Theme 2 Intro
Summary
In this talk, the speaker reflects on the insight and research community's shared hunger for evolution and improvement, especially in a world unsettled by turmoil and inequity. They emphasize how 2020, despite its challenges, has inspired renewed commitment and bravery to do things differently. The speaker introduces four key presenters: Catherine Andrew, who discusses integrating different research and analytics functions to build cohesive insight teams; a panel exploring trauma-informed practices; Zen, who shares lessons from learning science; and Kathleen, who rethinks the identity of researchers. The talk centers around two unifying themes: introspection with humility—encouraging researchers to first look inward to better serve others—and bravery in challenging conventional wisdom and embracing discomfort for meaningful change. Ultimately, the session aims to energize and inspire the audience to advance both their personal practices and the research field as a whole through shared learning and courageous adaptation.
Key Insights
-
•
The insight community feels it is at a tipping point between recognizing past progress and the vast work still ahead.
-
•
2020’s turmoil sparked renewed bravery and commitment in researchers rather than exhaustion.
-
•
Introspection and humility are critical before effectively amplifying others' stories.
-
•
Bravery includes bucking conventional wisdom and honestly confronting the world as it is.
-
•
Integrating research and analytics functions helps create stronger, unified insight teams.
-
•
Learning from adjacent fields like trauma-informed practices and learning science can advance research methods.
-
•
Redefining the identity of researchers may open new ways to connect and share stories.
-
•
Embracing discomfort in learning fosters personal and field-wide change.
-
•
The collective journey of learning from one another powers advancement in research practices.
-
•
Care, compassion, and open-heartedness are vital qualities in advancing research and sharing truths.
Notable Quotes
"The insight and research community had such a hunger to keep growing and evolving to better amplify the voices of the people we seek to understand."
"We are living in a world that for so many feels like it has been flipped on its head."
"Instead of facing 2020 with exhaustion, folks were looking at it with renewed commitment and bravery."
"How can we teach others about powerful stories without first becoming learned ourselves?"
"Bravery is having the courage to buck conventional wisdom and look at the world for how it is."
"Catherine Andrew will share her experience bringing research and analytics functions together to create integrated insight teams."
"We will learn from trauma-informed practices and learning science to advance how we do things."
"Redefining who researchers are can teach us new ways to share stories."
"At times, this day may feel uncomfortable, but embracing discomfort often leads to change."
"The journey we are on is to change and advance not just practices but the entire research field."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Curation is super important, but also super hard."
Matt DuignanAtomizing Research: Trend or Trap
March 30, 2020
"Design systems help us bring healthy consistency across digital and non-digital experiences for equity."
Shreya Dhawan Victor Udoewa Xènia Viladas Florian VollmerMaking service tangible: the fastest path to higher performance
November 19, 2025
"Executives said it's better to go fast and fail than to go slow and succeed."
Dan SafferWhy AI projects fail (and what we can do about it)
May 14, 2025
"Our modern way of life is actually really dependent on satellites."
Michal Anne RogondinoSaving Outer Space: The First UX Design System for Our Nation’s Satellites
January 8, 2024
"Campfires are tribal, engaged knowledge spaces, libraries are corporate buildings, organized and curated."
Kate Towsey Jake BurghardtResearchOps AMA with Kate Towsey & Jake Burghardt
October 16, 2025
"Pilots don’t need to be perfect, they just need enough moving parts to gather useful feedback quickly."
Kim Fellman CohenMeasuring the Designer Experience
October 23, 2019
"Outside of our keyholes lies information we’re completely oblivious to that can come to haunt us."
Dan WillisEnterprise Storytelling Sessions
June 3, 2019
"Being intentional about how we spend our time is the purest manifestation of our values and our value."
Liam ThurstonWhy Your Design Team Is Quitting, And How To Fix It
June 10, 2022
"Don't just flip the switch and say go talk to customers; you have to set guardrails and train people."
Janelle EstesUX Research Trends
January 28, 2021
