Who do we really mean when we say “the user”? And who gets left out?

In this episode, Therese Fessenden chats with cultural anthropologists Mike Youngblood and Ben Chesluk, who are challenging overly narrow definitions of users in UX. They explore how systems thinking and anthropology can deepen our understanding of complex user ecosystems — and why rethinking “the user” is more important than ever.

About the speakers:

• Mike Youngblood (LinkedIn)
• Ben Chesluk (LinkedIn)

About Rethinking Users, including some helpful resources and a link to purchase the book:

https://www.rethinkingusers.com

Article about User Ecosystem Thinking:

https://www.epicpeople.org/toward-ethnography-of-friction-and-ease-in-complex-systems

Mike & Ben’s other books:

• The Routledge Companion to Practicing Anthropology and Design, which includes Mike & Ben’s chapter on systems thinking in design anthropology, as well as many other chapters/contributors exploring the role of anthropology in design:
• Ben’s book Money Jungle is an anthropological study of the redevelopment of New York City’s Times Square.
• Mike’s book Cultivating Community is an ethnographic study of a massive, grassroots social movement in rural India.

Related NN/g Articles & Videos:

• Personas vs. Archetypes (article)
• Why Personas Fail (article)
• Ethnography in UX (3-min video)
• Contextual Inquiry: Inspire Design by Observing and Interviewing Users in Their Context (article)

What does it mean to design experiences in a world where pixels are no longer the focus? In this episode, service design thought-leader and author Erika Flowers shares her thoughts on how designers must evolve as AI transforms the tools, processes, and expectations of our work. Erika shares lessons from her journey—spanning early web design, pioneering service blueprinting at Intuit, and orchestrating experiences at NASA—and offers a forward-looking take on why skills like facilitation, systems thinking, and storytelling will define the future of design.

About Erika Flowers: helloerikaflowers.com | LinkedIn

Related NN/g Courses

Service Blueprinting

Accelerating Research with AI

AI for Design Workflows

Related Free NN/g Articles:

• How Service Design Will Evolve with AI Agents
• The Future-Proof Designer
• Why I’m Not Worried About My UX Job in the Era of AI
• More Free Articles on AI

AI can do more than it’s ever done… but there’s a lot of unfounded hype, especially when it comes to user research. When should you delegate tasks to AI? And when should you insist on keeping the human in the loop? In this episode, Therese Fessenden sits down with Alexander Knoll, co-founder of Condens, to discuss the strengths and limitations of AI tools for research, and the evolving role of the user researcher.

About Alexander & Condens: LinkedIn | Condens.io

Research Repository Guide: https://condens.io/guides/research-repository-guide/

On-Demand Recording of Condens Event: Making an Impact with User Research: How to Drive Change and Get Noticed

Alex’s Article with NN/g: Common-Sense AI Integration: Lessons from the Cofounder of Condens

Other Related NN/g Articles & Courses:

• Free Articles about AI & UX
• Course: UX Basic Training
• Course: Accelerating Research with AI
• Course: AI for Design Workflows
• Course: Designing AI Experiences

In this episode, Peter Merholz—co-founder of Adaptive Path and co-author of Org Design for Design Orgs—joins us to talk about what it really takes to build and scale effective design teams. We explore the systems, structures, and leadership mindsets that shape successful organizations, the relationships between product and design teams, and how design leaders can foster clarity, consistency, and impact as their teams grow. Whether you’re managing a team or aspiring to, this conversation is packed with insights on navigating the evolving role of design in today’s organizations.

