People Nerds Category: Conversations

Lean, Sustainable Team Building in Today’s Climate [Q&A]
dscout’s VP of research Julie Norvaisas sits down with research leader Loi Sessions Goulet to break down how to build teams that make a real impact, even with unexpected bumps in the road.

The Future of Research and Insights Is Fully Integrated
Salesforce’s Yakaira Núñez sketches a sustainable, impactful future for research and insights teams, integrating them throughout the organization.

Can Immersive Journalism Make Way for More Responsible Storytelling?
Dr. Sanchez Laws believes immersive technologies have the potential to introduce responsibility to journalism, and inspire people to strive for peace.

When "Admin" Work Has Really Been Operations All Along
ReOps expert Holly Cole sees how the term ‘operations’ changes the game. But those long doing it under a different name deserve the same compensation.

NDAs, the Secret Sauce: Research Operations Tips with Kasey Canlas
ReOps expert Kasey Canlas believes anyone can break into the field—but they’ll need to learn some security and privacy best practices along the way.

Bridging the Talent Gap Between Silicon Valley and East Africa Through UX
Shipra Kayan’s company Siriforce is bringing QA careers to college-educated refugees. She wants to see more companies like it.

Skilling and Scaling Equity Research at Instagram
Dr. Stacey Houston II has leveraged his research on equity into inclusive product changes at Instagram. Here’s how he’s leading the charge.

Reconsidering the "Core" Knowledge of UX
DesignIt and UX Book Club Chicago’s Sharon Bautista unpacks the importance of organizational learning cultures and interrogates whose perspectives inform our practice.

Rebuilding Research and Making Wine
Dave Hora outlines his philosophy for generating research activities with a structure that’s flexible and human-focused, woven from architecture and wine making.

Grow in Your Craft or Your Leadership? How to Evolve as a UX Designer
UX leader, Ashton Snook, chats with us about the balance of UX research and design, securing design’s seat at the table, and his advice for getting started in the industry.

Smarter UX Democratization
Julie Norvaisas on the promise (and potential) of democratization and building a resilient and adaptable team in the wake of the current work reality.

Learning to Let Things Break
Executive Design expert Emily Henlein shares how she advocates for ‘indirect actions’ to prioritize wellbeing and why future designers have a secure seat at the table.

Throwing Flowers to Yourself
Nikole Arguedas outlines a community-based practice for building leaders, sharpening research practices, and injecting gratitude and empathy into our workflows.

From 1:1 to 1:Many—Humans, Artefacts, & Ecosystems Thinking
“Rethinking Users” authors Michael Youngblood and Ben Chesluk alongside illustrator Nadeem Haidary redefine “users” to design for an ecosystem.

Positive Deviance: Rachael Dietkus on the Abundance of Empathy and Curiosity
Social Workers Who Design Founder and Principal, Rachael Dietkus, takes us through her journey of blending social work with design and the untapped collaboration potential between the two sectors.

The Meta-Discursive UX Practice
Taylor Klassman on the reflexivity of researching researchers and the trends she’s seeing across an in-demand and maturing field.

When Your Product Is Your People
Lisa Madokoro and Taylor Kim of Shopify’s Talent Insights & Research team on building meaningful human experiences when the “users” are your colleagues.

Doing the Work: Building a Cross-Sector Community of Learners
Learners Co-Founders (formerly UXR Collective) Alec Levin and Maggi Mitchell discuss why learning various disciplines is essential to company growth and collaboration.

Prototyping for Pluralism: Design as a Means for Social Change
Project Pluralist founder Hina Shahid takes us through her career and explains why now is best the time for designers to make a social impact.

Contribute Meaningfully: The Power of a Research Strategy
Chris Geison walks us through the distinctions between “strategic research” and “research strategy” to unpack how the latter is the key to improving team bandwidth and securing a seat at the table.

Listening Beyond the Lab
Ximena Vengoechea literally wrote the book on listening. Here’s her advice for richer conversations—both in and outside of the workplace.

UX: Our Past and Future
Jared Spool reflected on his decades-held defining role in the UX space—giving us insights into where the field has been, and predictions to where it could be heading.

Beta Testing: A Mixed-Methods Playground
Beta testing offers ample mixed-methods opportunities, providing rich insights on lean timelines.

To Build A Better Research Practice, Build Better Relationships
Solo-UXRs are often tasked with filling research gaps while building an orgs research acumen. Dave Chen from Flipp has suggestions for growing our volume of research, alongside our company’s research maturity.

Subscribe To People Nerds
A weekly roundup of interviews, pro tips and original research designed for people who are interested in people