Breaking Out of the UXR Monolith
Breaking Out of the UXR Monolith
Howzit! 👋🏾
If you’re a UX Research or Research Ops leader trying to drive greater impact in your organization, you’ve found your people.
Say hi anytime on Twitter or LinkedIn. I’d love to hear from you! 😀
The Dangers of a One-Size-Fits-All Approach to UXR
Between the tech sector layoffs and Judd Antin’s UXR Reckoning article, UXRs are — perhaps now more than ever — scrambling to figure out what shifts to make to deliver more impact.
While the draw to copy the playbooks of others is tempting, it’s also dangerous.
Josh Williams has some excellent advice for us:
“I hope research leaders just take a moment to think about [whether] they are supporting the org in the right way and throw out the playbook of what that looks like…just start from scratch and say, ‘What does my organization need and what do they need now?’"
“So I just want everyone to not worry about the zeitgeist and what everyone's saying, except for the message that we're essentially hearing. Have you gone through a reckoning? Have you understood your value and how you're going to support your organization? I think that's more important than doing it like anyone else does it.”
In my chat with Josh, we cover:
The role of research in organizations.
The tendency to view research as a monolithic practice.
Attachment to projects vs focusing on other mechanisms to deliver impact.
The balance between good enough and rigorous research depending on the risk associated with the decision being made.
Research leaders not being bound by industry trends or expectations.
The future of research.
Enjoy! 🎧
My Picks of the Week
Dharmesh Shah is chock-full of brilliant takes. I particularly appreciate how he breaks down concepts from an engineering standpoint. His excellent interview on Lenny’s Podcast is worth your time.
Intercom was at the top of the content game years ago, but they’ve slowly tailed off over the last half-decade. Their first episode of Off Script is a return to those strong, opinionated, and interesting content roots.
Henrik Mattsson and Jess Holbrook have a valuable discussion on AI and UXR.
Newsletter Notes
Stay tuned for some superb podcast interviews that are already recorded and heading your way over the coming weeks. 🎙️
A note on the newsletter format change:
I’m focusing on podcast interviews more than writing.
I may occasionally write a long-form post, but it’ll be rare. Conversations make me more energized, so I'm leaning in that direction.
I’ll also be posting my picks of the week to highlight interesting blogs, videos, podcasts, and books.
Thanks for making it all the way to the end! Have a great weekend! 😎