UX Research Lifeline: Cling On, and Pull Through!
UX research is a challenging line of business to be in, and we've heard from our community of people facing challenges and needing comradery in our professional pursuit. This event is meant for working UXR professionals who might be looking to brainstorm ways to get through a tricky situation, as well as sharing wins and success stories for others to learn from. When we expose a problem to the sun, we can find people who have encountered the same issues, and it becomes a learning experience and a chance to grow.
Event Format
In a tight-knit group of <15 people in a neutral physical location, we will get help from real people who have been in the trenches, learn new skills, and make new friends. We aim to give everyone a chance to speak, and avoid having one person dominating the conversation. We also aim to address as much of everyone's concerns as possible, but we recognize there is limited time, so we will have several mechanisms to ensure attendees can offer/get help in an efficient and effective manner. This event will feature:
LinkedIn profile screening for attendance: To attend the event, the organizers will review LinkedIn profiles of people who signed up, and ensure there is a right balance of attendee profile and experience. The review will take 1 or 2 work days after you sign up.
Pre-event call for topics: We will send out a questionnaire to confirmed attendees to collect specific questions and topics on your minds. These questions and topics will be the guides to our conversation.
Attendee-led discussion (with just enough facilitation): At the event, there will be a facilitator to moderate the conversation, just as an oversight, but the attendees will drive the conversations.
Volunteer note-taker: There also will be a volunteer note-taker to take notes for the questions and answers, for attendees to refer to after the event, so they can focus on the conversation.
Honoring non-disclosure: Any sensitive topic or information will not be included in the notes, and all attendees will need to agree to hold such information in confidence. (Sensitive information is any information that will cause harm to an individual or business, should it be revealed to public)
Free to connect: Given the limited time, attendees can freely ask people about resources they've mentioned afterwards as well, or additional 1-on-1 chats.
Event will be serialized: This event will kick things off, but at the end of this event, we will decide when to meet next, with people’s input.
This is a safe space to have peer-to-peer knowledge exchange. We can talk about career development, or workplace communication problems, or help with finding the best UX method for an active project, as well as just venting, and encouraging others. We will go over the discussion guide and code of conduct at the event as well.
What this event is NOT
This event is NOT a job-search opportunity or networking event in and of itself; we understand the situation is tough for many UX professionals, but advice on job-seeking, polishing resumes, reviewing portfolios are plenty on the internet. There are many resources, and we hope to have other events in future to cater towards this type of needs. Please also do not ask for referrals for current job postings.
This event is also NOT a place to give unsubstantiated claims or to sell irrelevant products or services. Please do not give out advice that you wouldn't use in the same situation, and do not solicit business or ask people to do unpaid work.
Examples for Appropriate vs. Inappropriate Questions
“Can you review my portfolio and tell me what you think?” - This is NOT an appropriate question
“Given my situation, what skills do you think I should look into to develop my career?” - This IS appropriate“Can you teach me how to do user interviews?” - This is NOT an appropriate question
“Are there resources I should check out on research design in e-commerce?” - This IS appropriate“Is your company hiring for a UX designer or researcher?” - This is NOT an appropriate question
“I’m trying to improve my company’s UX maturity; are there approaches you tried in your company that worked?” - This is an appropriate question“Do you have any suggestions on how to improve this app that I’m trying to launch?” - This is NOT an appropriate question
“Do you have recommendations for a freelancer or consultancy that does go-to-market research/strategy?“ - This is an appropriate question