{"id":680550,"date":"2019-11-12T09:00:58","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T17:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/?post_type=msr-blog-post&#038;p=680550"},"modified":"2020-07-30T12:15:30","modified_gmt":"2020-07-30T19:15:30","slug":"five-traits-of-great-user-researchers","status":"publish","type":"msr-blog-post","link":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/articles\/five-traits-of-great-user-researchers\/","title":{"rendered":"Five traits of great user researchers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By <a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/paula-bach\/\">Paula Bach<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_680562\" style=\"width: 2845px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-680562\" class=\"wp-image-680562 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Five-traits_header.png\" alt=\"Graphic artwork: Two people, one male and one female, stand on top of a mountain in hiking clothes. Behind them stands a flag that says UX research\" width=\"2835\" height=\"1433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Five-traits_header.png 2835w, https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Five-traits_header-300x152.png 300w, https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Five-traits_header-1024x518.png 1024w, https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Five-traits_header-768x388.png 768w, https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Five-traits_header-1536x776.png 1536w, https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Five-traits_header-2048x1035.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2835px) 100vw, 2835px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-680562\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Note: The article was originally published on Nov. 19, 2019, on Medium<\/p><\/div>\n<h3 id=\"990d\" class=\"hu hc bj bi ei hv hw hx hy hz ia ib ic id ie if ig ih ii ij ik bn\">Advice for taking your UX research career to the next level<\/h3>\n<div class=\"il\">\n<div class=\"n fr im in io\">\n<div class=\"o n\">\n<p id=\"4d31\" class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv kq kr hy ks kt ku kv id kw kx ig ky kz ij la gv cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">To level up, researchers in mid-career must expand on their current capacities to grow beyond doing good research and become drivers of innovation. Based on my experience hiring for and growing teams, mentoring junior researchers, and developing personally on the way to becoming a principal user research manager at Microsoft, I believe the following characteristics are most important for researchers to build on their way to leveling up.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"7ff7\" class=\"lc ld bj bi fs le lf lg lh li lj lk ll lm ln lo lp lq lr ls lt cx\"><strong>1. Scientific<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p id=\"e154\" class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv lu kr hy lv kt ku lw id kw lx ig ky ly ij la gv cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">The training that most researchers receive in one or more of the social sciences ensures that they are aware of their own biases and assumptions as well as those of their stakeholders and product users. This awareness is a fundamental element of good research, helping stakeholders learn how to be more people-data literate. However, at the next level, a paradox of research arises.<\/p>\n<p id=\"0c2a\" class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv kq kr hy ks kt ku kv id kw kx ig ky kz ij la gv cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Great researchers understand that sometimes we conduct research to empathize and learn, and sometimes we conduct research using the scientific method for greater precision,\u00a0because the decisions made from the research have higher consequence to the business or the experience design.\u00a0To expand one\u2019s capacity, a researcher needs a solid understanding of mixed-method and scientific approaches, regardless of their epistemological heritage (e.g., positivist, postpositivist).<\/p>\n<ul class=\"\">\n<li id=\"cf16\" class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv kq kr hy ks kt ku kv id kw kx ig ky kz ij la lz ma mb cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Read\u00a0<a class=\"mc as dm\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/u\/f086e94ab9d0?source=post_page-----1bb843230c7a----------------------\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sam Ladner<\/a>\u2019s book\u00a0<em class=\"md\">Mixed Methods<\/em>\u00a0to dig in deeper here.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 id=\"57ce\" class=\"lc ld bj bi fs le lf lg lh li lj lk ll lm ln lo lp lq lr ls lt cx\"><strong>2. Creative<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p id=\"fca5\" class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv lu kr hy lv kt ku lw id kw lx ig ky ly ij la gv cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">A great researcher must be creative because the methods from our home disciplines don\u2019t always conform to industry needs. Sometimes, we must design new methods to address unique customer questions pertaining to business and design. Likewise, no design-thinking, lean, or agile process can be purely adopted in every team. Researchers must adapt and integrate methods into the product team\u2019s current way of working.<\/p>\n<p id=\"cb9c\" class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv kq kr hy ks kt ku kv id kw kx ig ky kz ij la gv cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">In addition, creative storytelling helps land research results\u2014often more effectively than scientific reporting\u2014by connecting stakeholders to customers through empathy. Great researchers bring their research to life with evocative details that allow the listener to imagine themselves in the customer\u2019s shoes. Because the next level requires making recommendations that affect product direction, researchers who can convey results through story are more likely to create customer-driven impact from their research.