People Nerds

Uncover actionable insights.

Stories That Make People Care
The UX Evolution
Want More “Agile” Qualitative Research? Take it Remote.
The Unlimited Value of User Feedback
9 Research and Productivity Hacks for UX/UR Teams of One
Co-designing Cancer Recovery
Stuck? Here are 9 Ways to Analyze User Research for Meaningful Takeaways
Finding the 'Aha!' Moment
Even Further In-Context: Better Recruiting and Collaboration Through dscout
People Nerds San Francisco Recap: Top Insights from 27 Speakers
9 Reasons Your Personas Fail (and What to Do to Make Them Stick)
11 Experts Weigh In: What Does the Future of User Research Look like?
A Simplified, Mixed Methods Roadmap: How to Marry Quant + Qual for More Insightful Results
A Look Inside Your Users' Heads
5 Major Lessons from 1000+ Participant Screeners
7 Ways to Ensure Your Research Insights are Heard and Acted Upon
More, Broader, Faster: A Brief Intro to Effective Remote Research
How We Hack Tech (And What That Says About Us)
You Should be Doing More Generative Research. Here’s a Guide to Get Started.
6 Common Research Implementation Roadblocks (and How to Move Past Them)
Untangling the Deeper Concept
4 Design Principles for Gender-Identity Inclusion (and How to Get Them Implemented)
The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up (Your User Research Process)
The 6 Research Process Pillars of a More Dynamic Customer Journey Map
Changing the Game with UX Research
User Research Workshops: Why, When, and How You Should Ideate as a Team
I Got Attacked in the YouTube Comments Section (So I Tagged and Analyzed the Data)
Letting Curiosity Guide You From "First Answer" to "Final Answer"
Marry Data Science with User Research. Ethical Design Depends on It.
Here’s How to Make your Study Design Remote-Mobile Ready
Train Your Team to Usability Test in Just an Afternoon
Design in Three Dimensions
Finding Your UX Niche: How to Define Your Research Role and Philosophy
User “Choose Your Own Adventure” Stories: A Creative Research Deliverable You’ll Actually Have Time to Execute
We’re Conducting Research at the Speed of Agile. Here’s a Case for Slowing Down.
A Novel Piece of Expert Advice for Every Stage of Your Next Research Project
Why Self-Care Matters in UX Research
User Research for Machine Learning Systems: A Case Study Walkthrough
How the Thumbtack Team of Three Scaled Research to 200+ Stakeholders
Foolproof Qualitative Analysis Tactics—For Whether You Have a Month or an Afternoon
The Power of Working Cross-Departmentally as a User Researcher
Erika Hall Knows How to Fix Your Design Process (But You’re Probably Not Going to Like It)
5 Research Strategies for Getting Insights from Healthcare Consumers
3 Steps for Getting Stakeholders Excited About New Research Approaches
Use These 6 Principles to Design for Your Future Users
How NASA Designs for the Future
The 3 Types of Stakeholders You Work with as a UXR (and How to Win Them Over)
Meeting the Rising Demand for User Research (Advice from Google, AirBnB, LinkedIn and More)
Inclusive and Accessible UX: A Starter Syllabus
Make Anyone Into a Fantastic Workshop Moderator (With this Simple Playbook)
The UX Research Adolescence
How to Win Friends and Influence Stakeholders with Qual Research
What We Heard From Our Users (and What We Did About it) In 2019
Moves to Modern Research: A New Maturity Model for User-Centric Organizations
Researching Users in Another Country? Here's How to Prepare
A Brief Guide to Moving From Academic Research to User Experience Research
A 5 Step Framework for Building Better Personas
A FOMO-Fighting Recap of our Favorite 2019 UXR Events
A Practical Synthesis Strategy for Busy UXRs
The UX Sense of Service
Stop Lights and Rainbow Charts: Two Engaging Templates for Qual Research Reports
9 User Research Hacks for your Next Resource-Limited Project
The Best UX Resources For Researchers and Designers (Updated for 2020)
How to Set Up a User Research Framework (And Why Your Team Needs One)
What We Celebrate (and Need to Talk About) When We Celebrate Black History Month
How We Empathize in UX Matters
Use These "Pre-Recruiting" Rituals to Pick the Right Participants Every Time
How to Write (Better) Survey Questions: Systems for Collecting Clean and Meaningful Data
