Looking Back…to Look Ahead
Summary
Key Insights
-
•
User research has roots back to Edison’s in-home researchers analyzing fuel consumption.
-
•
Time and motion studies in the early 20th century treated people like machines but laid groundwork for usability concepts.
-
•
Louis Cheskin’s 1940s experiments revealed how packaging shapes consumer perception, not just products themselves.
-
•
Xerox PARC in 1969 was pivotal for user interface design, inspiring Apple’s GUI innovations.
-
•
Interval Research (1982), founded by Paul Allen, linked research to startup incubation but mostly influenced culturally.
-
•
Kate Tassie coined PWDR in 2018 to distinguish trained researchers from those who simply do research, adding clarity to role definitions.
-
•
Corporate research often aligns researcher incentives with company success, shifting researcher focus compared to consultants motivated solely by integrity.
-
•
Transcription technology now equals human error rates, but the imperfect 'good enough' acceptance risks degrading research quality.
-
•
The evolution of tools—from cultural probes and disposable cameras to AI-driven platforms—shapes how research is conducted, for better or worse.
-
•
Emerging future scenarios warn of AI replacing UI researchers, variable corporate control of user experiences, and potential for user research as a shared public good.
Notable Quotes
"Historians say the past doesn’t repeat itself, it rhymes."
"We all stand on the shoulders of giants."
"People in organizations are already, to some extent, out there talking to users."
"Research is complex because we use the term to mean anything and everything."
"The in-house researcher has some elements of the client and stakeholder roles."
"The curse of good enough is a real trap that we’re grappling with."
"Paper prototyping was the original scrappy; low fidelity tools produce different responses than high fidelity."
"Corporate capture of research has brought amazing good things but changed the truth to power role."
"Remote research is the default now, but we’ve lost access to rich in-person context."
"The future of user research is not one future but many futures to consider."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Driver modeling tells you which research initiatives matter most based on their impact on key outcome metrics."
Landon BarnesAre My Research Findings Actually Meaningful?
March 10, 2022
"There was a time when people vastly prioritized truth over story, claiming to know all things and bring everything to the light."
Victor UdoewaResearch in the Pluriverse
March 29, 2023
"Anchor yourself in what you know to be right and true."
Jemma AhmedTheme 1 Intro
March 10, 2026
"If we avoid how we work together, we create disjointed experiences and cause confusion and frustration for riders."
Kristin TaylorBuilding Bridges Across Organizational Silos
November 18, 2022
"Research ops provides the roles, tools, and processes needed to support researchers — that’s as concise as it gets."
Kate TowseyThe State of ResearchOps: More Than Just Theory
June 20, 2019
"We should not replace our curiosity and experience with AI but should instead use AI to speed up summarization and then slow down for human sensemaking."
Weidan LiQualitative synthesis with ChatGPT: Better or worse than human intelligence?
June 4, 2024
"In the enterprise, how quickly and easily your design system can scale is directly proportionate to the amount of impact it can have."
Dawn ResselFull-Stack User Experiences: A Marriage of Design and Technology
June 9, 2016
"What does a hysterectomy cost? $2,000, $13,000, or $40,000? It depends who you ask and who pays."
Meghan BausoneSystems Thinking and Design Innovation: Working with Leverage Points in Rural Maternal Health Systems
April 17, 2026
"The conference is a single track, so everyone listens to the same content together, fostering community focus."
Rachael Dietkus, LCSW Victor Udoewa Jennifer StricklandEverything You Need to Know about the Civic Design 2022 Call for Presentations
May 17, 2022
