UX Research Geeks

Latest Episodes:

Chloe Sharp | Making products that matter | #49 Dec 08, 2024

Show notes

Chloe Sharp shares how research supports innovation, focusing on connecting with stakeholders, measuring ROI, and aligning research with business objectives. She discusses her experiences in helping companies make informed decisions and develop products that meet user needs while balancing creativity and business strategy.

👉 If you have any tips on fantastic speakers from across the globe, feedback, or any questions, we’d love to hear from you too. Reach out to geekspodcast@uxtweak.com

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/chloe-sharp-making-products-that-matter/

Episode highlights

00:01:27 – Chloe Sharp’s diverse research background
00:05:00 – Explaining the value of research to skeptical stakeholders
00:12:14 – Finding opportunities for innovation through research
00:17:08 – Presenting insights in ways that drive action
00:21:12 – Advice for researchers exploring project management roles

About our guest Chloe Sharp

Dr Chloe Sharp has built her career around research and innovation. She began as a Research Fellow before transitioning to the commercial sector as a Social Researcher at a UK Catapult. She later joined an AI startup, focusing on user and market research, and co-founded a research and grant writing consultancy, helping charities, startups, and scale-ups develop products. After exiting the consultancy, Chloe worked in the finance sector as a Product Manager, gaining new perspectives on research. Her experiences inspired her book, Make Products That Matter, a practical guide to creating user-focused products. She now runs Sharp Insight, an innovation consultancy focusing on bringing ideas to reality and navigating change and uncertainty in the process.

🔎 Where to follow Chloe

LinkedIn / Website

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

🐝 Where to Follow UXtweak:

LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter

Kelly Jura | How user research shaped a brand: a case study | #48 Nov 11, 2024

Show notes

Kelly discusses the rebranding of Screencast-O-Matic to ScreenPal, focusing on the research and user feedback that drove the change. She explains the challenges of aligning brand perception with user needs and managing a global market transition effectively.

👉 If you have any tips on fantastic speakers from across the globe, feedback, or any questions, we’d love to hear from you too. Reach out to geekspodcast@uxtweak.com

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/kelly-jura-user-research-rebranding/

Episode highlights

00:01:42 – Combining brand and user experience roles at ScreenPal
00:12:53 – Methods used to validate and select new brand name
00:18:40 – Data-driven rebranding decisions
00:21:07 – Communicating the benefits and value of rebranding to leadership

About our guest Kelly Jura

Kelly Jura is a design leader who is driven by the ways that people interact with ideas. Throughout her career, she leverages her deep understanding of brand and behavior, gaining patents, accolades and widespread public acclaim on the way.

🔎 Where to follow Kelly

LinkedIn / Website

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

🐝 Where to Follow UXtweak:

LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter

Kate Towsey | Scaling Research Ops | #47 Nov 07, 2024

Show notes

Kate explores scaling research within organizations, building effective infrastructure, and crafting strategies for solo or small teams. She also touches on her book, Research That Scales, and offers insights on drawing inspiration from fields like librarianship and systems thinking.

👉 If you have any tips on fantastic speakers from across the globe, feedback, or any questions, we’d love to hear from you too. Reach out to geekspodcast@uxtweak.com

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/kate-towsey-scaling-research-ops/

Episode highlights

00:01:38 – Recent release of Research That Scales
00:02:56 – What inspired Kate to write a book on research operations
00:11:14 – Research operations as infrastructure
00:14:12 – Addressing the unique needs of large, complex research teams
00:20:51 – Strategy tips for a team of one
00:29:40 – Finding inspiration for research ops outside the UX field

About our guest Kate Towsey

Kate Towsey is an independent advisor, coach, and educator. For more than a decade, she has been at the forefront of ResearchOps. The inventor of the widely used acronym PWDR (pau·duh) for “people who do research,” Kate also wrote some of the earliest blog posts about setting up research operations, founded the ResearchOps Community, and launched the #WhatisResearchOps movement, putting ResearchOps on the map.

In 2019, she stepped back from the ResearchOps Community and started the Cha Cha Club, a members’ club for full-time ResearchOps professionals, which she runs to this day. Over twenty years, Kate has delivered operations in e-commerce, education, government, retail, and tech. She built and managed the Atlassian ResearchOps team, widely recognised as the benchmark for scaling research services and systems to hundreds of people.

🔎 Where to follow Kate

LinkedIn / Website / Cha Cha Club / Substack

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

🐝 Where to Follow UXtweak:

LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter

Steve Bromley | The world of games user research | #46 Oct 16, 2024

Show notes

Steve shares insights from his decade in gaming research, discussing the contrast between indie studios and larger companies. He covers the challenges faced in game research, ethical concerns when working with children, and provides advice on breaking into a career in game research.

👉 If you have any tips on fantastic speakers from across the globe, feedback, or any questions, we’d love to hear from you too. Reach out to geekspodcast@uxtweak.com

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/steve-bromley-games-user-research/

Episode highlights

00:02:04 – Steve’s background in gaming research
00:05:49 – Comparing work with indie studios and larger companies
00:18:23 – Challenges of research in games
00:28:36 – Ethical considerations when conducting research with children
00:31:16 – Tips for starting a career in game research

About our guest Steve Bromley

Steve is an experienced user research consultant based in London, specializing in building new user research teams and conducting user research for video games. He’s the author of Building User Research Teams and How To Be A Games User Researcher.

