UX Learning Paths | Rolling Research
Evaluating a “learning paths” program for an organization’s internal UX community on a monthly rolling cadence.
Senior UX Researcher | 23 Weeks | Evaluative Research | 2024
Business Needs
This series of mixed-methods user research projects aimed to understand the evolving landscape of internal UX conferences and propose a new method for learning UX skills virtually through “learning paths.” This initiative introduced several components for an internal learning platform, including a learning dashboard with a gamefied monitoring and reward system, multiple learning “tracks,” and pre- and post-course surveys. My research explored the detractors and attractors to learning UX-related subjects online.
Process
1. Onboard to the UX Team
- Worked with the team UX lead to set project objectives, timelines, and expectations. Facilitated the project handoff process from a previous UX researcher.
- Reworked a landscape analysis report that a previous UX researcher created to reframe recommendations to be more actionable and include additional information.
2. Work Alongside UX Lead
- Assisted with refining recruitment criteria, overseeing participant grouping targets, editing session guides, taking notes for, and partially moderating IDIs for several “learning paths” workstreams (e.g., Generative AI for UX, Sprint Leading) for the first 3 weeks. Met daily with the UX lead to ensure seamless project handoff.
3. Take on Research Independently
- Planned, moderated, and analyzed data for 6 “learning paths” over 17 weeks with the internal recruitment team, with most studies running concurrently. Held 60-minute sessions with 8-10 participants per “track.” Shared progress and reported findings directly to UX leads.
Outcomes
- Performed rolling research for the UX team without interruption while delivering pre- and post-course survey data to defend qualitative data further.
- Delivered final reports with insights, quotes, and recommendations 3 days after the end of sessions per workstream.
- Helped sell a 7-week design engagement to the client, who required design and strategy support for exploring "learning paths” concepts. Guided a new cohort of teammates (e.g., UX designer and project manager) in the design phase of the project.
Reflection
Since this professional engagement was an embedded role, we initially encountered several process roadblocks that hindered my ability to work efficiently. Limited access to documents and low visibility into internal timelines and expectations created bottlenecks. To address these challenges, the Research Director and I brainstormed solutions to keep our work on track, such as taking detailed meeting notes with action items to share at the end of each call, creating a shared source of truth outlining timelines, roles, and responsibilities, and escalating issues beyond our control to management.