The Partnership Between User Research and Product Management with Nikki Anderson - User Research Lead @ Zalando and Founder of User Research Academy
08.17.2020 - By Path2Product
Download our free app to listen on your phone
On today's episode, I sat down with Nikki Anderson, User Research Lead at Zalando and Founder of User Research Academy. Nikki started her user research career about 7 years ago, with a foundation in quantitative research but has since shifted focus to specialize in qualitative user research where Nikki has worked in B2B, B2C, B2B2C and has both worked as a freelancer and worked in corporate settings. After having started her career in New York, Nikki has since moved to Germany where Zalando is based. With such a robust and diverse background in user research Nikki had a ton of great advice and insight to share.
Here's what we discussed:
Some of the biggest misconceptions of user research
Why quant or qual data alone is not enough to make decisions
The trust cost of doing user research and the cost of not doing it
Low cost ways to source user feedback
What Nikki has learned throughout her career that she wants other user researchers to know
The difference between user research and UX design
Why planning and purpose are essential to the value of research
How to influence executives to care about user research
What a great partnership looks like between user research and product management in setting priority for what you build
How to know if you're doing user research right in a well-resourced company
Ways to get scrappy if you're a user research team of one
How Product Managers can do user research on their own
Here's the resources:
Google's Heart Framework
Podcasts: Awkward Silences, Dollars to Donuts & Mixed Methods
Books: Just Enough Research by Erika Hall; Practical Empathy by Indi Young; Quantifying the User Experience by Jeff Sauros
Recommended resources for user researchers
Important concepts, processes, and terminology
User Research Academy
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/productmanagementlessons/message