He is also the director of gamesuserresearch.com, where he provides consultancy and runs playtests for game studios. With a passion for advancing games user research, Steve regularly speaks at global conferences and shares his expertise through writing.

🔎 Where to follow Steve

LinkedIn / Website

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

🐝 Where to Follow UXtweak:

LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter

Sarah Doody | Navigating UX careers | #45 Oct 01, 2024

Show notes

Sarah explains why UX researchers struggle with building effective portfolios and marketing themselves. She highlights common mistakes researchers make, offers tips for navigating NDAs, and suggests ways to showcase the business impact of their work. Sarah also provides strategies for standing out in a competitive job market and advice for freelancers.

👉 Link to study about current state of research resistancefrom UXtweak.

👉 If you have any tips on fantastic speakers from across the globe, feedback, or any questions, we’d love to hear from you too. Reach out to geekspodcast@uxtweak.com

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/guides/podcast/sarah-doody-navigating-ux-careers/

Episode highlights

00:01:26 – Sarah’s background and career shift
00:05:49 – Common UX portfolio mistakes
00:09:09 – Handling NDAs in portfolios
00:20:15 – Interview preparation tips
00:27:57 – Freelancers’ application tips
00:29:54 – Sarah’s closing thoughts on careers

About our guest Sarah Doody

Sarah Doody is the founder of Career Strategy Lab™, a program that helps UX and product professionals at all career stages navigate their job search and articulate their skills and experience through individualized and group coaching. She is also the host of the Career Strategy Lab podcast.

Since 2021, professionals who have worked with Sarah have increased their salaries by 40% on average and have been hired at prestigious brands such as Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, Nordstrom, Spotify, Blue Origin on average in 3.5 months. The program has been so successful since it’s launch that the combined salary of program graduates hired topped nearly $6 million.

Sarah has been named a Future of Work expert by Forbes and is a regular Forbes.com contributor. She has also been featured in Fast Company, Insider, Fox Business, and more.

For more information on Sarah and her work, programs, or speaking engagements, please visit her website, or find her on YouTube (30k), LinkedIn (70k), Instagram (18k), or Twitter (28k).

🔎 Where to follow Sarah

LinkedIn / Instagram / Twitter

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

🐝 Where to Follow UXtweak:

LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter

Noam Segal | Garbage metrics: the case against NPS | #44 Sep 18, 2024

Show notes

Noam discusses why NPS is a flawed metric and why companies should stop using it. He explains the issues with NPS from a survey science perspective and suggests better alternatives for measuring customer satisfaction and engagement.

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/noam-segal-nps-the-garbage-metrics/

Episode highlights

00:01:36 – Noam’s background
00:07:07 – Introduction to NPS flaws
00:16:10 – Creation of npsistheworst.com
00:19:59 – Alternatives to NPS
00:23:26 – Focus on custom KPIs over NPS
00:31:33 – UX researchers’ role in metrics and ethics
00:34:30 – Noam’s closing thoughts

About our guest Noam Segal

Noam Segal is a UX leader with experience at companies like Airbnb, Intercom, Wealthfront, X, and Meta. He’s currently Senior Research Manager at Upwork and founder of The Disruptive Coach, offering career coaching and resources for tech professionals. He helps individuals and teams grow, and has taught at Stanford and Harvard, as well as spoken at major industry conferences like UXRConf and Quant UX Con.

🔎 Where to follow Noam

LinkedIn / Rosenfeld

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

🐝 Where to Follow UXtweak:

LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter

Zsuzsa Kovacs | Hidden Risks of Surveys | #43 Sep 06, 2024

Show notes

Zsuzsa Kovács talks about the problems with using surveys in UX research and why she prefers interviews. She explains how surveys can be biased and miss important details.

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/zsuzsa-kovacs-surveys

Episode highlights

00:01:45 – Zsuzsa’s Background in UX
00:05:56 – Problems with Surveys
00:10:29 – Why Interviews Are Better
00:23:06 – Handling Stakeholder Expectations

About our guest Zsuzsa Kovacs

Zsuzsa is a Freelance Lead UX Researcher, who has worked in UX since 2008. She tried many different roles around building products but in every role her main focus was involving users in the process early on and keeping them close. She enjoys talking to people, seeing products through their eyes, understanding their point of view. She is interested in psychology, especially areas that affect research. She is a co-organiser of the Amuse UX Conference.

🔎 Where to follow Zsuzsa

LinkedIn

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

🐝 Where to Follow UXtweak:

LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter

Matt Wallaert | Personas vs. archetypes: why personas might not work | #42 Aug 19, 2024

Show notes

Matt shares his perspective on personas and why he favors behavioral archetypes. He discusses the strengths and pitfalls of personas, the role of behavioral science in UX research, and alternative methods for building empathy beyond traditional research.

