This is a talk I gave at the first Meetup for Digital Product Design. Here is the talk description: Research can improve team synergies which create opportunities for better products and a team that is happier with their results. In the first Digital Product Design Meetup Jonathan will share insights for how research can be used to create both a user-centric culture and a catalyst for team bonding. Whether you are looking to introduce an internal research practice for the first time or looking to improve on an existing one learn how these methods can work for you. The second half of the event will be a group exercise to uncover bottlenecks in your own organization implementing user research and how this can be solved.

1. Create a
User-Centric Culture
with User Research
Jonathan Horowitz
Product Strategy and Design
jonathan@citrusbyte.com
@uxjah
Feb 3 2015

2. I work at Citrusbyte
• Founded in 2007.
• Engineers, designers, UX architects, and
product strategists — offices in four countries.
• We design, architect and build one-of-a-kind
custom web & mobile applications.
Product Design + Engineering

3. We work with world-class brands

4. Good Research.
Better Teams.
Amazing Products.

5. User-Centric Culture:
An environment where
discovering and discussing
customer insights is a ongoing
cross-department activity
which steers the
product/service strategy.

6. User-Centric Culture Spectrum
What’s a user? We live and
breathe users
Examples in
this presentation

7. Everyone Starts as a Beginner

8. The Do’s and Don’ts
Don’t lead the participant
Don’t answer, “what happens when I click…”
Don’t use people that designed the product - It Depends?
Do get users to think out loud
Do use a script for usability testing - It Depends?
Do get your whole team involved

9. Research Gets Left Out
Expensive
Time-consuming
Not necessary
Not valuable
Confuses matters

10. Small Team: Build Your Own

11. Nurture Relationships

12. Convince The Boss

13. Gimme That ROI

14. The News Will Spread

15. ROI Happened.

16. Take-Aways
Start small, low fidelity, with internal people
Nurture new relationships, be innovative with your
new partnerships
Self assessment of research skills
Aim to show clear business value

17. Social Dysfunction

18. Toxic Culture

19. Bigger Org: Silos No More

20. Inclusion

21. Downsides

22. UX Team of One

23. Again, Starting Small

24. Communicate Value

25. More Take-Aways
Get your culture involved (in any way that makes sense)
Teams should eventually own their own education
Shared research helps “design process”
Communicate business value with stakeholders

26. Do’s vs. Don’ts
Beginner First Steps

27. Do’s vs. Don’ts
Testing Your Own Designs

28. Quality Results

29. Workplace Culture Matters

30. Other Techniques
Interviews
Card sorting
Proto-personas
What else?

31. Q&A.

32. Exercise: Your User-Centric Culture
Jonathan gives introduction…

33. Usability
Testing
Card Sorting
Persona
Development
Ethnographic
Field Studies
Interviews
Diary Studies
Exercise: Your User-Centric Culture
Choose one method to introduce or improve with your team. The method will
accomplish a specific goal. Be sure of the goal you want to accomplish.
Or pick one not listed here…

34. 1. What value does this research method
bring to your team.
2. Your top-line bullet plan (details if time)
on starting/changing/making user-centric
• What people do you propose get
involved? Why?
• Your greatest challenge? How will you
overcome it?
Exercise: Your User-Centric Culture

35. • Review plan, get general feedback
• What was the greatest challenge and
proposal to overcome it?
• Who else should get involved in each
person’s plan and why?
• Missed opportunities for the plan?
• Change recommendations for the plan?
Discuss with Neighbors

36. • Did your relationships with these other
people change in any other way? (e.g. new
ideas, types of conversations, etc)
• What can you do to continue to strengthen
those relationships?
• What is your next move for an improved
user-centric culture?
Post Research: A Debrief

37. More Q&A.

38. Thanks.
Get in touch!
Jonathan Horowitz
Product Strategy and Design
jonathan@citrusbyte.com
@uxjah