About us
Design research helps build services that meet human needs.
What we do
We help product teams identify user needs that inform design and development. We do that by:
- Planning research activities that bring clarify to the goals and problems at hand.
- Conducting field research with end users, while bringing the team along for the journey.
- Analyzing & synthesizing data, telling the story of people who use our services.
- Evaluating & testing product improvements, helping our products continue to approve. When we do all those things well, we help our teams build products that serve people better.
How we work with others
Policy
Policy helps us navigate rules that affect research (like privacy and POR regulations). They also help us understand the background and rationale for our products.
Design
Designers and researchers are two peas in a pod. Designers are our co-researchers. Researchers are their co-designers. Research informs designer’s work. We discuss ideas together. And researchers help evaluate what gets built.
Engineering and product
Engineers and product managers come along for research and use our findings. At CDS, they’re key partners in research.
Outreach
We work with our outreach team to tell the story of how research happens and who we help.
How we need other teams to help
Build things based on research, not your (or our partners’) assumptions.
- Partners may not know why we do user research. Work alongside your researcher to prove the value to them.
- Fight to make sure you have a researcher on your team.
- Question why we’re prioritizing things that aren’t backed by research.
Get out of the office and talk to the people we serve, early and often.
Nothing is more powerful than being in the field and listening to the end user tell you about their needs. Or how we aren’t meeting them.
Be a research champion. Involve yourself in research and improve your research skills.
- Attend the bi-weekly research community meetings.
- Hang out with us. Let’s get coffee. :)
- Last updated by Colin on October 21, 2019