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/matt-wallaert-personas-vs-archetypes/

Episode highlights

00:00:59 - Guest Introduction
00:06:45 - Critique of Personas
00:13:13 - Behavioral Archetypes
00:22:01 - Building Empathy
00:24:36 - Research and User Advocacy

About our guest Matt Wallaert

For almost 20 years, Matt Wallaert has been applying behavioral science to practical problems. After leaving academia, his career as an executive lead from startups (Thrive, Churnless) to the Fortune 500 (Microsoft, CapGemini) and back again, before founding BeSci.io (Behavioral Science in organizations), where he and the world’s most experienced behavioral science leaders help companies grow applied behavioral science capabilities within their organizations.

In his book Start At The End and other writings, as well as hundreds of talks from the UN to SXSW, Wallaert details how the cycle of behavioral strategy, insights, design, and evaluation can help us build products and services that change behavior. From the janitor to the CEO, his approachable frameworks show how everyone can incorporate behavioral science into what they do, no PhD required.

Wallaert’s side projects consistently focus on creating greater equity in the world, like GetRaised, which has helped underpaid women ask for and earn over $3.6B in salary increases, and his research reports, like MediocreWhiteMen, blend humor and science to help work toward change. He can usually be found wearing cowboy boots and gesturing wildly.

🔎 Where to follow Matt

LinkedIn / His web

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

🐝 Where to Follow UXtweak:

LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter

Pamela Escobar | Financial psychology in Mexico | #41 Aug 09, 2024

Show notes

Pamela Escobar and Tina explore cultural perceptions and financial psychology, analyzing how these elements influence attitudes towards money and life choices. With Pamela's expertise and Tina's questions, they provide a detailed examination of how culture, economics, and personal behavior intersect.

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/pamela-escobar-financial-psychology-in-mexico/

Episode highlights

00:00:01 Guest introduction
00:05:19 Cultural differences in research
00:09:22 Financial priorities in Mexico
00:22:51 Research in Latin America
00:27:58 Conclusion

About our guest Pamela Escobar Born in Cancun, Mexico, Pamela is a bicultural User experience designer with seven years of experience helping companies with cross-cultural products understand complex problems and create innovative solutions. She specializes in generating impactful insights through comprehensive quantitative and qualitative research, and enhancing products and services through a human-centric approach. She's passionate about psychology, traveling, food, as well as deep wholehearted conversations. Currently working as a freelancer traveling around the world while researching it, and during her free time enjoying local cuisine or doing water sports back home in Cancun.

🔎 Where to follow Pamela

LinkedIn

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

🐝 Where to Follow UXtweak:

LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter

uxcon special: Designing for Complex UIs and Measuring UX with Vitaly Friedman┃#40 Jul 10, 2024

Show notes

Tina interviews Vitaly, a UX Leader, speaker, and co-founder of Smashing Magazine. Vitaly will host a full-day workshop on designing complex UIs on September 18th, the warm-up day for uxcon vienna 2024, followed by a talk on measuring UX and design impact on September 19th. Their discussion covers aspects of user experience, choosing the right design metrics, and KPIs. Vitaly also shares insights into his daily client work, focusing on evidence-driven design, accessibility, and the importance of understanding user needs to create impactful digital experiences. Tune in for a preview of his upcoming workshop and talk.

🔎 Do you want to know more? Check out this episode at:

https://www.uxtweak.com/podcast/vitaly-friedman-measuring-ux/

Episode highlights

00:02:57 – Workshop and talk at uxcon vienna
00:04:32 – Measuring UX and design impact
00:17:30 – Risk mitigation through UX research
00:23:08 – Accessibility in design
00:29:32 – Conclusion

About our guest Vitaly Friedman

Vitaly Friedman is a UX Leader who has been working with mid-size and large organizations for over 19 years, improving UX of complex systems, accessibility, performance, and design. He has collaborated with the European Parliament, OTTO, Zalando, Axel Springer SE, and REWE Digital. As the founder and editor-in-chief of Smashing Magazine, he organizes inclusive "Smashing Conferences" and runs live "UX training". Vitaly thrives in solving complex UX challenges and working with stakeholders. His curiosity extends from interface design to front-end, performance optimization, and accessibility, all with the goal of creating digital experiences that people can easily understand and enjoy.

🔎 Where to follow Vitaly Friedman

LinkedIn

About uxcon vienna

uxcon vienna is a conference dedicated to UX Research and UX Design. It brings together professionals, experts, and enthusiasts in the field of UX to share knowledge, insights, and best practices. The conference is attended by both specialists from both Europe and the US, thus providing a great opportunity for networking or professional exchange. Attendees can expect to learn about the latest trends and developments in UX research and design, gain practical skills, and connect with like-minded individuals. uxcon vienna aims to inspire and empower UX professionals to create impactful user experiences.

About this podcast:

Welcome to UX Research Geeks, where Tina Ličková, a researcher and strategist, talks with researchers from around the globe about topics that matter to them.

🐝 Brought to you by UXtweak, an all-in-one UX research software. Start your research for free at: https://www.uxtweak.com/ 👈

🐝 Where to Follow UXtweak:

LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube / Facebook / Twitter

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