Empowering Designers to do Good Research
Summary
Designers are not just interested in research; they're the driving force in today's research landscape. In this workshop, Hannah Hudson, Director of Design and Research at Twilio, and Prayag Narula, CEO & Co-Founder of Marvin, will discuss how good design is a competitive advantage and can impact the customer experience when research is done often and well by everyone on the team. Learn how design teams can use the tools and methodologies of trained researchers so the whole company can get the maximum impact from the investment in design.
Key Insights
-
•
Empathy is the foundation of effective UX design, enabling creators to anticipate true user needs.
-
•
Qualitative research methods like interviews reveal user pain points often missed by analytics.
-
•
Iterative user testing allows teams to refine features pragmatically, preventing overcomplication.
-
•
Balancing quantitative data with qualitative insights leads to better product decisions.
-
•
Understanding the psychological triggers of users can boost engagement and retention.
-
•
Feature bloat often results from ignoring core user motivations and desires.
-
•
Cross-functional collaboration between UX research and product management strengthens outcomes.
-
•
Designing for emotional impact can make products more memorable and satisfying.
-
•
Users often cannot articulate latent needs, requiring skilled observation to uncover.
-
•
Embedding psychology in product strategy helps align development with user behavior patterns.
Notable Quotes
"Empathy isn't just kindness, it's the lens through which we see users' true motivations."
"Data tells you what happens; qualitative research tells you why it happens."
"If you skip iterative testing, you risk building features nobody really wants."
"The best products come from marrying analytics with human stories."
"Most users don't know what they want until you show it to them."
"Feature bloat kills usability because it clouds the core value proposition."
"When UX researchers and product managers collaborate, the product speaks to users’ hearts."
"Design for emotion to create experiences that resonate beyond functionality."
"Observation reveals needs users themselves haven’t recognized yet."
"Integrating psychology into product strategy isn't optional; it's essential for success."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Awareness leads to feeling stuck because we don’t know what to do or don’t feel empowered to act."
Victor UdoewaBeyond Methods and Diversity: The Roots of Inclusion
March 26, 2024
"I know I will fail, but I will fail in small increments rather than bet everything and fail big."
Bill ScottLean Engineering: Engineering for Learning and Experimentation in the Enterprise
May 14, 2015
"The context of use framework helps teams understand that different experiences aren't bad, just different."
Lija HoganContexts of Use: A Framework for Connection
December 9, 2021
"We don’t want anyone to change their favorite tools; we build plugins to share wireframes or prototypes directly."
Aurobinda Pradhan Shashank DeshpandeIntroduction to Collaborative DesignOps using Cubyts
September 9, 2022
"We act as the connective tissue that runs in our teams and help them run more efficiently."
Jilanna WilsonDistributed DesignOps Management
February 26, 2019
"Think of the context window like an intern's briefing document: would the intern be able to answer the question with this information?"
Peter Van DijckBuilding impactful AI products for design and product leaders, Part 3: Understand AI architectures: RAG, Agents, Oh My!
July 30, 2025
"User experience is shaped not just by product interaction but also by pricing, promotion, distribution, and brand communications."
Nicole Aleong Michaela Mora Prayag Narula Brianna SylverWhat UX research can learn from other research practices [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
September 14, 2023
"Between your prompt and prototype, the AI made 40 decisions that you can't trace."
Beth ChappellLeading through ambiguity: Supporting a design team relearning their craft
June 9, 2026
"It can seem like all the AI UX authorities are trying to sell you something without real skin in the game."
Llewyn PaineDay 1 Using AI in UX with Impact
June 10, 2025