Rolling Research: Your Key to Creating a Culture that Incorporates User Insights
Gen Z, Identity, and Brand: How the “Digital Native” Generation is Designing Itself
10 Exciting (and Underutilized) Strategies for Remote, Unmoderated Research
Remote Research: 7 Experts' Advice for Methods, Management, and Mechanics
10 Cognitive Biases Anyone Doing UX Research Should Know
Qual Research at the Speed and Scale Innovation Demands (New dscout Releases)
The COVID-19 Diaries: A Portrait of American Life Through Pandemic
A Researcher's Guide to Mental Models (And How to Use Them Wisely)
Work More Effectively with These 9 “Difficult Participant” Personality Types
How to Run an Engaging Remote Workshop: Tips for Stress-Free Collaboration
How to Listen To (and Learn From) Your Body
COVID-19 Diaries Part II: How We Cope
How to be a Teacher—Not an Oracle
Hybrid Research: The "Just Right" Mix of Generative and Evaluative Insights
Writing Next-Level Surveys: How to Get "Story Data" from Static Questions
At the Intersection of Tech and Commerce
11 Ways to Keep Research Top-of-Mind For Your Team
The COVID Diaries Part III: The Products of COVID
4 Essential Business Strategies Every UX Practitioner Should Know
3 Stakeholder Negotiation Tactics for UX Researchers
How to Level Up Your User Research Career
How to Do Compassionate Research — Even When It’s Tough
9 Golden Rules for Cultivating Community on UX Teams
How to Find the Bears in Your Forest
4 Thoughtful Principles for Service-Minded UXR
Use These "Quick Quant" Research Methods to Back Up Your Qual Findings
Discovering the Art of Creative Rebellion
How to Transition from Full-time User Researcher to Freelancer
Why (and How) to Pay Attention to Accessibility in Design
Good Design is Cross-Cultural
UX Research: A Practice or a Science?
Not Sure Which User Research Methodology To Use? Start Here.
Co-Lab Continued: Designing a Future for UX (with Ricardo Prada)
Design, Research, and the Bottom Line: Building Products that Deliver Results
Scale Your Research's Impact With Data Vizualization
Scrappy is Subjective: Quality, Speed, and Impactful UX Research
How to Work Together While We're Apart (With Google's UX Community + Culture team)
Impactful UX: Business Essentials for Researchers and Designers
Take Any Research Remote: How to Get Rich Data Virtually
Winning Hearts and Budget for Qual Research (in Quant-Minded Orgs)
How UX Can (and Should) Humanize Machine Learning
How to Democratize Your User Research Practice (Even Now)
Mixed Methods for Modern Orgs
Researching Gen Z: Design for Your Future Users
Researching Hard-to-Reach Participants with The North Face
Survey Design Basics for Qual-First UXRs
Doing Evidence-based Analysis: Applying Grounded Theory Methods to Your Research
UX Research That Serves Communities
How Teams at Facebook and Github Scale Insights with Rolling Research
4 Key Design Principles for Gender-Identity Inclusion
Scout Selection 101: How to Find Your Best-Fit Participants
Panel: How to Start (and Grow!) Your Career in User Research
A 4-Step Framework for Maximizing your Generative Research Interviews
From Out There to In Here: Turning the UX Lens Inward
From Equity to the Metaverse: The Future of Experience Design
From Presentation to Participation: Shifting the Role of Stakeholders
From Access to Engagement: Democratization Without Dilution
From Hedging to Building: Creating a Recession-Proof Practice
From Lane to Pool: Expanding Cross-Team Collaboration on Experience Teams
From Guessing to Informing: How Qualitative UX Can Shape the Future of AI
Disrupting Generative AI Products with Just-In-Time Consumer Insights
Aligning the Potential of AI with the Humanism of UX
From Collecting to Connecting: Interoperability, Openness, and Research Ops
UXR Landscape Discussion and Q&A with Julie Norvaisas
3 Keys to Building a Flexible Research Practice in Turbulent Times
How KEEN Uses Insights to Build Deeper Connections with Customers
Co-Lab Conversations: Flexible Research, ROI, Team Structures, and Doing it Right
Co-Lab Continued 2023: GenAI Panel + Q&A
From Post-it Notes to Balance Sheets + Doing it Right, Doing it Well
Levers for Flexibility + The Anatomy of a Team
GenAI at Dscout
UX in the Age of AI
How Duolingo UXRs Support AI Product Development
Navigating New (GenAI)
