Building the UX Research Foundation at YoungCapital
At YoungCapital, there was a pressing need for a dedicated UX Research practice. As the first UX researcher within the company, I was tasked with the challenge of building this practice from the ground up.
Approach
Setting up the foundational structure
Starting with no structured UX research process, one of the initial challenges was to demonstrate the value of UX research to stakeholders. My approach here was convincing with evidence. I did a first study zooming in on the core user flow of YoungCapital: the sign up and application process of temp workers on YoungCapital.nl. The results of this study were shared amongst the entire department using a highlight video and slide deck.
Building a portable UX lab
In order to allow for flexibility in performing research, I created a mobile UX lab. This lab included devices such as a tabled, phone and desktop computer. Also there was a laptop with the needed recording setup created with OBS and eye tracking for desktop.
Integrate UX research into the product development process
To be able to integrate UX research into the product development process, it was very important to manage expectations of product managers and UX designers. In order to do that I created some standard templates that made up the structure of every research project, regardless of the method.
Performing research in all phases of the product cycle
Once the basics were there, it was time to execute lots of research projects to prove the benefit of user research in all phases of the product cycle. These studies included diary studies, user persona studies, concept tests, usability tests and many more.
Enabling others to perform UX research
As the practice of UX Research became more mature over time and the amount of projects and methods that were performed, it was time to spread the knowledge. To be able to teach and guide people in their first steps of performing research, I wrote step by step documentation for anyone to follow.
Conclusion & Learnings
Starting as YoungCapital’s first UX researcher, I introduced UX research by analyzing our key user flows, supported by a mobile UX lab I created, I integrated research into our product development. I made it accessible with standardized templates and documentation. This not only demonstrated the value of UX research across product phases but also empowered the department to adopt a user-centered approach, turning insights into action.