Be More Certain
The job of user research is to help us be more certain in our work. Being more certain makes everyone smarter, keeps us from building the wrong thing, and allows us to design and strategize with a little more accuracy.
Being more certain means being pragmatic, less precious, and more practical. Not every project affords the time or budget for proper research and comprehensive reports, and that's okay. In those situations, we can't let perfect be the enemy of good. Some research and knowledge is better than none at all.
After building a research practice from the ground up at MailChimp and Vox Media, and embarking on a similar journey with Signal Messenger, I've seen the path to introducing research that facilitates smarter work, better products, and good user experience. And I've seen the obstacles and beliefs that trip us up.
In this webinar, using real examples from my experience building research operations at MailChimp and Vox Media, I'll walk through some common user research scenarios and questions. I'll explore how to get started when you don't know where to start. And I'll explain how, with each bit of practical research, research becomes an established practice that makes everyone a bit smarter in their work.