GenAI: LLM vs. NLP
Removing the Rose-Tinted Glasses of GenAI
2023 Product Open House: Where is Dscout heading?
All About AI: Perspectives From UXR Leaders
How SiriusXM Uses UX Research to Drive Product Innovation
Dscout’s Spring 2024 Product Update
Turning AI Possibilities into UX Realities
Championing the ROI of UX Research
How Vodafone Ties Research Initiatives to Business Goals
Using Research to Build a Climate-Smart Food Culture
After the Readout: Ensure Your Research Drives Action
Dscout’s Summer 2024 Product Update
Empowering Diverse Talent in UX: Insights from Black UX Labs
Why Dscout? Stories from those “Who Made the Move”
Research, Design, Repeat: How Vivid Seats' Continuous Discovery Drives Business Growth
Co-Lab Continued: Decoding AI Fundamentals (with Kevin Johnson)
Co-Lab Continued: Building Ebb
Co-Lab Continued: Our Core Product Needs a Redesign (with Eniola Abioye)
Co-Lab Continued: Reflections on Power, Priorities, and Perspective (with Malia Nagle)
Co-Lab Continued: Taking the Reins (with Nicole Bacchus)
Co-Lab Continued: Do You Like My Hats? (with Andy Warr)
Co-Lab Continued: Meet Me at the Seat (with Mina Jonsson)
Co-Lab Continued: Copilot, Coach, Constructs, Oh My! (with Kevin Newton)
Co-Lab Continued: Who Cares About Your Methods? (with Sal Becerra)
Co-Lab Continued: Researchers Aren't Asking Good Questions (with Dr. Nikki Smith)
Co-Lab Continued: We are the Catalysts (with John Garvie)
Co-Lab Continued: No, a Research Repository Will Not Solve All Your Problems (with Meg Cain)
Co-Lab Continued: Owning Business Success (with Judd Antin)
Co-Lab Continued: Keynote Q&A Session
Co-Lab Continued: Breaking Boundaries and Expanding Influence Q&A Session
Co-Lab Continued: AI & UX: Redefining the Landscape Q&A Session
Co-Lab Continued: Dscout Product Update + 2025 Vision (with Zack Hanz and Jonathan Fairman)
Co-Lab Continued: Owning Leadership Possibilities (with Julie Norvaisas)
Co-Lab Continued: Owning Our Power (with Sara Wachter-Boettcher)
Video Shareouts 101: Utilizing the Playlist Builder and Editor
Building Critical Thinking Skills for AI-Driven Research
Maximize What Matters: A UX Designer's Playbook for Business Impact
Sample Study Design: Generating Robust, Relevant Persona Data
Translating Your Stakeholders' Questions into Research Questions
How to Design a Media-Rich User Research Survey
Sample Study Designs: Concept Testing Three Ways
3 Approaches to Studying the Omnichannel User Experience
Build Empathy with our Guide to User Personas
Your Guide to Impactful Digital Product Testing
Your Guide to Mapping the User Journey
A Comprehensive Guide to Remote User Research
12 Innovative Ways Companies do Impactful Research with Dscout
Plotting an Accurate and Impactful User Journey
Needle-Moving Product Feedback: A Sample Study Design
Sample Strategically: How to (Quickly) Find Your Best-Fit Participants
How (and Why) To Try the Collaging Method
Your 3-Part Guide to User Research Project Management
Start, Grow, Lead: A Guide to Navigating Your User Research Career
Moves to Modern Research: A Maturity Model for UXR
User Research Presentation Templates (For Google Slides + Keynote)
The Complete Guide to Generative UX Research
A Buyer's Guide to Experience Research Platforms
An Everything-You-Need-To-Know Guide to Running an Impactful Diary Study.
