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.

Navigating the UX Tools Landscape
Gold
Friday, October 1, 2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Share the love for this talk
Navigating the UX Tools Landscape
Speakers: JP Allen and Holly Holden
Link:

Summary

Research has to come together somewhere, happen somewhere, live somewhere, and—in order for it to have an impact on product—it has to be effectively shared somewhere. There are more user research tools than ever, and choosing among them can be overwhelming. That’s why the team at User Interviews created the UXR Tools Map, along with a searchable database of over 200 user research tools. We’ll talk about the process behind creating the map, plus share insights and examples of how to create the best stack for your team, regardless of budget.

Key Insights

  • The UX Research Tools Map categorizes over 100 curated tools into five main research functions: research ops, passive insights, active research, insight management, and design tools.

  • A significant portion of UX researchers (44%) are uncertain about their research budgets, and only 8% report stakeholders frequently access research results.

  • Many UX research tools have expanded their scope, becoming multifunctional, complicating how they fit into research workflows.

  • The visual subway map metaphor helps users understand tools as single-function 'stations' or multifunctional 'interchanges' connecting multiple research tasks.

  • The tools map intentionally balances well-known products, enterprise-grade options, and innovative or lesser-known tools to avoid overwhelming users.

  • Design and curation are critical as new tools appear or existing ones evolve, requiring continuous updates and balancing complexity with usability.

  • There’s value in assembling tool stacks tailored to needs ranging from fully free DIY solutions to large enterprise setups integrating multiple platforms.

  • Qualitative data management remains a persistent challenge in UX research, requiring effective insight storage, organization, and analysis tools.

  • Some tools offer recruiting, scheduling, and incentives only through proprietary panels, leading to potential limitations in participant diversity and flexibility.

  • Collaborative tools like Figma, Miro, and Whimsical play key roles in prototyping and brainstorming during UX research to generate early feedback efficiently.

Notable Quotes

"User research is interdisciplinary; only two thirds of people who do research describe their job as primarily research."

"Only 8% of people we talk to said their stakeholders know how to access results and do so often."

"Choosing among all these research tools can be really overwhelming and intimidating."

"We took a little bit more of an editorial approach and kind of trimmed down the tools to keep it legible and usable."

"Our subway lines are tool functions, and stations are where single-function tools live."

"Multifunctional tools are interchange stations connecting several research activities."

"Sometimes we had to add bus lines simply because some tools couldn’t fit into the existing grid."

"Tools are getting much more complex and have more crossover, which made redesigning the map a challenge."

"Simple, low-fi prototyping tools can get you tons of feedback without much upfront design work."

"We’re always taking suggestions for new apps to add to the tools map for later iterations."

Ask the Rosenbot
Louis Rosenfeld
GenAI for UXers: A Rosenbot Demo and Discussion
2025 • Rosenfeld Community
Marissa Cui
Climate Design Product Showcase
2024 • Climate UX Interest Group
Dan Hill
Strategic design, slowdown, and the infrastructures of everyday life
2022 • Enterprise Community
Amy Gawronski Zuccaro
Advice for DesignOps Employee #1
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Jennifer Bolduc
What's involved with getting people back to work?: A panel discussion
2021 • DesignOps Community
Jorge Arango
Meeting of the Waters: Designing for Successful Inorganic Growth
2021 • Enterprise Community
Vincent Brathwaite
Opener: Past, Present, and Future—Closing the Racial Divide in Design Teams
2020 • DesignOps Summit 2020
Gold
Russell Blair
Killing the blank page
2024 • Designing with AI 2024
Gold
Bria Alexander
Opening Remarks
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Bria Alexander
Opening Remarks
2022 • DesignOps Summit 2022
Gold
Amber Knabl
Empowering innovation: The critical role of inclusive product development in the AI era
2024 • Designing with AI 2024
Gold
Bria Alexander
Opening Remarks
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Lija Hogan
Doing more with more: Lessons from the Front Lines of Democratization
2022 • Advancing Research 2022
Gold
Bria Alexander
Opening Remarks
2022 • Civic Design 2022
Gold
Cassandra Piester
Developing and Deploying Your Design Operations Strategy
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2024
Gold
Sam Proulx
Online Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
2023 • Design in Product 2023
Gold

More Videos

Charlotte Vorbeck

"Sometimes design roles aren’t called design roles at all, but that’s the type of work you actually do."

Charlotte Vorbeck Shahzma Esmail Edward Alton Sarah McArthur Ariel Kennan

Pipeline to Civic Design

December 9, 2021

Greg Petroff

"Machine learning is moving so fast that systems can learn whole codgers of content and change how we think about experiences."

Greg Petroff

Everything is About to Change: Software as Material

June 8, 2016

Peter Van Dijck

"Without a golden dataset, you have to build the golden dataset yourself."

Peter Van Dijck

Hands-on AI #1: Let’s write your first AI eval

October 8, 2025

Teresa Swingler

"There isn’t yet a good way to measure emotional quality of design, only accuracy, safety, and cost."

Teresa Swingler

Look, Up in the Sky! UX/UI for Aerospace

October 27, 2022

Lisa Spitz

"Participants can skip any questions they don’t feel comfortable answering; most demographic questions are optional to respect privacy."

Lisa Spitz Nikki Brand

Building Trust Through Equitable Research Practices

November 18, 2022

Craig Villamor

"A style guide is an artifact, but a design system is a living, funded product with a roadmap serving an ecosystem."

Craig Villamor

Resilient Enterprise Design

June 8, 2017

Nova Wehman-Brown

"The fastest way to break down 'us versus them' is to ask people to do something they’ve never done before."

Nova Wehman-Brown

We've Never Done This Before

June 4, 2019

Molly Fargotstein

"One-pagers are a lightweight, skimmable way for anyone in the company to quickly understand what’s been learned from research."

Molly Fargotstein

Multipurpose Communication & UX Research Marketing

September 12, 2019

Alana Washington

"What are three recent examples of how you nurture creativity or resilience for yourself or others?"

Alana Washington

Theme 1: Introduction and Provocation

January 8, 2024