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"\">\n<li id=\"b8e2\" class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv kq kr hy ks kt ku kv id kw kx ig ky kz ij la lz ma mb cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Read\u00a0<a class=\"mc as dm\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/u\/b3d04f721033?source=post_page-----1bb843230c7a----------------------\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Scott Barry Kaufman<\/a>\u00a0and Carolyn Gregoire\u2019s\u00a0<a class=\"bx dm me mf mg mh\" href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/317947\/wired-to-create-by-scott-barry-kaufman-and-carolyn-gregoire\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow noreferrer\"><em class=\"md\">Wired to Create<\/em><\/a>\u00a0to dig in deeper.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-680574 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Five-traitsimage-2.png\" alt=\"Graphic artwork: One male sits in a chair on his phone. Opposite him is a woman who is typing back, out of a computer screen. Below a quote from the author reads: Great researchers bring their research to life with evocative details that allows the listener to imagine themselves in the customer's shoes.\" width=\"1500\" height=\"811\" srcset=\"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Five-traitsimage-2.png 1500w, https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Five-traitsimage-2-300x162.png 300w, https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Five-traitsimage-2-1024x554.png 1024w, https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Five-traitsimage-2-768x415.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"3139\" class=\"lc ld bj bi fs le lf lg lh li lj lk ll lm ln lo lp lq lr ls lt cx\"><strong>3. Self-measuring<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p id=\"f27e\" class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv lu kr hy lv kt ku lw id kw lx ig ky ly ij la gv cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Good researchers know how to track the impact of research on product.\u00a0Great researchers seek ways to measure the impact of their research on the business or design, with the goal of measuring their impact on customer experience. Tracing the impact of a research project to an improvement in the customer experience is important to understanding the exact value of user research.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"\">\n<li id=\"b4a6\" class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv kq kr hy ks kt ku kv id kw kx ig ky kz ij la lz ma mb cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">To dig in deeper, read Douglas Hubbard\u2019s\u00a0<a class=\"bx dm me mf mg mh\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wiley.com\/en-us\/How+to+Measure+Anything%3A+Finding+the+Value+of+Intangibles+in+Business%2C+3rd+Edition-p-9781118836446\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow noreferrer\"><em class=\"md\">How to Measure Anything<\/em><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 id=\"fcf4\" class=\"lc ld bj bi fs le lf lg lh li lj lk ll lm ln lo lp lq lr ls lt cx\"><strong>4. Proactive<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p id=\"83b3\" class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv lu kr hy lv kt ku lw id kw lx ig ky ly ij la gv cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Researchers who only take requests from stakeholders are not proactive. Being proactive involves looking at the knowledge produced across your own research studies as well as other data disciplines (e.g., market research, data science) and filling knowledge gaps to aid design and business decisions.\u00a0Conducting novel studies to fill knowledge gaps at the intersection of the business and design constraints allows researchers to get ahead of the decision-making needed for the inception of product ideas.\u00a0This type of practice helps drive new ideas, and ultimately innovation.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"\">\n<li id=\"4b5c\" class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv kq kr hy ks kt ku kv id kw kx ig ky kz ij la lz ma mb cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">To dig in deeper, read\u00a0<a class=\"mc as dm\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/u\/f9ac9806e153?source=post_page-----1bb843230c7a----------------------\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Seth Godin<\/a>\u2019s book\u00a0<a class=\"bx dm me mf mg mh\" href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/305744\/linchpin-by-seth-godin\/9781591844099\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow noreferrer\"><em class=\"md\">Linchpin<\/em><\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 id=\"17e9\" class=\"lc ld bj bi fs le lf lg lh li lj lk ll lm ln lo lp lq lr ls lt cx\"><strong>5. Innovative<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p id=\"f803\" class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv lu kr hy lv kt ku lw id kw lx ig ky ly ij la gv cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Once researchers are great at applying the above traits, they are ready to become drivers of innovation. That is, they\u2019re able to generate and develop new product ideas.<\/p>\n<p id=\"efdd\" class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv kq kr hy ks kt ku kv id kw kx ig ky kz ij la gv cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">In practice, leveling up on innovation means synthesizing current research or starting a research program to explore customer needs and ways to meet them.\u00a0Say, for example, you have evidence from multiple studies that shows why the first-run experience is resulting in an 80 percent drop-off at that funnel stage. You kick off a design sprint to find ways to solve the problem, run a user study on the results of the sprint to narrow down the best candidates, and work with the team to flight an experiment. Here, you have begun to drive innovation through process.