Guide: How to Conduct Effective Mixed Methods Research
Report: How Project Timelines Shape the Modern User Research Practice
Guide: Using the IMPACTS Framework to Ensure Your Work is Utilized
Inventories: A Fast, Flexible Research Framework for Capturing Contextual Data
Comparing Concepts: Two Study Designs for More Nuanced Feedback
Part Availability 101: Automatic vs. Manual Missions
Over-Reliant, Absent, Misaligned: Troubleshooting Researcher-Stakeholder Relationships
Usability Test Checklist
Give This Usability Quant Testing Template a Try
UXR Competitive Analysis Template
Project Prep and Proposal Template
Question Gathering Workshop Template
Your Guide to Setting Up a Customer Satisfaction Practice
Ideation Workshop Template
User Research Hackathon Template
User Research Budget Template
Monthly UXR Newsletter Template
Getting Started in a User Research Role [Guide + Checklist]
Build and Scale a Dynamic User Research Team
Your Guide to Cross-Team Collaboration
Storytelling for User Research Presentations
How to Approach Studies on GenAI
Remote Research Crash Course
Usability Testing for First-Timers
The People Nerds Guide to Usability
Your Guide to Unmoderated Shopping and Retail Research
Guide: Convert Usability Testing into Clear Action Items
Quality Participant Screener Survey
The Usability Testing Guide for UX Designers
UX Research Prioritization Template
Advocate for an Exploratory Research Budget in 6 Steps
Thinking Outside the Box: SiriusXM's Success with the Creative Matrix Method
5 Ways KEEN Used dscout to Forecast and Develop Seasonal Apparel
10 Tips for Implementing Continuous Discovery Research
What’s the ROI of Research?
Guide: How to Conduct an Effective Card Sort for UX Designers
How to Maximize the Impact of Your Research Through Relationship Building
15 Tips for Navigating GenAI as a UXR
8 Ways Vodafone Amplifies Research Impact with Dscout
9 Ways to Champion the ROI of Your Research
7 Easy Tips to Create Research Storyboards with GenAI
9 Ways to Champion the ROI of Your Research
How to Drive Action Before and After You Conduct Research
The CHANGE Canvas
7 Easy Tips to Create Research Storyboards with GenAI
Improve Your Designs: 10 Pro Tips for Quality Survey Responses
Partner to the "Why?" Questions
Insights Arts & Crafts: 7 Ways to Co-Create, Ideate, and Engage Your Research Participants
Rebuilding Research and Making Wine
How to Crush Your UX Interview Take-Home Challenge
From Academia to UX: Understanding User Research Lingo
Online Games and "Groove in the Heart": How to Keep a Fully-Remote Research Team Connected
The Interview Balancing Act: How to Build Rapport with Participants
Defining the "Value" of Being a Research Participant
Research For the User, Created With the User
Synthesizing UX Research: Making What's "Mysterious" Clear
When Should I Report a One-Off Insight?
Transfer Your Academic Skills to the World of UX
dscout Raises $70M To Accelerate Growth, Empower Organizations to Deliver Human Insight at Enterprise Scale
Throwing Bodies at Gaps in I.T. Systems
How to Create Personas Using Grounded Theory
On Learning Mindsets, Relationships & Ecosystems: A Conversational Essay
Getting Smarter About Democratization
Why UX Researchers Should Revisit Academic Resources
How to Create a UX Scorecard (8 Steps)
7 Pieces of Advice to Consider Before Running Sensitive Research
Reconsidering the "Core" Knowledge of UX
Advice for Simultaneously Managing the Team and the Craft
How to Measure User Satisfaction (Without the NPS)
A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Better Research Questions
It’s Time to Transition to Inclusive Personas
Your Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up Unmoderated Generative Research
Going Remote to Improve the In-Person Experience
How to Make Your Research Projects More Valid
The Importance of Expanding the Meaning (and Purpose) of Participant Consent
Leveraging User Research to Decide Between Job Offers
How to Avoid False Insights in Your Research
When a Group Interview is Actually a Good Idea
Triangulate User Research Data for Better Outcomes
Harness the Power of Users' Unmet Needs
When Should You Use Design Sprints for User Research?
