Align

This week from People Nerds: Digital UXR lessons from CMF, managing stakeholders, and effective (and fun) insight communication

Designing the details for a global audience Colors, materials, and finish (CMF) design isn't something that typically comes to mind when designing digital user experiences—but it should be. iRobot's Vanessa Wiegel believes that CMF design is rich with insights for UXRs of all stripes.    COLOR ME INTERESTED "Managing" stakeholders vs "managing with" them Effective stakeholder collaboration means aligning expectations to reality. Of course, that's way easier said than done. Here are a few lessons on how to build relationships and engage stakeholders no matter what their expectations look like. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED Get your gif gloves on The old, in-person tactics for getting folks excited for our insights presentations no longer work. We have to get creative in how we keep stakeholders engaged and interested. Here are a few tactics to spice up your next presentation.  LEARN HOW More we're discussing: User research generally—and remote work specifically—thrives on empathy and rapport. Our interview with Eniola Abioye explores earning vulnerability from our participants. If usability tests feel stale, consider reframing your assessment. We detailed how to move towards comparative testing instead of pure performance. Strike a balance with UX democratization by empowering stakeholders and establishing guardrails. Consult these obstacles and opportunities to start. What we're hearing:  Launching a second product is sometimes harder than the first. Avoid some common pitfalls by consulting this history/guide from Bring the Donuts' Ken Norton. We're big fans of mixing methods, which can capture more of an experience's variability. NN/g's walkthrough sets the table and outlines which tools play together well. This Inside Design interview with Jacob Hernandez explores the role designers can play in spurring their organizations to prioritize and create systemic change. 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