Talks

Product teams, including those I work with, struggle to connect the challenges observed in prior research to issues that endure in the field and market space. As a shortcut for efficiency gains, product partners rely on researchers to succinctly summarize deep insights, sometimes preferring reductive quantitative interpretations to enable a bias toward action in product development cycles. Challenges facing researchers in product development include maintaining the relevance of prior research, providing a way to make it evergreen and accessible, and building on it to deepen and expand an existing model of behavior. This case introduces the concept of Research Amnesia, which poses a threat to organizational resilience. Using core ethnographic methods, a strategic methodological approach is outlined to frameshift the value of existing research within a company to develop new insights, bring together disparate analyses and teams, and propel product partners forward by offering more questions as a means to answers.

How do we help Design, Product, and Engineering partners understand Machine Learning (ML) in user experience? ML can assist in solutions that bring uniquely personal, adaptable, and relevant experiences to people of different languages, customs, and cultures. In this talk, Kristen will outline ML Design Thinking approaches. She’ll review a case at Reddit for elevating experiences that promote people at the center and the company’s mission – to bring belonging, empowerment, and community to everyone around the world – in ML-driven product development.

Machine Learning (ML) is an essential tool for bringing frictionless and deeply personalized experiences to users. If engineered with people at the center, the resulting ML-driven products and features can create a sense of wonder and seamlessness, like magic. In an effort to automate and augment interactions, however, machine learning has the potential to overlook the experience of the end user and deliver solutions that feel incongruent to user expectations. Researchers have a meaningful role in applying a human-centered lens to the parameters that govern these algorithms and power products that adapt to each user. This case reviews a program to build the capacity of Machine Learning Thinking at Reddit with people at the center. In this talk, you'll walk away understanding how to bring a Machine Learning mindset to your company through Research and Design. You'll also learn strategies for building partnerships across your company and breaking down the seemingly ambiguous and intangible challenges of Machine Learning into manageable and concrete projects. Finally, you'll witness how to enable small wins on the way to victory and elevate your company culture with cutting-edge technology designed from a human-centered perspective.

"Reddit's User Research Evolution" on June 23, 2021 at UXPA Kansas City.

The value and impact of user research is understood differently even by stakeholders at the same organization. By bringing all stakeholders along on the same journey, you can make sure your organization's user research is more effective and more influential, resulting in better products and better experiences. From her experience as Reddit's first Head of User Research, Dr. Kristen L. Guth will share ideas and insights for building effective and impactful user research in dynamic and creative organizations.

We sat down with Kristen Guth to learn why she left academia, what research at Reddit is like during a global pandemic, and how to better fight for research operations at your company.