User Research
Overseeing and evangelizing user experience research at both Yelp and BuzzFeed.
A slide from a workshop I ran on UX research basics.
Company
Yelp, BuzzFeed
Role
UX Research Lead
Timeline
February 2017 — Present
Key Activities
Conducting qualitative and quantitative research for my immediate team, as well as the tech organization as a whole; teaching other designers, engineers, and product managers how to conduct their own research through group workshops and one-on-one coaching; supervising study design; synthesizing and communicating research findings to inform design and business decisions via presentations, workshops, and written reports.
Tools Used
Qualtrics, Google Forms, UserZoom, UserTesting dot com, and templates that I developed on my own.
Master’s Degree
I graduated with a Master's degree from the University of Washington's Master's of Human Computer Interaction and Design program in 2016. This interdisciplinary program integrates courses from four departments at UW — the Information School, the Human Centered Design and Engineering Department, the Computer Science Department, and the Division of Design within the Art School. Although I went on to become a product designer, graduates of the program also learn the requisite skills needed to become UX Researchers. Over the course of this 11-month program, I learned a breadth of primary and secondary research techniques, including the following:
Competitive research
Focus groups
Field research/contextual inquiries
User interviews
Diary studies
Surveys
Card sorting
Heuristic evaluations
Usability testing
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Professional UX Research Experience
I frequently draw upon my knowledge of both generative and evaluative research techniques in order to inform and influence product decisions with insights about the actual user population I’m designing a product for. I’m able to conduct research both in-person or remotely, moderated or unmoderated.
Part-Time UX Researcher
At both Yelp and BuzzFeed — organizations that lacked full-time User Researchers — I saw an opportunity to collaborate with other designers, product managers, data scientists, engineers, and other relevant stakeholders to ensure research is being conducted in accordance with best practices, and to teach my peers how to conduct research on their own.
At Yelp, I was a full-time product designer and part-time UX Researcher responsible for overseeing research efforts across platforms and vertical teams. I was also in charge of hiring a full-time UX researcher. At BuzzFeed, I am responsible for enforcing user research best practices and providing feedback to teams interested in running research. I have single-handedly reviewed every research proposal from February 2019 to present, and have begun to help BuzzFeed bridge the gap between who they imagine their users are, and who those users actually are. I’ve also helped my peers understand the value of incorporating research into their design process by giving teams the tools they need to run research. Since February, BuzzFeed’s tech organization has completed 11 research studies, which is more than we did in all of 2018.
Workshops and Coaching
At both Yelp and BuzzFeed, I’ve done the following:
Conducted research on behalf of my immediate team, and for teams across the organization.
Created standardized but flexible research study templates for user interviews, screener surveys, heuristic evaluations, card sorting activities, and usability tests.
Created templates for sharing the results of research via written reports or presentations.
Ran workshops teaching designers, product managers, and engineers about UX research basics — what UX research is, what it isn’t, when and how to conduct research, how to select the correct method given the current phase of product development — as well as more in-depth workshops on how to create usability test study plans and scripts and how to facilitate research sessions (both in-person and remotely).
Identified and evaluated the effectiveness of third-party user research software intended to streamline research efforts (with an emphasis on recruiting and scheduling the right users for the study at hand).
Built empathy for the end-user across the organization in an effort to improve the products we build.
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If you’re interested in hearing more about the specific research studies I’ve conducted or the workshops I’ve run, please reach out to me at kiyanasalkeld@gmail.com.