UX Research Skill #4: Synthesizing Findings vs. Translating Them Into Business Value
Synthesis tells you what’s true. Translation tells you why it matters to this team, this product, this decision. Most researchers are good at one but not both.
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UX Research Skill #3: Running Usability Tests vs. Managing Messy Data
Running a clean usability test is teachable. Knowing what to do when the data is contradictory, incomplete, or just weird — that’s the skill that takes years to develop.
UX Research Skill #2: Conducting Interviews vs. Surviving Curveballs
The interview guide is a starting point. What separates good interviewers from great ones is how they respond when the conversation goes somewhere unexpected.
UX Research Skill #1: Writing Plans vs. Convincing Stakeholders to Care
Writing a research plan is easy. Getting the people who need to act on the findings to care before the study even starts — that’s the harder skill.
What UX Courses Didn’t Teach Me (But Real Research Did)
Courses teach frameworks. Real research teaches you what frameworks miss. The most important skills I’ve developed as a researcher didn’t come from any curriculum.
The Researcher’s Survival Guide to Being a Team of One
Being the only researcher in an organization is both liberating and exhausting. Practical strategies for managing scope, stakeholders, and sanity when you’re a team of one.
What My Kids Taught Me About Usability
Kids don’t read instructions — they just try things. What watching my children interact with products revealed about assumptions we bake into design.
The Most Important UX Question No One Ever Asks
Most UX teams focus on what users can’t do. The question that unlocks the most insight is something else entirely — and almost no one asks it.
Designing Spiritual Personas: Serving People Based on Spiritual Needs, Not Just Demographics
Demographic personas tell you who someone is. Spiritual personas tell you where they are on their journey — and what they actually need from your ministry right now.
The Data We’re Not Collecting: Why Churches Need New Discipleship Metrics
Churches measure attendance and giving — but rarely the things that actually indicate spiritual growth. What discipleship metrics most churches are missing and why it matters.