Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Three Years Out: Perspectives on the Near-Term Future of User Research
Summary
We know how things are at the start of 2024, and the long term future? That's anyone's guess. But what might the not-so-distant future look like for User Research? That's a horizon that's just around the corner—and one that you start planning for now. Join us for a free discussion with some UX research thought leaders who have some opinions you'll want to hear about the near future of our profession—and bring your own! We'll be hearing from Sam Proulx of Fable, Lija Hogan of UserTesting and Milan Mijatovic; moderated by Lou Rosenfeld. This Talk is Sponsored by Fable, an #AR2024 Virtual Sponsor.
Key Insights
-
•
AI-driven user experiences are becoming non-deterministic, meaning users will receive different outcomes even for the same actions.
-
•
UX research must shift focus from average user flows to designing for edge cases because now everyone experiences unique, evolving interfaces.
-
•
The traditional 100-page research report is becoming obsolete due to faster cycles and larger, mixed-method datasets.
-
•
Mixed methods research combining qualitative and quantitative data at scale will dominate the near future of UX research.
-
•
AI tools will increasingly assist researchers by automating base-level data synthesis but human interpretation remains crucial.
-
•
UX researchers need to become more data fluent, including knowledge of product analytics, surveys, and coding languages like Python or R.
-
•
Understanding assistive technologies and their innovations provides insights into the future of mainstream user interfaces.
-
•
Ethics and privacy in data collection are critical, especially when researching vulnerable or assistive technology users.
-
•
Regulations around AI, accessibility, and digital markets are rapidly increasing and impacting UX design and research.
-
•
New user interface paradigms like chatbots and AR present unique design challenges around user discoverability and interaction.
-
•
Large-scale in-product behavioral research requires new operational pipelines to properly represent and study edge cases.
-
•
Researchers must resist building tools before understanding their research needs; tool development should be problem-driven.
-
•
UX professionals will increasingly wear multiple hats due to shrinking teams and budgets in tech environments.
-
•
Collaboration between researchers, engineers, product teams, and regulatory bodies is more essential than ever.
-
•
The future of UX research includes focusing on the human element — empathic connection amid technological complexity.
-
•
Data alone isn’t enough — quality and relevance of data trump quantity in driving meaningful insights.
Notable Quotes
"If you press the exact same button today and tomorrow you get two different results, that’s non-deterministic UX."
"Now everyone’s an edge case, so research needs to focus on those edge cases, not just the average user."
"The era of 100-page reports is ending because we simply can’t produce them fast enough at scale."
"Mixed methods researchers will need to trust AI for base-level synthesis but still bring human meaning making."
"UX researchers should learn Python or R and how to leverage AI APIs to process unstructured data."
"Understanding how assistive technology evolves is crucial because it foretells the future of interface design."
"We need to become data ethicists and curators, not just data vacuum cleaners, to prioritize quality data."
"Regulations are design problems, not just technical ones, influencing how we create products and experiences."
"Future UX includes designing for user discovery in conversational and augmented interfaces, not just clicks."
"Being fluent in multiple data languages and understanding behavioral and attitudinal data will be essential."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Research is democratized: if you’re not democratizing, you probably don’t even realize everyone in your company is talking to users in different ways."
Kate Towsey Basel Fakhoury Oren Friedman Graham GardnerParticipant Recruitment and Management Tools
March 12, 2026
"Our AI tool doesn’t learn from ongoing use due to regulatory constraints, which led to user frustration when performance didn’t improve."
Jennifer KongJourneying toward AI-assisted documentation in healthcare
June 5, 2024
"There are two kinds of conflict: one is a zero-sum tug of war, and the other is creative tension that creates something unexpected."
Kevin M. HoffmanTheme 2: Enterprise Team Journey
June 3, 2019
"Find your senior executive ally who understands design and go talk to them first — it works."
Amy MarquezINVEST: Discussion
June 15, 2018
"That’s the kind of feature that never would have made it to the top of anyone’s backlog without design."
Gretchen AndersonScaling the Human Center
June 8, 2017
"The pandemic and climate change have shown how tightly interwoven and global our challenges truly are."
April ReaganLook, Think, Act: The Futures-Smart Design Organization
October 1, 2021
"We matched designers with new peer buddies outside their usual domains to encourage learning and networking."
Dante GuintuHow to Crush the Talent Crunch
September 8, 2022
"Try to make your component hierarchy as flat as possible because tall, nested structures become hard to navigate."
Jaime CreixemsBest Practices when Creating and Maintaining a Design System
June 7, 2023
"Collaboration is key; wireframes shouldn’t be thrown over the fence from UX to design without discussion."
Billy CarlsonPrinciples of Team Wireframing
October 2, 2023
