A presentation at Scaling User Research by The Research Thing
30th September 2024 Scaling User Research with founders in the foothills (mountain peaks) Rosie Lidington | Lead UX Researcher & Designer
My career working in UX Research & Design Discover define develop deliver
My career working in UX Research & Design T S U J ! G N I D D I K Discover define develop deliver
My career working in UX Research & Design develop deliver define Discover deliver develop Discover
Influencing stakeholders The challenges of influencing stakeholders as a contractor Persuading the value of researc Getting stakeholders on boar Conducting the researc Having impact with research findings
I wanted to go to the roots, and use my own methods to find out why.
I needed to understand stakeholder mental models better. Interviews with Interviews with Tech incubator Investors Founders seminar sessions
I wanted to go to the roots, and use my own methods to find out why.
Hypothesis #1 “The reason why startups fail is due to misreading market demand.” — CB Insights
Founder journey USer Groups High confidence, no experience Builds real product in code Doesn’t know how to approach UX Product doesn’t resonate or work Feels out of their depth Doesn’t understand UX Wants to learn Feels overwhelmed Seeks path of learning Experienced in tech but not UR/UX Know they need UX/UR Wants to learn Experienced and ready Know they need UX/UR UR not well executed Seeks a path of learning Begins a path of UX learning
Founder journey USer Groups High confidence, no experience Doesn’t know how to approach UX Builds real product in code Product doesn’t resonate or work Begins a path of UX learning “I don’t have much knowledge about UX.” “The prototype was more driven by proving what was technically possible.” “(The users) didn’t know how to use it.” “I’ve learned that before building… check whether people want that.”
Overarching theme
UX seemed overwhelming and they lacked the experience to know what they needed. “I don’t have any background in UX.” “I don’t have much knowledge about UX.” “[UX is] at the “You just don’t bottom of our know what you priorities.” don’t know.”
Dunning Kruger Effect HIGH No user research done or needed Peak of enthusiasm Confidence Plateau of sustainability Slope of enlightenment Launch failure Valley of despair HIGH Knowledge Enthusiasm Despair Enlightenment Sustainability
This is not unique to start up founders. It’s embedded in tech culture.
Sometimes this can translate to failing monumentally “My background cost me a million pounds. Not just me, but also the investor. That’s the pain point.”
I believe the roots of the industry need a new approach
The startup community doesn’t talk enough about the power of strategic discovery research for true innovation.
My research also showed me that the founder users wanted to learn “If there was…something that could bring clarity to a confusing topic.” “I was looking for a templates and guides.”
Moving to a new approach WHAT WHY Playing back insights Influencing stakeholders with teaching methods
Having impact through teaching methods Steps to create a journey map Motivation e.g ‘I want to apply for funding’ Existing behaviour e.g ‘I send a letter to the apply for the grant’ Pain point e.g I currently have to read through a lot of guidance. Need e.g I need to be able to see the progress of my application.
stakeholders & the Dunning Kruger Effect Dunning Kruger Effect and being ready to learn Painful curve Not open to learning + Stakeholder management effect Open to learning
LEARNING FROM TEACHING METHODS Imagine yourself as a maze builder. — Karen Green - MAPPEN
Aim to understand stakeholders better Guided Inquiry methods allow students to: Discover content for themselve Practice skill Make their own mistake Form their own language around the experience — Karen Green - MAPPEN Founder & Curriculum Specialist
Developing structured materials “It was great to actually see what I had the vision for on sort of on paper.” — Founder interview Stakeholder 1 flow In this sessio Journey mapping explaine Who is this design for? Discussio Deciding on the needs for the journey firs Journey Map the experience for users as a grou Create individual journey maps Stakeholder 2 flow Stakeholder 3 flow
key things i’ve learned on my foothills journey 4 3 2 1 Founder stakeholders often don’t know enough about User Research & Product Design to utilise it well. User Researchers can learn from this Failing fast is misunderstood, sometimes leading founder stakeholders to fail monumentally When ready founder stakeholders are open to learning, they just don’t know where to start Giving (certain) stakeholders structure to learn at the right points allows them to engage with User Research more effectively
Thank you. Rosie Lidington | UX Researcher & Designer rosielidington.com linkedin.com/rosielidington
Rosie Lidington, Lead UX Researcher, Contractor
Rosie will take us on a whistle stop journey of discovery into the mental models of founders. From a series of interviews and experience working directly with them, she uncovered insight that showed teaching methods to be a good way to tackle stakeholder engagement with user research findings.
Rosie has been working in user research and UX design since 2008, working with teams and stakeholders of varying size, across different industries.
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