Learn More About Peter:

Website: https://petermerholz.com/

Newsletter: https://petermerholz.com/newsletter/

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/petermerholz

Podcast: https://findingourway.design/

Book: https://orgdesignfordesignorgs.com/

Full-Day Courses (also available in half-day formats):

DesignOps: Scaling UX Design: https://www.nngroup.com/courses/scaling-ux-design-and-user-research/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ep50

Product and UX: Building Partnerships for Better Outcomes: https://www.nngroup.com/courses/product-and-ux/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ep50

Leading Highly Effective UX Teams: https://www.nngroup.com/courses/leading-ux-teams/?lm=pm-ux-different-views-of-responsibilities&pt=article&utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ep50

UX Leader: Essential Skills for Any UX Practitioner: https://www.nngroup.com/courses/ux-leadership-skills-for-all/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ep50

New UX Managers: https://www.nngroup.com/courses/new-manager/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ep50

Related Free NN/g Articles:

DesignOps: Study Guide: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-ops-study-guide/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ep50

Product & UX: Study Guide: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/product-and-ux-study-guide/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ep50

PM and UX Have Markedly Different Views of Their Job Responsibilities: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/pm-ux-different-views-of-responsibilities/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ep50

UX practitioners often struggle with shifting requirements and increasing product complexity, making it difficult to design intuitive experiences. Object-Oriented UX (OOUX) offers a structured approach to simplify digital products by focusing on core objects rather than pages or screens. Sophia Prater explains how this method improves usability, reduces inconsistencies, and streamlines collaboration across teams.

About Sophia Prater: Bio (via RewiredUX.com) | LinkedIn | Instagram

Learn more about Object-Oriented UX:

Upcoming Free UX Level-Up Training

Sign up for the newsletter

OOUX Podcast

OOUX for AI & AI for OOUX (course)

Related NN/g Courses & Resources:

UX Basic Training (full-day or 2 half-day course)

What is Object-Oriented UX? (3-min video)

As AI continues to evolve, designers are increasingly finding themselves tasked with creating AI-powered experiences—often without prior experience in the space. In this episode, NN/g UX Specialist Caleb Sponheim discusses the current state of AI tools, what’s working (and what’s not), and how designers can position themselves to navigate this shift. We also explore what it really means to develop AI safely and how designers can play a role in ensuring ethical, user-friendly AI experiences.

About the speaker: Bio | LinkedIn

Full-Day Course: Designing AI Experiences(also available in half-day formats)

Related NN/g Articles:

• Artificial Intelligence Glossary
• How Do Generative AI Systems Work?
• Redefine Your Design Skills to Prepare for AI
• AI Features Must Solve Real Problems
• More Free Articles on AI

As tech layoffs and budget cuts dominate the start of the year, UX teams are navigating a critical challenge: proving the value of research while doing more with less. In this episode, NN/g Director of Research Maria Rosala sits down with ResearchOps pioneer Kate Towsey to explore how ResearchOps can help teams think strategically about the impact and efficiency of their research.

Most experienced professionals in the industry will tell you that the best designs don't operate in a vacuum. Yet, most of our measurement approaches do. How do you know you're actually making a measurable impact toward users' long-term goals? Connor Joyce, author of the book, Bridging Intention to Impact, shares his thoughts on how to create and evaluate products that center on meaningful user outcomes.

Connect with Connor Joyce

Order the book

Related NN/g Resources & Courses:

To explore how is AI shaping UX research and analysis, host Therese Fessenden shares two interviews on the topic; one with Savina Hawkins, Co-founder of Altis, and one with Caleb Sponheim, UX Specialist at NN/g. In this episode we explore the opportunities AI presents for enhancing productivity and innovation in UX work, alongside the risks and challenges it brings. Savina & Caleb offer practical advice on how UX professionals can leverage AI tools effectively and remain competitive in their field.

Product-centric design can be an efficient way to design interfaces, but it can often lead to disjointed and poorly optimized customer journey experiences. Kim Flaherty shares her recent research into journey-centric design, and insights on how a journey-centric design practice can help organizations overcome product-centric challenges.

Report:

Learn more about Kim:

⁠Bio⁠ | ⁠LinkedIn⁠

NN/g Resources about Journey Management:

⁠The 3 Competencies of Journey Management (5-min video)⁠

⁠Journey Management vs. Service Design (4-min video)⁠

⁠The Practice of Customer-Journey Management (free article)⁠

⁠Customer Journeys and Omnichannel UX (free article)⁠

⁠Journey Mapping to Understand Customer Needs (UX Certification course)⁠

⁠Customer-Journey Management (UX Certification course)⁠