1 year at Google: a UX researcher’s perspective
My first 12 months working as a Google Sr. UXR.
There’s a common expression here when talking about an individual’s experience at Google, and that is “milage may vary.” This is an acknowledgement that Google is huge, incorporating several product areas with many different teams all with their own work styles. I can only speak about my own experience, but I see a lot of commonalities among UX groups and within UX research in particular. So, what’s it like to do UXR work at Google?
The Atmosphere
Working at Google is really fun. It’s also really busy. My colleagues are curious and prolific. There is, from my perspective, a healthy respect of the various crafts people represent (they’re called functions here, which I find to be a pretty sterile way of describing people’s talents). The vibe is collaborative and it’s been easy to find people who want to work on something with me. Sometimes too many people. “Too many cooks” is a problem we have occasionally. At other times my work can feel very heads down, like I’m banging away at this one problem by myself, but then I see it referenced in someone else’s project and I see I wasn’t totally off in my own world after all. It’s very gratifying.
Coffee chats are a thing. They are an encouraged way to meet people on different teams from different crafts (er, functions). You can set one up with pretty much anyone. Everyone is generous with their knowledge.
While everyone is friendly and all the work is interesting, it’s up to the individual to stay involved and informed up to a level that they can maintain. There is a high commitment to inclusivity in terms of being named on presentation decks and reports which you contributed to and having your work sited in emails and discussions, but that said it’s also easy to inadvertently get left out of discussions because so many people and groups want to be included. I learned not to take this personally and to reach out to team leads and simply ask to be added to their invite lists. On the flip side, you might find yourself being invited to more things than you can manage. That’s also on you to speak to your manager and drive the conversation about how much brain space you have available.
Despite all the perks you can read about elsewhere it’s certainly not a utopia. There are too many meetings (partly because there are so many inclusive groups) and procedural bureaucracy is about as bad as you’d expect in a company that employs tens of thousands of people. It is easy, and common, to become overwhelmed. There is an acutely high level of awareness about the issues of burnout and imposter syndrome. From my perspective, these issues are taken seriously and resources are provided for coping. (Except for the meeting thing…those just end up like a never-ending game of wack-a-mole. Once you and your manager identify meetings you can skip, new ones immediately crop up.)
The Work Itself
The work is engaging and there’s plenty of it. Being able to manage your time, estimate your workload, and push back when you can’t take on something new is a crucial skill. Often the problem is that the new thing looks really fun, has an awesome team attached to it, and might put something great into the world. You have to know when you’ve reached your own capacity. (I realize I’m repeating myself — it’s critical that you effectively manage your time.)
Responsibilities Include:
- Running research projects. From start to finish I will guide the product team in identifying and shaping the question to be addressed, then I will select an appropriate method and scope out the research, plan all the logistics, execute, conduct analysis, present recommendations, and finally socialize the insights broadly. I might use the help of vendors for various parts of this process.
- Finding research that’s already been done and repackaging that for my team. There are a lot of teams. Many of them have been tackling similar problems. If research from another team is very fresh, or includes enduring insights, there’s no reason to go out and re-do that work.
- Overseeing research I can’t do myself. Often times I can’t get all the research done that my team needs. My larger research group has a handy solution: a Rapid Research team poised and ready to execute on a study plan I send them. I didn’t think I would enjoy this, since it means relying on someone else to get the job done, but I have found the benefits from getting more work done than I otherwise would actually outweigh my control impulses. The rapid researchers I have partnered with in this way have all been conscientious and attentive to detail, and I trust them to execute on my research plans knowing they’ll reach out when they need additional direction.
- Serve as the “voice of the user” with product teams, designers, engineers and others. This is a heavy mantel to wear, but as a Sr. UXR I am expected to come to meetings with the ability to represent the needs, wants, motivations, and behaviors typical of the target group. This might mean saying “I’m not sure” and then proposing a way to get the perspective the team needs to make good decisions.
I am aware that the higher I move up in the organization, the less research I’ll be doing myself and the more strategic planning I’ll be contributing to. At this point I am doing a mix of both. “Special projects” have been a great way to team up with higher level researchers and see what their world looks like.
That Stuff in the News
This is the hardest part about working for Google. Sometimes the things being reported are, from my inside view, clearly misrepresented and one-sided. Sometimes they are worrying. In either case we are asked not to make public statements claiming to represent Google, which is what every company I’ve ever worked for has asked but with the visibility of this unique place it can be especially difficult. I will say that I feel that the work I do is meaningful and positive and that I am allowed to bring up topics for conversation that challenge the status quo. The “goodness” of my work and of Google at large is something I repeatedly examine.
Overall
Working at Google has been exciting, overwhelming, uplifting, defeating, and so, so, so much fun. I sort of just love the type of work I do anyways, and doing it at Google has been a fulfilling experience. As I look back on the last 12 months the amount of work that’s been done astounds me. I look forward to evolving my role and seeing what comes next.
UPDATE: See how I’m doing at the 1,000 day mark!
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Kelly Moran utilizes an innate curiosity and unceasing desire to ask “why” to understand how people use products and services to accomplish their goals — whether those goals be work or play. Kelly was formerly Principal Experience Researcher at the Dallas-based consultancy projekt202, and now works in UX Research at Google. Find her other writing at: https://medium.com/@Kel_Moran or follow her on twitter: https://twitter.com/Kel_Moran
