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.

War Stories LIVE! Q&A-Discussion

Gold
Monday, March 30, 2020 • Advancing Research 2020
Share the love for this talk
War Stories LIVE! Q&A-Discussion
Speakers: Steve Portigal , Susan Simon-Daniels , Tamara Hale and Randolph Duke II
Link:

Summary

User research war stories are stories about contextual user research and the inevitable mishaps that ensue. These stories are in turn bizarre, comic, tragic and generally astonishing. For a practice that is not always well-understood or trusted, there’s pressure for us to only speak to the successes, but examining the human messiness of this work can help develop our skills and our community. Steve Portigal will expand the always-growing collection of user research war stories by bringing three new stories to the Advancing Research stage.

Key Insights

  • Researchers often don't realize in the moment that they are experiencing a 'war story'; reflection typically happens later.

  • Sharing war stories helps communicate the unpredictable and human nature of field research to business stakeholders expecting speed and metrics.

  • Writing war stories down as narratives, not just as bullet points, preserves richer, deeper lessons over time.

  • The tension between fast business needs and slow, qualitative research requires researchers to consciously quiet external pressure to focus on humans.

  • War stories reveal the importance of flexibility and adaptability during research, as plans often change rapidly in the field.

  • Encouraging researchers to document challenges creates a shared culture and helps build professional resilience.

  • Some underrepresented groups may develop heightened adaptability due to the need to navigate complex social dynamics, which can be a professional asset.

  • War stories can be used as interview tools to assess coping strategies, vulnerability, and experience in senior researcher candidates.

  • Authenticity and vulnerability in story sharing foster trust and community among researchers.

  • Storytelling bridges the gap between qualitative insights and stakeholders who typically value quantitative data.

Notable Quotes

"I was very conscious of what I perceived might be impatience from stakeholders watching the interview."

"You have to deliberately quiet that noise in your head and focus on humans in a world of humans."

"As soon as I started writing stories down, more memories came back from all over my research career."

"You don’t have to have a moral to the story; just capture it for now and maybe the lesson comes later."

"In the moment, it felt really uncomfortable, and I never thought I’d want to share that with anyone."

"Mixed methodologies illustrate the richness of our profession, showing the value of different types of research."

"Someone who thinks a study will run perfectly every time probably isn’t very experienced or realistic."

"Sharing war stories helps illustrate the necessity of flexibility and being present in the moment."

"There’s a double-edged sword for minorities who must adapt socially; it brings both burden and power."

"Reliance on foundational basics applies whether you’ve been a researcher for two months or twenty years."

Ask the Rosenbot
Prayag Narula
Empowering Designers to do Good Research
2022 • Advancing Research 2022
Gold
Eduardo Ortiz
Theme 3 Intro
2025 • Advancing Research 2025
Gold
Mike Oren
Why Pharmaceutical's Research Model Should Replace Design Thinking
2023 • Advancing Research 2023
Gold
Samuel Proulx
Invisible barriers: Why accessible service design can’t be an afterthought
2024 • Advancing Service Design 2024
Gold
Dr. Jamika D. Burge
Bridge Building across Research Disciplines
2021 • Advancing Research Community
Aleksandra Korczynska
Survey Tools
2026 • Advancing Research 2026
Gold
Kate Koch
Flex Your Super Powers: When a Design Ops Team Scales to Power CX
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Brendan Jarvis
Framing Tomorrow by Questioning Today
2022 • Design at Scale 2022
Gold
Johanna Kollmann
Insights-Driven Product Strategy: Get your Research to Count
2022 • Design in Product 2022
Gold
Charles Lee
Building a New Home for the Atlassian Design System
2020 • Enterprise Community
Christopher Geison
Theme 1 Intro
2024 • Advancing Research 2024
Gold
Paula Bach
Improving Legacy Software: How Much Better Does it Have to Be?
2022 • Advancing Research 2022
Gold
Maggie Dieringer
Creating Consistency Through Constant Change
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2020
Gold
Laureen Kattan
Centering Patients and Clinicians in a Complex Government Ecosystem
2023 • Design in Product 2023
Gold
Sarah Kinkade
Design Management Models in the Face of Transformation
2022 • Design at Scale 2022
Gold
Ana Ferreira
Designing Distributed: Leading Doist’s Fully Remote Design Team in Six Countries
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2020
Gold

More Videos

Maggie Dieringer

"When the world outside is crazy, the team needs to know that at least design ops has things under control internally."

Maggie Dieringer

Creating Consistency Through Constant Change

January 8, 2024

Sam Proulx

"If you make an app that users only use once a year, don’t expect them to learn dozens of custom shortcuts."

Sam Proulx

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Screen Readers

June 11, 2021

"We had to push up the ladder to VP and COO level to get the maker schedule endorsed and mandated."

Panel Discussion: Communicating the Value of DesignOps

November 7, 2018

Carol Massa

"Safety is the number one priority in healthcare design because if the patient is not stable, nothing else matters."

Carol Massa

Designing Health: Integrating Service Design, Technology, and Strategy to Transform Patient and Clinician Experiences

December 3, 2024

Kit Unger

"We are tired of fighting for that seat at the table."

Kit Unger

Theme 1 Intro

June 8, 2022

Changying (Z) Zheng

"Use AI responsibly; never input sensitive info without governance, or it could lead to dangerous outcomes."

Changying (Z) Zheng

Practical DesignOps: From Ideas to Tools That Teams Actually Use

September 25, 2025

Peter Morville

"Information architects use nodes and links to create environments for understanding."

Peter Morville

The Architecture of Understanding

May 13, 2015

Emily Lessard

"Long-term contracts and retainer arrangements save time by avoiding constant rebidding."

Emily Lessard

RFPs Without Tears: Writing Inclusive RFPS that Don't Scare Away Talent

December 9, 2021

Louis Rosenfeld

"Our sponsor sessions are recorded and accessible to registered attendees so you can watch them anytime."

Louis Rosenfeld

Welcome / Housekeeping

June 7, 2023