UX Research Team Guiding Philosophies

1. Support for: Bringing the voice of the customer to the discussion of design Domenick J. Dellino, phd Founder & Chief Research Anthropologist Digital Research Associates UX Research TeamGuiding Philosophies

2. Management Arena • How should we: • Manage our team of researchers • Care for our internal clients • Foster close relationships with our CE partners • Represent the Customer

3. Top 8 Management Heuristics • Encourage innovation, provided it has a strong rationale • Give people the opportunity to take risks (but be watchful) • Say “Yes” whenever you can (work-life) • Cultivate a professional, collegial, non-competitive environment by encouraging people to define and then exceed their stated goals while collaborating with everyone • Work with our directs to establish a partnership with clients • Take responsibility for the final research design, but expect thought leadership from the primary researcher. • Encourage researchers to work closely with designers from the beginning to the end of the research project • Represent the voice of the customer

4. Managing our Team of Researchers Managing Internally

5. Managing Internally • Discard any preconceived notions of greatness or shortcomings • Encourage innovation, provided it has a strong rationale • Give people the opportunity to take risks (but be watchful) • Say “Yes” whenever you can (work-life) • Cultivate a professional, collegial environment

6. Discard Preconceived Notions • Everyone deserves to start with a fresh slate • Cultivate you OWN relationship with your directs • Let people know • Start with a strong hand—lighten up as people prove themselves to you • Start by erring on the side of OVER-communication

7. Provide Opportunity to Fail • No one wants to be given ALL the answers • Encourage discussion • Give people the chance to air their ideas • Reward by giving people credit personally and publically (Cc me)

8. Encourage Innovation • We have over 200 years of experience on the team—let’s take advantage of it • My way (or your way) of doing it may not always be the best way • Challenge notions that are “on the edge”—but listen intently • We’re an academic group, but we live in a corporate world— • Foster the former—respect the latter

9. Say “Yes” Whenever You Can • Value the ‘work-live’ balance • It preserves one thing we’re actually good at • Helps keep morale high • Treat people like the professionals they are • But insist that they live up to your expectations

10. Cultivate a Professional, Collegial Environment • Allow people to set goals for themselves • Hold them to them (but be reasonable) • Demand “success metrics” for performance • Let them know

11. Winning hearts and minds Caring for internal clients

12. Caring for Internal Clients • Work to establish a partnership with clients • Respect the expertise of our clients • Demonstrate value • Listen, but use your best judgment regarding research design • Don’t be pressured into making (or acquiescing to) decisions instantly • Communicate, Educate, and Communicate • Did I mention communicate?

13. Work to establish a partnership with Clients • Start by discovering what they care about • Identify differences of opinion or priority • Become aware of UX Team position • It’s OK if it differs from your own, but proceed with caution • Discuss any differences to find common ground • Agree to “test” irreconcilable differences • Understand and communicate areas of responsibility held by UX and the Client

14. Listen, but Use your Best Judgment Regarding Research Design • It’s the client’s responsibility to provide clear requirements • It’s OUR responsibility to determine how those requirements are delivered online

15. Demonstrate Value • Don’t assume your responsibility and expertise are already acknowledged • Ask the client how THEY will know if your work has been a success • Deliver! • Then check with the client to confirm that THEY also think you’ve delivered • Exit survey?? KPIs confirmed?

16. Building a Strong End-to-End Process Foster Close Relationships with our UX Partners

17. Foster Close Relationships with Design Colleagues • USE the CHECKLIST! • Communicate Milestones and Deadlines to the PM, designers, and stakeholders • Do this at the beginning of the project • Attend Design Crits for your project • Work closely with designers from the beginning to the end of the research project • Establish minimum requirements for prototypes • Provide a common voice from UX Research & Design • Collaborate with designers on findings

18. Representing the Customer • Why DO we believe we have the best job in the company? • Banking customers are unlike any other Web, Mobile, or software customers • Banking customers WANT to trust us • We can deserve that trust or squander it • As researchers, we have a unique opportunity to help the company recognize the value of that relationship • We can help foster a WIN-WIN relationship for customer and the company

19. Representing the Customer • Serve as advocate for the customer • Understand what customers want BUT help INTERPRET their needs in spite of what they SAY they want • Defend our mission: • Bringing the voice of the customer to the discussion of design

20. Appendix 1: • Fundamentals of being a good researcher: • Be honest about representing the data • Identify when making recommendations not directly supported by the data • Maintain the integrity of the data • We should ALWAYS value the integrity and quality of our research design OVER any design recommendation we might have or hold