Summary
A story about how to quantify and use survey data to create audience clusters that are statistically representative of the people that use your online product or service. Edgar joins the dots between multiple research/pattern finding/storytelling techniques, such as proto-personas, affinity mapping, survey creation, quantification of qualitative data, organic clustering of audiences, user interviews, journey maps, and business modeling canvas. It makes research tangible and actionable: instead of being an end-point that provides stakeholders with insights, it takes stakeholders through an inclusive and structured process they can be part of.
Key Insights
-
•
Research often fails when stakeholders are not involved or don't trust the data sources and methodologies.
-
•
Treating research as a product, with stakeholders as users, drastically increases engagement and usability.
-
•
Using proto-persona workshops with cross-department stakeholders helps generate unbiased, relevant survey questions.
-
•
Clustering survey data via Python and correlation matrices can reveal meaningful user segments with statistical significance.
-
•
Statistical validity (e.g., 95% confidence at 5% margin) is critical for stakeholder buy-in in large user bases.
-
•
Behavioral and demographic clusters need to be augmented with emotional attributes to create actionable personas.
-
•
Affinity mapping large qualitative datasets reduces noise and distills coherent narratives and pain points.
-
•
Mapping pain points to measurable hypotheses enables prioritization based on user impact and implementation effort.
-
•
Divergent and convergent workshops using tools like the business model canvas help explore and refine value proposition delivery.
-
•
Iterative, lean research with frequent stakeholder feedback helps identify and minimize bias effectively.
Notable Quotes
"Research should be done the same way products are built, with stakeholders as your users."
"If you frame the research in terms your stakeholders understand, they will become research-hungry."
"We don’t make big deliverables because they create friction; instead, we create shared understanding through conversations."
"Proto-persona sessions helped us avoid departmental bias and uncover the questions stakeholders really cared about."
"We used a 0.8 correlation threshold to tightly cluster similar survey responses, balancing cluster count and inclusion."
"Clusters alone aren’t personas; we turned clusters into interview screeners and then emotional personas."
"We wrote hypotheses as we believe this pain point matters, here’s how we test it, and how success looks."
"Different stakeholders tackle the delivery problem differently, which gave us necessary divergent thinking."
"Biases surface as you iterate, so lean approaches help you find and fix them quicker."
"Marital status mattered because some people buy cars for their spouses or kids, not just themselves."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"AI allows us to explore multiple imaginaries and possibilities, expanding how we question and understand the world."
Rachael Dietkus, LCSW Llewyn Paine Nishanshi Shukla David WomackAI: Passionate defenses and reasoned critique [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
September 18, 2024
"I don’t want to make those decisions anymore. I can’t compartmentalize who I am to be successful at work."
B. Pagels-MinorBreaking the Tension: The Power of Enabling Your Employees to Show Up Authentically
June 10, 2022
"We have to think beyond projects to the larger ecosystem and understand the ladder of intended outcomes."
Matt StoneScaling Empathy, A Case Study in Change Management
June 11, 2021
"We didn’t know what a design system was, but by combining component libraries and usability patterns, we built one."
Rob Mitzel Sébastien MaloThe Tale of Two Companies: Building a Successful UX Practice in a Century-Old Enterprise
January 8, 2024
"We as designers have the opportunity to be brave, have the courage and humility to do the work."
Jennifer Strickland Lesley-Ann NoelFireside Chat: How Design Addresses a World on Fire
March 18, 2022
"Getting people who don’t communicate well to at least work together on a single thing is the first step to innovating together."
Jon Fukuda Amy Evans Ignacio Martinez Joe MeersmanThe Big Question about Innovation: A Panel Discussion
September 25, 2024
"Every job is a climate job. Wherever we are, the climate needs us to address it in our role."
Sara ConklinA UXer’s 12-Month Journey from Climate Concern to Climate Credibility
June 26, 2025
"Two-factor authentication accessibility improves when there are customizable options like text, email, or QR codes."
Sam ProulxMobile Accessibility: Why Moving Accessibility Beyond the Desktop is Critical in a Mobile-first World
March 10, 2022
"Heat pumps heat and cool your home without burning anything, running on clean energy for reduced or zero emissions."
Sara ConklinExit Interview: 20 Years of Tech, One Very Big Bet, and a Lot of Heat Pumps
April 10, 2026
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
How does healthcare UX balance creativity with strict regulatory compliance and safety requirements?
How can UX practitioners build influence within healthcare organizations where clinical outcomes dominate decision-making?
How can large enterprises design pilot programs that effectively test new research tools without excessive delays?