Skip to content

People Nerds Category: Conversations

Conversations 4/10/2024

How SiriusXM Drove Product Innovation Through Bottom-Up Research

Research leader Laura Oxenfeld entered SiriusXM in the thick of a major product launch—but soon realized the org needed a plan far beyond the near future.

Conversations 7/12/2023

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.

Conversations 4/26/2023

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.

Conversations 3/1/2023

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.

Conversations 9/14/2022

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.

Conversations 8/18/2022

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.

Conversations 6/23/2022

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.

Conversations 6/16/2022

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.

Conversations 4/13/2022

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.

Conversations 2/2/2022

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.

Conversations 1/11/2022

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.

Conversations 12/9/2021

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.

Conversations 11/11/2021

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.

Conversations 11/4/2021

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.

Conversations 9/22/2021

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.

Conversations 7/29/2021

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.

Conversations 7/15/2021

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.

Conversations 7/7/2021

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.

Conversations 7/1/2021

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.

Conversations 5/27/2021

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.

Conversations 5/12/2021

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.

Conversations 4/8/2021

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.

Conversations 3/18/2021

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.

Conversations 3/10/2021

Beta Testing: A Mixed-Methods Playground

Beta testing offers ample mixed-methods opportunities, providing rich insights on lean timelines.

Subscribe To People Nerds

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