Awkward Silences

Ben talks with Lyndsi Lee, UX Manager at Turnitin, about moving beyond traditional metrics like NPS and CSAT to measure user experiences more effectively. The conversation centers on outcome-based assessment, a framework that breaks user experiences into atomic outcomes. Rather than asking broad satisfaction questions, this approach focuses on specific user goals like "users can complete repetitive tasks without friction." Lyndsi explains how teams can identify these outcomes through existing research and customer feedback, then prioritize them using methods like card sorting with actual users. The framework helps product teams move away from vague directives and toward specific, measurable improvements that directly impact user success. This episode offers practical guidance for researchers and product teams struggling to demonstrate impact beyond traditional satisfaction scores.Amazon Prime articleHighlights13:49 Complicated Opinion on NPS and CSAT18:51 Outcome Based Assessment Framework27:36 Getting Strategic with Stakeholder Buy-in32:00 Traffic Light System for Stakeholders38:57 Revisiting Outcome Statements Timeline41:40 AI's Role in Quantitative ResearchAbout LyndsiLyndsi is a Senior Manager of UX Research at Turnitin, where she leads efforts to make the student and educator experience more meaningful, measurable, and user-centered. She started her career in public education as a school counselor and School Psychological Examiner, working alongside educators to support students’ learning needs. Eventually, she found her way into UX research, where she combined her love of psychology, education, and technology. Lyndsi is passionate about helping teams stay focused on what truly matters to users, and firmly believes that good research is part art, part science, and part really well-organized sticky notes.ResourcesDefining UX Success MetricsUX ROI CalculatorGetting Started with Analytics

Ben is joined by Shalin Pei, Head of Design and Research and Natalie Golub, Head of UXR , both from Coinbase's Base product. Base is part of the crypto space, functioning as a network that offers secure and low cost ways to build decentralized apps, essentially helping create what they call the new internet.The conversation reveals how their small but mighty teams operate in one of the fastest moving industries. Shalin and Natalie share how they've weaved internal stakeholders with customers, played with their structure to maximize visibility and effectiveness, and enabled partners to get more involved. It's a practical conversation on the value of experimentation, cooperation, and building influence.Highlights14:00 Overcoming Impostor Syndrome in New Industries25:37 Embedded Research in Live Design Sprints32:33 The Power of Cross-Functional Collaboration36:21 Documentation Challenges in Fast-Moving Industries40:39 Partner-Led Research Methodology43:33 Future of AI in Design and ResearchResourcesThe Designer's Guide to ResearchAligning Research for More ROIEffective Product <> Research Collaboration

Erin is joined by Samira Jain, Serena Hillman, and Jackie Ianni from Microsoft Azure Data to discuss how they built the Swift Research Lab over the past two years. The team shares their systematic five-step approach for creating research programs that result in stakeholder satisfaction while delivering insights every 1.5 weeks.The Azure Data team also break down their method for fostering relationships, building infrastructure and templates, measuring success, and continuously iterating. The discussion reveals how clear branding, stakeholder collaboration, and systematic infrastructure helped them action on high priority research requests while spotting cross cutting insights across Microsoft's product ecosystem.About Our GuestsDr. Serena Hillman is a Principal UX Research Manager in Azure Data at Microsoft. Her work focuses on Human-Data and Human-AI-Data Interaction, leading a team that explores how people engage with data and intelligent systems. She has studied user behavior across domains like video games, e-commerce, edTech, and enterprise cloud tools, and has published 40+ peer-reviewed papers presented at leading conferences and organizations including CHI, CSCW, Grace Hopper, Yahoo!, and Google.Samira Jain is a Senior UX Researcher on the Azure Data UX Team, where she has been for over five years. She leads SWIFT, a cross-team research program, which encompasses several key initiatives. With a foundation in product design, she brings dual fluency to her research practice—understanding why things matter from a user perspective and how they can be shaped from a design perspective. With extensive experience in both non-profit and enterprise research, Samira is dedicated to enhancing experiences for data professionals.Jackie Ianni is a UX Researcher on the Azure Data team at Microsoft, specializing in rapid evaluative and programmatic research. Before joining Microsoft, she worked as a researcher at both an agency and in-house, conducting global financial services research. Jackie is passionate about advancing UX research practice, exploring AI tools, and sparking conversations about the evolving role of research.Highlights05:47 Five Step Program Development Method09:02 Building Stakeholder Relationships15:39 Continuously Improving Research Programs18:37 Cross Product Insights and Breaking Silos23:24 Collaborative Team Success Formula33:58 AI Tools in Heuristic ReviewsResourcesBuilding a UX Research Team from ScratchCreate Long Term Impact with Strong RelationshipsThe Ultimate Guide to UX Research Strategy

Ben sits down with Jake Burghardt from Integrating Research to discuss his new book Stop Wasting Research and how organizations can maximize the product impact of their customer insights. Jake breaks down the critical problem of research waste, where valuable insights from studies get left behind instead of informing future decisions and planning cycles.Jake introduces his framework of three root causes driving research waste: preparation, motivation, and integration. He emphasizes practical solutions like creating insight summaries with stakeholders, building cross-silo research communities, and establishing recurring touchpoints beyond traditional study deliverables. The conversation covers actionable strategies for researchers at all levels, from individual contributors looking to extend their impact to research leaders building organizational initiatives that elevate research as a collective stakeholder voice.Highlights08:15 Defining research waste and value14:48 Identifying research waste in organizations21:36 Breaking down research silos30:21 Creating insight summary statements37:38 Integration and recurring stakeholder touchpoints42:52 Building research initiatives not individual effortsResourcesConducting Better Stakeholder InterviewsThe 2025 State of Research Strategy ReportThe Research ROI & Impact Calculator

The popularity of AI moderation tools, increased attention on "big" data sets (and streams), and the ongoing uncertainty in the research job market have (understandably) led some to wonder about the future of qualitative research. Our guest today, however, is bullish, and explains why.Nancy Baum leads the qualitative research practice at C+R Research. She has nearly 20 years' experience in the field, exposing her to many ebbs and flows. Nancy believes that qualitative practitioners are vital to sifting through the mounds of data, information, and competing interests flooding many companies' attention. Focusing on and uncovering the "Why?" and "How?" still matters today.Listen to learn ways to advocate for qual research, what Nancy thinks of AI-moderation, and how she's developing new researchers.Highlights09:19 How stakeholders misunderstand qualitative research22:46 AI moderation complements quantitative surveys32:32 Customizing deliverables for stakeholder impact41:09 Flexibility navigates unpredictable human conversations47:49 Deep listening trumps active listening50:26 Early stakeholder conversations secure research valueResourcesTry our qualitative sample size calculatorThe best qualitative research tools in 2025Qual vs. quant vs. mixed method approaches