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."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"If you want to work with Hilton, you have to bring accessibility to the table like security and privacy."
Nicole Bergstrom Anna Cook Kate Kalcevich Saara Kamppari-MillerAccessibilityOps: Moving beyond “nice to have”
September 19, 2024
"Sometimes laziness can be a virtue if it leads to big impact with little work."
Erin WeigelReal-world lessons to improve your conversion rates
June 26, 2024
"It takes an experienced researcher to be able to wrangle AI prompts to have any chance of getting good work."
Dr. Jamika D. Burge Nick Fine Alexandra Jayeun Lee Greg Nudelman Bo WangHow UX researchers can partner with (and not be replaced by) AI [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
August 31, 2023
"If patients stop using the app because they’ve got their health under control, that’s like a dating app success — they got married, not that the app failed."
Daniel J. RosenbergDigital Medicine Design
September 26, 2019
"We had to push back on the idea that we could just use existing models without understanding our team’s needs."
Francesca Barrientos, PhDYou Need Your Own Definition of Design Maturity
June 8, 2022
"You don’t have to overhaul your process to be inclusive; small changes embedded across stages make a huge difference."
Gabriela BarnevaOperationalizing Inclusive Design in Design Ops
September 11, 2025
"Keep legal as a proactive partner, not just someone you call when there’s a problem; build those relationships early over coffee or casual chats."
Eduardo Ortiz Robin Beers Rachael Dietkus, LCSW Bruce Gillespie Jess Greco Marieke McCloskey Renee ReidDay 3 Theme Panel
March 13, 2025
"You should not try to deliver your playbook from the ivory tower of design ops. It just will not be successful."
Gabrielle VerderberDocumentation Your Team Will Actually Use
October 3, 2023
"If we just decide to ignore demographics we're missing huge swaths of the participant experience and an opportunity to better serve our users."
Megan CamposWhat Did I Miss? The Hidden Costs of Deprioritizing Diversity in User Research
March 12, 2021
