How to Thrive as a Solo UX Researcher
Are you the only UX researcher at your company? Are you trying to avoid burn out? Do you want to level up your research?
You're in the right place.
So how can you go beyond surviving as a sole UX researcher and begin to thrive?
The first thing you need to know is that working as a sole UX researcher is not the same as working in a research team.
As the first UX research hire, you find yourself in an unusual position. Whether you have a decade of research experience or are fresh out of university, you are now the central research authority at your company.
This means that regardless of your natural temperament, it's your job to be a leader. You're required to be proactive, ask lots of questions and challenge your colleagues to be as user-centric as possible.
"A researcher who is keen to please the design team is useless."
Harry Brignull — Head of User Experience Innovation at Smart Pension
But as the first UX researcher at the company and the latest team newbie, you need to strike a very delicate balance. Push your colleagues to see their job in new ways without pissing them off in the process 😅
How is this possible...?
🗣 Communicate your role
Your first mission is to ensure that the product and design team understand your role.
Organise meetings with your colleagues to gauge their attitudes towards UX research. Ask them about past research they conducted, what they expect from this new UX research role and what projects they anticipate coming up in the future. As all good researchers know, listening carefully is a superpower.
Once you have developed a clear picture of the current state of user research, you can begin to educate your colleagues about the benefits of embracing research and how it will help them to achieve their goals.
Centre these conversations around helping them rather than trying to establish authority for your new role.
“The more you work with co-workers such as support, sales and development and show them the value of UX, the more support you will have within the organisation.”
Cindy McCracken — Senior User Experience Researcher, LexisNexis
Keep your eyes peeled for occasions that help you demonstrate the value of UX research. Try to attend as many product and development meetings early on as you can. Come to these meetings well prepared, advocate the value of research and don't simply plead for people to trust you. Use case studies to get your point across.
These early days are key to positioning yourself as a go-to resource rather than a blocker. Any air of smugness or condescension risks losing buy-in for UX research long term, so approach these discussions with a genuine willingness to help.
"When starting a new UX job, people tend to ask themselves (often implicitly): 'How are things done around here?' Then most people, over time, fall into step or adjust their working practices to fit in — thereby negating the whole point of their being hired in the first place (since you are generally hired for what you can bring to the party — not because you can replicate what the organisation is already doing)."
Dr. David Travis - Director, User Focus
(Note: Interested in quantifying your user’s biggest problems? Use our solution, OpinionX, to stack rank customer problems and understand what matters to them most. Try it for free!)
🤔 Stop and think
One sure sign that you have successfully communicated the benefits of UX research is when a bunch of research requests start landing on your desk.
If you see this happening, it's tempting to see it as a cause for celebration, but you need to stop and think here. UX research is a demanding role. A project is more than just the method you choose to use. Research operations tasks like participant recruitment, screening, incentivisation, scheduling and more can take up 30%+ of your time as a researcher.
The reality is that you can only take on so much research at any one time. You need to plan ahead.
📈 Be ruthless in prioritisation
When you are the only UX researcher, it's essential to focus on the most value-adding research.
The researchers that get this step wrong often end up stressed, overwhelmed and their research suffers as a consequence.
The researchers that get this step right are productive, effective and ensure quality research across the whole organisation.
Build clear processes
You will need to be assertive when scheduling your time and avoid trying to juggle too much at once.
The best way to prioritise research projects is to establish a process that is transparent to everyone. Use Trello, Airtable, Asana or other task management tools to outline a timeline of which research project you are working on at any one time.
Make it accessible to everyone who might require your research expertise and encourage colleagues to submit research requests with a clear research problem before allocating it to your priority list.
Openly communicate with colleagues who submit low priority requests and explain why other projects are taking precedence at this time. Remember - leadership mindset.
Prioritise your data
The principle of ruthless prioritisation holds true during individual research projects also. Just because you can measure and collect data on lots of things, doesn't mean that you should. Choose your research methodologies wisely with focus on your desired outcome.
When you find yourself with a lot of qualitative data, let research participants tell you what's most important. Ask them to rank opinions and perspectives by 'importance' using card sorting methods or research tools like OpinionX.
Remember, that frequency doesn't always equate to importance.
Frequency ≠ Importance
Let's look at this through an example. A fitness centre ran a survey with people who never bought a gym membership before. When asked why they didn't go to the gym, the most frequent response was 'I don't have time'. However, when asked to rank the importance of this statement compared to other statements like, 'I feel self conscious at the gym' and 'I don't know how to use any of the equipment', it ranked very low. Just because they heard 'I don't have time' the most often doesn't mean that this statement is a good representation of what is most important to people.
Make time for discovery research
As a solo researcher, it can be easy to fall into survival mode and overlook the bigger picture. If you view discovery research as a nice to have, then you're in survival mode.
In 2021, users are changing at an eye-watering pace. Keeping your finger on the pulse is essential. You don't want to be the company that missed the latest trend because you were too busy in the rabbit hole to notice the bushfire.
Users' unmet needs, values and priorities are continually evolving. Allocate time for discovery where you explore problems without predetermined judgements or hypotheses. Match these insights with what you're learning from your evaluative research and you can be confident that you won't let the next big opportunity slip through the net.
“As the world gets ever more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, the human tendency to hide, maintain the status quo or avoid risk altogether may be our greatest enemy. Those most in need of owning ‘next’ are often least comfortable with creating it”.
Thomas Stat - Director, Gensler
⏰ Work smarter
Forward-thinking companies are making research a priority for more than UX teams. Working with management to instill a culture of research is essential if you want to create the conditions for your colleagues to thrive.
Run research workshops
Workshops are an important tool when it comes to upskilling and empowering your colleagues to conduct their own research. Focusing on the basics of user interviews and surveys will go a long way towards opening your colleagues’ eyes to how they can be more considerate of end users. Allocate a small percentage of your time towards internal consultancy where you can advise colleagues about how to get the most from their research and avoid the common pitfalls.
Make your research repository accessible
Good UX researchers build timeless research. Their insights become long-lasting knowledge that are used for years. Design your research repository to be easily accessible to all who may need it. The easier it is for others to use, the more time it will save you and the more value your colleagues will get from it. Consider a monthly internal update email with an outline of the most recent insights that have been added to the repository.
Be adaptable
While building processes is the number 1 most important task as your team's sole UX researcher, you also need to remain adaptable. Startups are forever changing based on new insights, opportunities identified and dead ends met. When the day comes that your processes, principles and convictions are no longer serving the best interest of the company, then its time to adapt, redesign and let go of old ways. At OpinionX we live by the mantra "strong opinions, loosely held."
💡 Key Takeaways
Become a great communicator. Ensure your colleagues understand research. Be nice but don't be afraid to challenge the status quo (this is why you were hired).
The key to remaining sane as a company's first UX researcher is to be ruthless when prioritising your work. If you take nothing else from this article, understand that you must build great processes.
Take a step back every once in a while and observe the bigger picture. Don't be afraid to adapt if necessary.
By this point, you’re probably thinking all of these tips sound good, but when it comes to pulling them off, it feels like a challenge.
That’s OK. You don't have to do everything all at once and this post is meant to be something you can come back to time and time again.
Act on these tips in your own time and you will quickly grow in confidence - growth mindset! 🧠
🙌 Bonus Tip: Follow the Experts
Staying on top of best practice and the latest content will help you to become a better solo UX researcher. One of the best ways to improve is to follow the advice of the experts.
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