Steve Portigal’s insider view of corporate user research

The acclaimed UX researcher Steve Portigal hosts the DollarsToDonuts podcast series [iTunes | Twitter] where he talks with the people who lead user research in their (corporate) organization.

Six programs so far:

Carol Rossi, Senior Director of UX Research at Edmunds.com
On her small-but-mighty team, Edmund.com’s collaborative workplace culture, and the personal driver of “doing good.”

Kerry McAleer-Forte, Director of User Experience Research for Sears Holdings
On how researchers need to think like storytellers, getting at the underlying need behind a research request, and the risk of using research to make recommendations.

Nancy Frishberg, manager of user research at Financial Engines.
On recruiting participants in an enterprise setting (where users are customers of your customers), finding the generative in the evaluative and how to think about collaborative workspace as entirely separate from reporting structure.

Frances Karandy, senior manager within the Customer Experience Group at Citrix.
On doing product-focused research in a company with a large number of products, what to look for when hiring researchers, and how to select projects that not only support the business but also help team members to develop.

Alex Wright, director of research at Etsy.
On the partnership between qualitative and quantitative research at Etsy and how his background in journalism helps him with the storytelling aspects of managing the research function.

Gregg Bernstein, customer research manager at MailChimp.
On how MailChimp uses research to uncover new product opportunities, how the right research artifacts can best provide value to different internal audiences and how humility is an essential soft skill for successful researchers.