Unwritten ways to succeed in UX research

What makes a researcher effective that you won’t find in a job description

Photo by Bethany Legg on Unsplash

• Draw a line between evidence and personal experience
• Ask for critique from other researchers
• Solicit comment from your team
• Send usability session invitations out in advance
• Document your research
• Tag. Your. Research!
• Socialize your findings
• CC relevant coworkers
• Take the time to make video clips
• Learn from other disciplines
• Do quarterly planning
• Compliment the team for the most successful parts of the product
• Be succinct
• Mentor a person who wants to break into UX
• Try quantitative research
• Spend the budget wisely
• Show your team when to apply different research methods
• Protect PII
• Ask “have we learned similar information before?” Don’t reinvent the wheel.
• Be kind to your vendor
• Pilot your studies
• Clean up the lab for the next researcher
• It’s okay to say no to research requests
• Say yes when it’s important
• Accept feedback gracefully
• Do accessibility now, not later
• Research for the benefit of everyone on your team
• Always be learning
• Invent new methods
• Give more than you receive
• Track how your research findings are acted upon
• Thank participants for their time

Do you have something to add to the list? Write a comment below.

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