Rosenverse

This video is only accessible to Gold members. Log in or register for a free Gold Trial Account to watch.

Log in Register

Most conference talks are accessible to Gold members, while community videos are generally available to all logged-in members.

Mission: Keep Talent in Research Roles!
Gold
Wednesday, March 10, 2021 • Advancing Research 2021
Share the love for this talk
Mission: Keep Talent in Research Roles!
Speakers: Rebecca Buck
Link:

Summary

We need more people with research skills in positions of influence and leadership in tech companies, but it can be difficult to feel like we’re succeeding in our roles, let alone growing into leadership. There is a lot to contend with—from the inevitable chaos of quickly growing organizations, or struggling to find “fit” when working with product teams, to ethical dilemmas about the unintended consequences of the technologies we help create. Rebecca Buck will discuss the most prevalent areas of conflict she has seen lead to researchers leaving teams, companies, or distancing themselves from the title “researcher”. Through stories and examples she will cover common patterns of frustration and offer tips and frameworks for navigating issues of defining the role of research, championing quality, and increasing influence with stakeholders.

Key Insights

  • Researcher career paths are non-linear, more like snakes and ladders than ladders.

  • Three main UX research backgrounds each bring distinct strengths and blind spots: academic rigor, business storytelling, and bravery from career switchers.

  • Fit in UX research should be reframed as 'product market fit' to depersonalize hiring and role alignment.

  • UX research roles vary by proximity to product development: track builders (close), lookouts (managers), scouts (mid-future planning), and explorers (long-term vision).

  • Researchers often feel underutilized or frustrated due to poor management and unclear role expectations.

  • Quality definitions in research differ across contexts; sometimes relationship-building is more valuable than perfect data.

  • Negotiating research trade-offs and setting clear expectations is key to effective leadership and collaboration.

  • Burnout is pervasive in tech and often goes unrecognized; coaching and self-reflection can help mitigate it.

  • Embedding researchers flexibly in organizations—embedded vs. external advisors—depends on trust and team needs.

  • Effective UX researchers wear many hats: translators, storytellers, facilitators, and bridge builders across disciplines.

Notable Quotes

"I want researchers in the room in positions of power and influence to help executives see the broader social implications of technology."

"With all this influx into UX research, many still struggle to find their footing and feel underutilized."

"My career has looked more like a game of snakes and ladders than a straight ladder."

"Fit is an important question; it just needs to be reframed thoughtfully to avoid discriminatory connotations."

"I love that clients don’t actually care what I call myself as long as I’m helping them achieve great outcomes."

"Sometimes, right, you feel like you’re about to be run over by the delivery train, and that pressure shapes how research is received."

"When definitions of quality differ, it’s all about trade-offs and meeting people where they are."

"If your recreational reading is about prison camp survivorship or hostage negotiations, you might have burnout."

"Researchers are translators, storytellers, facilitators, and bridge builders. I love that bridge-building dimension."

"There’s so many ways to change team dynamics by getting closer or further from that train."

Ask the Rosenbot
Nick Cochran
Growing in Enterprise Design through Making Connections
2019 • Enterprise Community
Katy Mogal
But Do Your Insights Scale?
2021 • Advancing Research 2021
Gold
Catt Small
Moving from Execution to Strategy as a Designer
2022 • Design in Product 2022
Gold
Matt Stone
Scaling Empathy, A Case Study in Change Management
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Michael Land
Establishing Design Operations in Government
2021 • DesignOps Community
Lisa Welchman
Cleaning Up Our Mess: Digital Governance for Designers
2018 • Enterprise Experience 2018
Gold
Uday Gajendar
Theme One Intro
2023 • Enterprise UX 2023
Gold
Maggie Dieringer
Cutting through the Noise
2020 • DesignOps Community
Crystal Philcox
The Many Faces of Operations
2017 • DesignOps Summit 2017
Gold
Sam Proulx
To Boldly Go: The New Frontiers of Accessibility
2022 • DesignOps Summit 2022
Gold
Ned Dwyer
The Intersection of Design and ResearchOps
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2024
Gold
Louis Rosenfeld
Day 1 Welcome
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2024
Gold
Ellen Chisa
The Values of Design
2023 • Design in Product 2023
Gold
Erika Kincaid
Connecting the Dots: How to Foster Collaboration and Build a Strong Design Review Culture
2022 • Design at Scale 2022
Gold
Gillian Salerno-Rebic
Redefining Speed and Scale: How Accenture’s GrowthOS Uses AI-Simulated Insights to Reduce Risk and Accelerate Innovation
2025 • Designing with AI 2025
Gold
Cassandra Piester
Developing and Deploying Your Design Operations Strategy
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2024
Gold

More Videos

Sahibzada Mayed

"An ecology is about examining relationships among humans, more than humans, and the environment."

Sahibzada Mayed Lauren Lin

Cultivating Design Ecologies of Care, Community, and Collaboration

October 4, 2023

Surya Vanka

"Design thinking has to be embedded at scale to capture and align creativity across a massive company."

Surya Vanka

Unleashing Swarm Creativity to Solve Enterprise Challenges

June 10, 2021

Kevin M. Hoffman

"Content is created all over and inconsistently; leadership needs to see content as the fuel driving the experience."

Kevin M. Hoffman

Theme 2: Enterprise Team Journey

June 3, 2019

Stephanie Wade

"Telling your story with visuals and resident quotes builds empathy and helps government stakeholders feel connected to the work."

Stephanie Wade

Building and Sustaining Design in Government

December 8, 2021

Bas Raijmakers, PhD (RCA)

"Autoethnography and video diaries enable participants to capture aspects of their lives that researchers might not see otherwise."

Bas Raijmakers, PhD (RCA) Charley Scull Prabhas Pokharel

What Design Research can Learn from Documentary Filmmaking

March 11, 2022

Alexia Cohen

"The COP became the beating heart of our project, enabling quick credibility and community excitement."

Alexia Cohen Adriane Ackerman

Increasing Health Equity and Improving the Service Experience for Under-Served Latine Communities in Arizona

December 4, 2024

Dr Chloe Sharp

"When I first came into the role, I almost took the consultant approach of writing a big report with recommendations, but that overwhelmed the team."

Dr Chloe Sharp

Using Evidence and Collaboration for Setting and Defending Priorities

November 29, 2023

Peter Boersma

"Your metrics allow you to tell data-supported stories to communicate progress effectively."

Peter Boersma

How to Define and Maintain a DesignOps Roadmap

October 3, 2023

Lin Nie

"It’s our job to see the person in front of us, and if that means having an uncomfortable conversation, have that conversation."

Lin Nie

When Thought-worlds Collide: Collaborating Between Research and Practice

March 10, 2021