Here's the recap of our best resources from this year.

Hi Wanto,   A few newsletters ago, we asked you: What's your (UXR) resolution for 2022? Leading responses showed investment in advancing "practical" know-how (wanting to learn new methods) and tactical effectiveness (wanting to educate stakeholders on the value of UX).    We hope that, in another year that required flexibility—organizationally, methodologically, and personally—People Nerds has been able to guide your practice towards creative approaches and increased organizational impact.    Here were some of our best resources from the past year. We hope they'll advance your goals in 2022: The best of People Nerds 2021 New fundamentals for the modern research practice: We updated our original user research maturity model to reflect the way organizations adapted to the pandemic. These insights from industry leaders outline what the "next normal" for research looks like. Better benchmark your project timelines. We asked 300 UXRs to share how much time it really takes to conduct research. Michael Youngblood, Ben Chesluk, and Nadeem Haidary redefine "users" and describe the opportunities that come with designing for an ecosystem. Chris Geison discussed the impact of research strategy and how defining it for your team can be the key to securing a seat at the table. We compiled all of our best resources for growing your UX career alongside our ever-evolving industry into a bookmarkable guide. Advice for expanding user research's organizational influence:  Devin Harold shared his seven-part IMPACTS framework (and accompanying checklist) for ensuring your work lives beyond your share out. Linking stakeholder needs to your work is often a matter of translation. Use this exercise to find the research question behind the business question. Forge a strong partnership with product managers, designers, and developers. It'll ensure the user feedback you unearth makes its way into the product. Remote presentations can feel stale and fall flat. Here are eight collaborative ways to more effectively share remote UX insights. Brainstorm + structure = valuable ideation session. See how adding guardrails to your next workshop can actually enhance creativity and encourage contribution. Resources to guide more sensitive, safe, and inclusive work: Research needs to be inclusive, equitable, and fair. Eight experts walk us through their best practices for holding safe discussions on sensitive topics. Service designer Jaryn Miller explored three case studies on how anti-blackness shows itself in digital spaces and lessons we can learn from it. Lauren Celenza discussed advocating for people in a profit-driven world and the challenges that surround it. Author Candi Williams shared situations where playing devil's advocate has a harmful impact and questions to ask yourself before taking on the role. Executive design expert Emily Henlein shared how taking small, seemingly indirect actions at work can help prioritize your wellbeing.  An array of new templates and tactics to try out:  Templates have a host of benefits for UXRs, from scaling processes to ensuring rigor across needs. Here are some techniques for templatizing your research process—with some sample templates you can get started with today.  Still deciding which project to move forward with? Try one of these concept testing designs to put early-stage ideas in front of your participants and determine a direction.  Collages look great in scrapbooks, but they're also a highly-effective tool for discussing sensitive topics. Kyle Soucy of Usable Interface showed us how. Support your research initiatives while keeping your bandwidth and budget on track. Call on your perfect sidekick, secondary research. Experiment beyond usability testing for your next content test. We walk through three strategies to uncover and solve content issues. dscout is a company composed of People Nerds working to make context-rich human insight an everyday habit across organizations. The dscout platform—Diary, Live, Recruit, and Express—enables remote qualitative research that brings researchers into the moments experienced and shared by real people. Curious about the platform or working with dscout? Talk to an account executive.  dscout, 222 North LaSalle St. Suite 650, Chicago, Illinois 60601, (312) 880-9715 Unsubscribe Manage preferences

No. More. Shelved. Research!

This week from People Nerds: We explore the IMPACTS framework, discuss the issues with playing devil's advocate, & team up with participants

Give us an I-M-P-A-C-T-S 📣 After a long research project, it's soul-crushing for your findings to be shelved without making an impact. Devin Harold takes us through his seven-part framework to ensure your work not only makes a splash but becomes an integral part of your organization's goals.   WHAT'S THAT SPELL? Results from last week's community poll (n = 172) My top (UX) New Year's Resolution is... 34.9% | Practical: I want to learn a new method or approach 22.7% | Tactical: I want to educate my stakeholders on UX's value 19.2% | Collaborative: I want to try a new shareout/deliverable form 13.4% | Personal: I want to draw brighter lines between work and non-work   9.9% | Community: I want to find spaces and places to share ideas dscout is thrilled to partner with HmntyCntrd—an award-winning community that's transforming the status quo of what it means to be human-centered in our professional and personal lives.   In the coming months, we'll be collaborating on original research and sharing insights from HmntyCntrd contributors. Read the fourth piece from the HmntyCntrd community below, or learn more about their programs here.  When playing devil's advocate is inappropriate  This tactic is commonly seen in design as a harmless way to challenge ideas. But playing devil's advocate against people's real experiences has painful consequences. Candi Williams provides guidelines to consider before you take on the role.   SEE WHY Team up with your participants Take your participants beyond interviewing and empower them to play a part in designing the solutions for their needs. Explore the benefits of participatory design and read our advice for creating your co-design study.   ALL TOGETHER NOW When it comes to thinking about our users, we have to ask, "How does race figure into who's in my research?" How does race figure into what we observe and who we're asking to participate? How does race factor into our respect for the customer? What are our assumptions, and presumptions of the people we interact with? AUTUMN SANDERS FOSTER Founder at Quire READ MORE More we're discussing:  Julie Norvaisas breaks down four democratization programs and what opportunities lie ahead for UX leaders in the new year. Molly Malsam discusses the hidden biases that come with preference testing and tactics to use instead for user feedback.  Give your UX workshops new life. Explore these alternative techniques to keep participants engaged and insights fresh. What we're hearing: Ensure your next design project starts off well. Taylor Palmer shares advice for connecting with your team, creating a solid agenda, and kickoff facilitation. Nick Babich discusses YouTube's decision to remove the dislike count and its intention to improve the viewer and creator experience. Kai Zimmermann reflects on his experience writing for the healthcare industry and how it elevated his UX writing. dscout is a company composed of People Nerds working to make context-rich human insight an everyday habit across organizations. The dscout platform—Diary, Live, Recruit, and Express—enables remote qualitative research that brings researchers into the moments experienced and shared by real people. Curious about the platform or working with dscout? Talk to an account executive.  dscout, 222 North LaSalle St. Suite 650, Chicago, Illinois 60601, (312) 880-9715 Unsubscribe Manage preferences