This article was written in conjunction with Kunyi Mangalam. Research is knowledge-creation. Organizations need knowledge and create it in a variety of ways, from pricing models to audits, customer feedback to employee reviews, or competitor analysis to brand awareness. If you are involved in creating solutions, services, or products, then…

Develop a cast of characters that represent archetypes you want to support 👉 Do you invent personas for product cycles? 👉 Do you write/use scenarios? Concepts? Mocks? Product vision? Read this. In an earlier essay, I wrote, “Only unaware practitioners use made-up personas in their design work.” I think I…

The ways you cannot use ChatGPT (etc) for Design Research I thought I could avoid the fray about ChatGPT, but then it crept into Design Research. I saw a Medium article about ways to use ChatGPT for user research, one of which was “Let’s ask ChatGPT to create a few…

Start your next research project in the right direction using this flow chart Research is knowledge creation. Before you just start a research study, there are a few questions to ask, of yourself, of your org, of your stakeholders, and of the context that you all exist within. Here’s the…

Pop culture fails to prove or disprove anything because they reach for poor research technique I want to help you learn to recognize something. I’ll use an example from a podcast. 🎧 The podcast host questions two researchers about their published theories on creativity. He’s a creative person themself: a…

This is an excerpt from chapter one of my book “Time to Listen.” You can read more about the book and order the book through your local bookseller or on Amazon. What’s Wrong with Average Average solutions aren’t just average as in “meh.” …

Sep-2022: The book Time to Listen is available now. Chapter 4 shows you how to set the purpose of a listening session or a study about the people you support. Purpose is a way of framing how you look at something that brings so much more clarity of perception. When…

Help more humans feel heard and supported With the pressure of the pandemic and quarantine, it has become increasingly clear just how globally bias, discrimination, and systemic racism are rooted in our lives. People do not have equal access to services, online learning, clean air and water, and justice. From…

what does non-hierarchical collaboration look like? Here is a story that demonstrates two things. First, it is a story about organizing a project for a specific group of people, and realizing that group is more than just a demographic. …