<\/p>\n<p id=\"c4d2\" class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv kq kr hy ks kt ku kv id kw kx ig ky kz ij la gv cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Finally, you measure the success of the experiment against UX metrics to help track the impact of the knowledge synthesis, innovation process, experimentation, and ultimately whether the customer experience improved.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"\">\n<li id=\"df28\" class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv kq kr hy ks kt ku kv id kw kx ig ky kz ij la lz ma mb cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Check out\u00a0<a class=\"bx dm me mf mg mh\" href=\"https:\/\/store.hbr.org\/product\/hbr-s-10-must-reads-on-innovation-with-featured-article-the-discipline-of-innovation-by-peter-f-drucker\/11363\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow noreferrer\">HBR\u2019s compilation of resources on innovation<\/a>\u00a0to dig in deeper.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 id=\"564c\" class=\"lc ld bj bi fs le lf lg lh li lj lk ll lm ln lo lp lq lr ls lt cx\"><strong>Becoming a leader in UX research<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"n p\">\n<div class=\"z ab ac ae af ha ah ai\">\n<p id=\"fb54\" class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv lu kr hy lv kt ku lw id kw lx ig ky ly ij la gv cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">Every practitioner brings\u00a0<a class=\"bx dm me mf mg mh\" href=\"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/group\/customer-insights-research\/articles\/diversity-in-user-research-how-nontraditional-backgrounds-enhance-impact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a unique set of characteristics to the field<\/a>, but speaking broadly, most researchers I know possess two to three of the above traits in mid-career. Those who grow into all five usually end up in a leadership position, whether as a manager or an individual contributor.<\/p>\n<p id=\"be7b\" class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv kq kr hy ks kt ku kv id kw kx ig ky kz ij la gv cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\">With the tech industry becoming more customer driven, stakeholders look increasingly to our discipline to lead product ideas from inception to release. Those who level up within UX research will have tremendous opportunities to make a difference.<\/p>\n<p class=\"kn ko bj kp b hv kq kr hy ks kt ku kv id kw kx ig ky kz ij la gv cx\" data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><strong class=\"kp lb\">Have more traits to add? Connect with me on <\/strong><a class=\"bx dm me mf mg mh\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/paula-bach\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow noreferrer\"><strong class=\"kp lb\">LinkedIn<\/strong><\/a>, <strong>or<\/strong> <strong class=\"kp lb\">tweet me <a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.x.com\/Redhouse67\">@RedHouse67<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> or <\/strong><a class=\"bx dm me mf mg mh\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MicrosoftRI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow noreferrer\"><strong class=\"kp lb\">@MicrosoftRI<\/strong><\/a><strong class=\"kp lb\">, or like us <a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MicrosoftRI\">on Facebook<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> and join the conversation.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-selectable-paragraph=\"\"><em>Paula Bach is a Principal User Research Manager on the Customer Insights Research team, where she manages a team of researchers digging into next generation browsing. She holds a PhD in Human Computer Interaction at the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State University, a Master of Science at Michigan Technological University in Technical Communication, and a bachelor\u2019s degree in Psychology and English from the University of British Columbia. During her career at Microsoft, Paula has helped shape code review and software diagnostic experiences in Visual Studio; documented workflows of data scientists, data engineers and data analysts for Power BI and Azure Data Factory; studied launching and switching efficiencies in Windows, and examined issues with mobile and cross-device experiences.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Researchers in their mid-career should expand on their current capacities to grow beyond good research and, instead, become drivers of innovation. In this article, the author explores five traits that user researchers should carry with them on their journey. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39057,"featured_media":680571,"template":"","meta":{"msr-url-field":"","msr-podcast-episode":"","msrModifiedDate":"","msrModifiedDateEnabled":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_classifai_error":"","msr-content-parent":616842,"msr_hide_image_in_river":0,"footnotes":""},"research-area":[],"msr-locale":[268875],"msr-post-option":[],"class_list":["post-680550","msr-blog-post","type-msr-blog-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","msr-locale-en_us"],"msr_assoc_parent":{"id":616842,"type":"group"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-blog-post\/680550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-blog-post"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/msr-blog-post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39057"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-blog-post\/680550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":680601,"href":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-blog-post\/680550\/revisions\/680601"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"msr-research-area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-area?post=680550"},{"taxonomy":"msr-locale","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-locale?post=680550"},{"taxonomy":"msr-post-option","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-post-option?post=680550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}