intuitive, to make them more accessible.” She’s developed a two-step matrix for helping her share user insights throughout the organization in a way that makes them more actionable. The first step is to assess how critical a finding or issue discovered in the user feedback truly is. Mark it green if it is not too bad; yellow if it is medium; and red if it is really critical. The second step is to assess how much effort will be required to fix the problem. “I usually put small, medium, large and extra large,” Aline said. For example, if you see something is red, but the effort is small then let’s tackle it right away. If a finding is green and requires a large effort, addressing it can be pushed out. “This is a game changer because you can identify quick wins very easily,” she said. “And the stakeholders also appreciate it because it helps set priorities.”

In this Insights Unlocked episode, Liz Miller interviews UserTesting’s Chief Scientist Ranjitha Kumar about her unique perspective on integrating AI and machine learning (ML) into UX and experience research.