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UX Researcher

Sylvia Nam edited this page Apr 10, 2024 · 24 revisions

What is UX Research?

User experience research (UXR) involves understanding the behaviors, opinions, motivations, and characteristics of people through systematic research. This research is mostly qualitative though quantitative methods are used too depending on the identified needs and objectives. Through collaboration across teams and stakeholders, UXR aims to design optimal products and experiences.

Various online resources such as User Interviews, Nielsen Norman Group and Interaction Design, as well as dedicated Discord and Slack channels, Facebook groups, etc. offer guidance, courses, mentorship opportunities on all aspects of UX research and design.

Hack for LA, a civic tech group, aligns UX research with public-facing and citizen-oriented needs. In this context, the goal of product and experience research is to innovate not only to boost efficiencies in the public domain but to make those efficiencies citizen focused. The constraints also differ given the reliance on legacy systems, which are older, as do the timelines, which are longer. Technological solutions in civic tech need to be built with solid knowledge of the public sphere, as well as the constraints and capacities of that sphere, for which the products are being designed. This crowdsourced doc focuses on UX research in civic tech and trauma-informed design.

UX Research for Expunge Assist

At Expunge Assist, UX research has been primarily qualitative in the criminal justice and legal realm. In addition to foundational research, common UX methods like usability testing, user personas, journey mapping have also been deployed through different stages of the project. UXR at Expunge Assist seeks to understand two user groups: individuals directly seeking expungement and the legal professionals (especially legal aid) who help them.

UXR uses a collaborative, team-oriented approach, working cross-functionally with other teams like Design and Content to understand product needs, goals and align research tasks. Because we are fully remote, communication occurs asynchronously and synchronously across various mediums and tools (Slack, GitHub, Figma/FigJam, Miro, Google Drive).

Joining the Research Team

Get in touch with an active PM or a current Research Lead from the Team Roster for the Expunge Assist project. They can help you with onboarding and any additional resources/reading necessary.

Resources

Below are a few resources to get you started.

UXR folder in Google Drive

Research Output Overview


Related Wiki Pages