Skilling and Scaling Equity Research at Instagram
Having Trouble with Stakeholders? Try Treating Them as Users
The CHANGE Canvas: A Plug-and-Play Brag Sheet for Your UX Accomplishments
Bridging the Talent Gap Between Silicon Valley and East Africa Through UX
Pride Year-Round: The Hopes, Fears, and Joys of 52 LGBTQIA+ Community Members
Navigate UX Research at a Large Software Company with this Easy Primer
Podcast Episode 1: Fandoms (w/ Dr. Paul Booth)
Introduce Small Studies to Your Org with the Bento Box Program
Podcast Episode 2: The Video Game Experience (w/ Veronica Zammitto)
Mix Up Fresh Studies with These 4 Uncommon UXR Methods
Podcast Episode 3: Designing a Design Museum (w/ Tanner Woodford)
6 Steps for Launching a Seamless UX Mentorship Program
Podcast Episode 4: Data Decisions (w/ Dr. Peter K. Enns)
Podcast Episode 5: Salt, Fat, Acid, UXR?! (w/ Samin Nosrat)
Blend Surveys and Interviews for the Best of Both Worlds
Podcast Episode 6: Our Role as Storytellers (w/ Dr. Umi Hsu)
How to Improve Existing UXR When You're Hired as the First Researcher
NDAs, the Secret Sauce: Research Operations Tips with Kasey Canlas
Need Research Insights in a Flash? Try the Lightning Synthesis Method
5 Types of Research Performance Every UXR Team Can Avoid
How to Write Compelling User Research Insights in 6 Steps
When Usability Testing Has Done Its Job, Consider Visual Testing Next
Podcast Episode 7: The Power of Sociolinguistic Bias (w/ Dr. Nicole Holliday)
What is the Best Way to Measure and Analyze Your Data? A Quick and Easy Guide
Strategies for More Impactful Internal Research
When "Admin" Work Has Really Been Operations All Along
Podcast Ep. 8: Emerging UX Trends (w/ Ben from People Nerds)
How One UX Research Team Helped Develop England's COVID-19 Vaccine Program
Diversify and Scale Your Team by Making UX Design More Accessible
Weave Storytelling into your UX Presentations
Stuck in a Research Rut? Infuse These Creative Solutions Into Your Routine
Gen Z in the Classroom: A Guide to Applying Experiential Learning to Design and UX
When Ethical Problems Arise in Tech, Design is an Important Safeguard
Stop. Collaborate In-tegration: dscout Product Highlights
How to Write a User Research Plan That Sets Your Project Up for Success
How to Hire First-Time UX Researchers at Your Startup
Study: How Researchers Can Increase Design Accessibility, with Lenovo
Build a User Research Process That Respects Your Time and Boundaries
Improve Your Competitive Analysis with Strategic User Research Techniques
Unsure If Your Data is Statistically Significant? Check Out These Methods
Are Your Research Insights Distorted? How to Make Them Crystal Clear
Enliven Your Research Sessions with Participatory Design
Share Findings on the Fly with Spontaneous Talks Frameworks
A Guide to Hiring and Growing Your UXR Dream Team
Tech Startups Pivot Often. Keep Your UX Research Agile with These Tips
Understanding How People Approach Car Research and Buying with dscout
3 Unexpected Lessons I Learned Conducting UX Research with the Government
Structure and Scale Your UXR Team for Lasting Impact
Thinking of Switching Industries Within UX? Here’s What to Consider
Envision Future Products with Participatory Visioning Research
Maximize Impact in Your Org with a Monthly UXR Newsletter [+ Template]
Generative Research: A Complete Guide to Running a Successful Study
Use This Template to Create a Realistic User Research Budget
For Inclusive Research, Expansive Terminology is Key
Dig Deeper on 1-1 Interviews with Insightful Follow-Up Questions
How to Conduct a Diary Study: A Start-to-Finish Guide
How I Planted the Seeds for a Successful User Research Business
Inspire a Spark of Creativity with a UX Research Hackathon [+Template]
How Might We Statements: A Powerful Way to Turn Insights into Opportunities
12 Research Deliverables and When to Choose Them
When Should You Skip Doing User Research?
Stir Up Innovation and Fun with a Customer Day
Have Research Insights Collecting Dust? Here's How to Activate Them (+ Template)
How to Optimize Your User Research Resume
Ward Off Democratization Scaries with 4 Helpful Steps