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16 Tips for Conducting 100-Person Focus Groups and Brainstorm Sessions in Zoom

Recently, I co-facilitated four 100-person focus groups and two 100-person brainstorm sessions using Zoom web conferencing software—and learned some important lessons.

Evaluating UX Research Plans & Reports

Need to provide critical feedback on a UX research plan or UX findings report for a colleague? Or maybe you’d like to self-assess your own work and improve your process?

Can Empathy Be Taught?

Scientists think so.

There’s evidence that empathy is both a trait and a state. People can be naturally empathic, just like some people are naturally creative, humble, or diplomatic. And good news… less empathic people can learn to get better at it.

Can Empathy Be Measured?

Yes! There is actually more than one way to effectively measure empathy—and one way that is a waste of time.

What Is Empathy… Really?

Empathy pays. Caring deeply about your customers isn’t just the right thing to do—empathy is good business.

Empirical research shows there is a direct correlation between employee empathy and business outcomes (e.g., profitability, customer satisfaction). Employees with high empathy are less likely to burnout (e.g., call out sick, quit, disengage).

So what exactly is empathy? It’s a term that often gets thrown around, but what does it actually mean to be empathic? What does it look like?

Experience Is Experience Is Experience

What is UX? Is UX the same thing as website design? In just a moment, I’ll set up my very bright spotlight to bring different aspects of the broad field of UX out of the shadows.

First, UX is shorthand for user experience.

Second, there are LOTS of kinds of user experiences—not all of them happen on a website. Or even the majority of them! Most people are awake 16-18 hours every day, and most of those experiences don’t include a website (e.g., showering, dressing, walking the dog).

UX designers, researchers, and strategists work across multiple experience disciplines, or may specialize in just one.

When to Use Which UX Research Deliverable

UX research encompasses all types of research activities: user research, competitive research, stakeholder or subject matter expert interviews, audits, analytics, and other information sources—with the goal of helping organizations understand how to better serve their users.

Think beyond the traditional research report! Below is a list of UX research deliverables you can use to help you communicate strategy or research insights with greater impact and engagement.

What Are the Different UX Career Options?

When you’re first considering a career change, it may not be clear there are many ways to specialize in UX.

Many people get their start as a UX generalist, and then specialize later in their career.

Below are different UX career options to explore:

How to Get Real-World UX Experience without Going Back to School

How do you obtain UX experience when you can’t quit your job to go to school? What are some ways to gain real-world experience in order to build a UX portfolio?

Takeaways from My 2020 QRCA Conference Talk: UX Research Is Not a Synonym for Usability Testing

In January 2020, I spoke at the 2020 QRCA Conference in Austin, Texas. The name of my talk was “UX Research Is Not a Synonym for Usability Testing.”

The inspiration for my talk actually came to me immediately while attending the 2019 conference… Sometimes when I introduced myself as a UX researcher to another qualitative researcher, I heard, “I do usability testing, too!” Hhm?