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π€Ό The only time it's ok to slam your coworkers, design as activism, & more
Published 11 months agoΒ β’Β 5 min read
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Hey Reader! β Did you go to XOXO in Portland this weekend? It's my favourite conference (?) ever, and given that the last one was way back in 2019, I thought I would never get to experience it again. But they came back for one last hurrah (π₯²), so my husband and I were there with our 2-year-old in tow.
I was only able to watch half the sessions (gotta be a good co-parent), but I chose the more research-heavy half, which included stellar talks by The COVID Tracking Project co-founder Erin Kissane and Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist Ed Yong. Both were very moving and gave me a lot to think about as a researcher, community member, and human.
Some takeaways from Ed's experience as a journalist that are very broadly applicable.
The polling feature in ConvertKit is super limited but I'm going to keep using it for awhile. Last time, I learned that half of those who took the poll were designers, and the other half was split between PMs and researchers. Neat!
I'd love to learn more about you -- which one best describes your job situation?
β¨ The only time it's okay to slam your coworkers
My mind goes Assumption Slam -> bodyslam -> 1990s WWF. I hope I'm not the only one.
I can't believe I haven't told you about Assumption Slams yet!
An Assumption Slam is an activity that I learned from jb Booth when I worked at Shopify. It's a super fast way to get your whole team aligned on the highest-priority topics for research, which can then help you get stakeholder buy-in for the resources you need to do that research.
Block a chunk of time with your team. I typically use 1.5-2 hours. β
Book a room with a whiteboard and sticky notes (if in person) or use Miro or some other online collaboration tool (if remote). β
Start the meeting with some silliness to get everyone loosened up and feeling comfortable "going with their gut". jb recommends improv-inspired icebreakers -- this list of Zoom icebreakers could come in handy if you're remote.
The improv thing sounds corny but it really does work.
Have participants write down as many assumptions as they can about your users and product. I like to give people time to do this individually, rather than doing it as a group. Assumptions could be things like "Our users really need X", "Our product makes users feel Y", or "People stop using our product because of Z". You get the idea. β
Each assumption goes on its own sticky note. Don't overthink it -- they don't have to be articulated perfectly. And be bold!
You should now have a nice big set of assumptions -- sweet! Now it's time to evaluate them. Draw a 2x2 grid with axes for Knowledge (do we have evidence to back this assumption up?)andRisk (if this assumption is wrong, how hard will it be to recover?).
Adapted from "Assumption Slam: how not to make an A** out of U and ME" by jb Booth
As a team, talk through where each assumption belongs on the grid, and physically move the sticky note to the agreed-upon spot. This part can be fun and maybe a little contentious! I remember discussions getting a bit heated when I did these at Shopify π .
When you're done, take a look at the top-right quadrant. Boom -- these high-risk unknowns are where you'll have the biggest immediate impact with your research.
An Assumption Slam is a great way to get your team on the same page about where the biggest blind spots are, and get buy-in for conducting research to address them. Give one a try and let me know how it goes!
ποΈ Events
August 30: Research sprints for impact
Do you work with someone who insists that research takes too long? Leanne will show how research sprints can boost the impact of your findings and help you gather insights regularly, without sacrificing quality.
In-person tickets are sold out, but there are still online tickets available for this neat-looking UX conference. Use the code RESEARCHFORALL to get 10β¬ off.
September 12: Level up your team with variables in Figma
Teams across the industry are beginning to rely heavily on variables to help save time and effort when designing and creating. Joey will cover tips for feeling comfortable and confident when creating and organizing them within the tool.
September 13-14: βDear researchers & designers β We need to talk about race
HmntyCntrd will discuss how taking a βcolorblind racistβ approach to research and design helps produce racist design as well as strategies you can use to produce more equitable work.
As calls for racial justice, climate action, and gender equity grow louder and more urgent, designers, activists, and makers ask: How can we challenge social inequities and systemic oppression in order to create a better tomorrow? This event is live in Chicago, with a remote viewing option.
I love the simplicity of this tweet from Devin. If you're a freelancer/consultant, do you struggle with asking for what you want just as much as I do? π
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π Tools & Resources
Article - Good conversations have emergent properties
"I think the [best interviewers] are truly curious about the vivid interiority of another person[...]Weβd be better served remembering that everyone has their own world, whole, beyond you β and a conversation the precipice to the rest of it.
User Interviews' short quiz helps you identify which method is the best fit for your budget, timeline, stage of the product development cycle, and more. Hot tip: you can skip entering your name/email and still see the results.
Article - How PMs can turn process from a time-waster into their greatest superpower
"When decision-making comes from outside of the Agile organization, any process represents a burden imposed from the top down rather than an enabler of value. Ship our ideas, but make it look Agile."
Like Megan, I think this framing would excite and empower many researchers. Though maybe some (especially earlier in their career) would need help understanding how to approach research in this way. What do you think?
Hey Reader, Did you miss me?? I missed YOU! I normally send this newsletter out every 2 weeks, but it's been nearly 2 MONTHS since I sent the last issue (and diehard fans may notice that it's also Wednesday today rather than Tuesday, oops). The radio silence wasn't planned, but I think I needed it: running a consulting business while parenting a toddler and growing a baby is no joke. Btw, the upcoming cohort of my Maven course User Interview Skills for Designers & PMs is the last one until...
Hey Reader, I hope your week is getting off to a great start! I'm going on vacation tomorrow for a week, and I'm super pumped about it. Taking vacation can be difficult sometimes as a consultant/freelancer, and the timing of this one isn't particularly great (I started 2 new projects this week π). Work/life balance is really important to me and my family so I always try to squeeze in a few vacations each year, but the lead-up to it is always stressful! β¨ Boost your response rate with...
Hey Reader, My friend, it's been awhile -- the last issue of Research for All was over a month ago! I intended to get something sent out last week but I was just too swamped with a big research project. I'm really excited to be back today (even though it's Wednesday and I normally send these out on Tuesdays, oops). I hope your year is getting off to a great start. I just got back from a long weekend somewhere nice and warm, which was perfect aside from getting stung by a π on the bottom of my...
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