A career path framework for your boldest ambitions

Plus, learn how to use contextual inquiry to its fullest effect, and speed up your synthesis process with efficient team debriefs.

Framing your career path There are so many different directions a UXR's career can take. How do you know that you—and your team—are headed in the right direction? There isn't always a cookie-cutter answer, but this blueprint will help.   PICTURE PERFECT  This week's community poll Answer with a click this week, see the results in next week's newsletter.   Which best describes your current approach to accessibility research? Accessibility research is... 1. Included in most studies, regardless of topic 2. The focus of specific projects within my practice 3. The focus of a specific researcher or its own team 4. Managed by a team OTHER than research 5. None of these Peeking behind the curtain Contextual inquiry allows researchers to follow participants and observe their day-to-day routine up close. Here's how to conduct one while keeping the unique challenges in mind.   SEEING IS BELIEVING Speeding up synthesis with debriefs When it comes to synthesizing a lot of information and data, team debriefs are the magic formula. In this updated piece, we go over a debrief model with a template to get your engines roaring.   0 TO 60 IN 3.5 "The cool thing about the scale and mixed-methods nature of the data we collected was the repository element: as we socialized our findings internally, other teams wanted to check it out, which likely impacted their own projects and work." Kate Micheels Direction, Innovation Studio at Relish Works   Read more on how dscout to can help with mixed methods studies!   More we're discussing: Marketing, sales, and product teams all have unique approaches to competitive analysis. User research has its own unique viewpoint to share as well. It's one thing to create a user research strategy—it's another to actually make sure that strategy is implemented. We have some tips. Card sorting helps you understand how your users process and categorize information. This in-depth guide will help you explore each approach. What we're hearing: The start of a new quarter is a perfect time to reflect and refine your research strategy. This matrix from ResOps should be regular reading as you do that. With timelines (and budgets) ever-shrinking, how might UXRs balance scope and depth? A few practitioners share their experience in this roundup. The Service Design Network's Shelley Evenson recently discussed how design thinking and AI is impacting larger, multinational corporations. 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, Chicago, IL Unsubscribe Manage preferences

Conjure up a UXR strategy your team will actually use

Plus, consider a new lens with competitive analysis, and take a fresh look at card sorting with both moderated and unmoderated approaches.

Making it your own Most companies have an organizational-wide strategy with goals in place. But what about a user research strategy? Learn how to create a strategy that your team actually uses and implements on the regular.   HOCUS POCUS Results from last week's community poll (n = 107)   What percentage of your research involves participants who are NOT customers or users?      50% | 0-25%    21% | 26-50%    15% | 51-75%    14% | Over 76%   Eyeing the competition How are you looking at competitive analysis? Marketing and sales teams have their own approaches—and just like with a strategy, UXR should have its own approach as well.   TOUR DE UXR Sorting it all out Card sorting is a time-tested research method that works well for specific website or usability questions. In this updated piece, we cover both moderated and unmoderated approaches.   ACE IN THE HOLE "The dscout playlists feature is a game changer for sharing research findings whether you're using it for UX, UI, or something totally different like arguing a thesis. It's the ultimate way to capture what folks have to say along with all the nuance included." Emily Quandt Research Advisor   Check out other dscout feature favs from our customer experience team! More we're discussing: It's easy to focus on existing users as the focal point of your research, but sometimes it's important to widen your lens. Learn when it's worth it, and how to approach non-user research. dscout was named a leader in experience research platforms by The Forrester Wave! Learn what it means for us, and for you. What we're hearing: Looking for inroads to a freelance UX role? UX Planet's Hsin-Jou Lin rounded up six platforms to consider. As teams get leaner, many designers partner with engineers. Here's a cheat sheet for better collaboration. 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, Chicago, IL Unsubscribe Manage preferences