WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.280 --> 00:00:12.960 Black in Technology, Life in Technology, in Technology, Why black in technology? 2 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:25.960 Life in Technology? Why life in Technology? What's up? Bit Family? 3 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:29.920 We are back with another exciting episode at the bit tech Talk podcast. 4 00:00:30.359 --> 00:00:34.960 On this episode, Greg explores the world of user experience with Emani Nichols. 5 00:00:35.719 --> 00:00:41.359 Imani Nichols as the founder and senior UX researcher at Ghizzy Research base in New 6 00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:46.079 York City. Imani founded Hizzy Research to help businesses understand the pain points, 7 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:51.479 desires, experiences, and journeys of their end users and customers. She provides 8 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:56.799 research based insights that enable businesses to design and engineer products and services that their 9 00:00:56.840 --> 00:01:00.640 customers enjoy. And Now, the host of our show, Blacks and Technology 10 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:07.200 founder, Greg Greenley, tell us a little bit about yourself. How where 11 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:10.799 you're from, a little bit about your education. Yeah, I'm a UX 12 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:15.439 researcher and people listening. UX stands for User experience. I'm a user experienced 13 00:01:15.480 --> 00:01:18.920 researcher based here in Manhattan, in New York. I didn't grow up too 14 00:01:18.920 --> 00:01:22.159 far from here. I'm originally from Brooklyn. I grew up in the Crown 15 00:01:22.200 --> 00:01:26.319 Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, and then at some point my family and I moved 16 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:30.760 to the south to Delaware, where I considered the south, to Delaware where 17 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:36.040 I finished being raised there, and then I went to college even further down 18 00:01:36.120 --> 00:01:40.000 south in Virginia. I went to University of Virginia, where I studied media 19 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:44.159 studies and monitored in sociology, and that's where I started learning about research, 20 00:01:44.200 --> 00:01:48.120 which is what I do now. The cavaliers, right, Yes, that's 21 00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:53.280 some the cools. Nice. Nice give us a little bit of background about 22 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:59.840 kind of how you became interested and technology. I never had an interest in 23 00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:02.920 technology specifically, at least not as a career path, so I mentioned. 24 00:02:02.920 --> 00:02:07.439 When I went to the University of Virginia also known as UVA, I did 25 00:02:07.560 --> 00:02:12.599 research there for most of my tenure. I was an undergrad research assistant for 26 00:02:12.599 --> 00:02:15.439 a variety of professors, working on different types of projects that were like qualitative 27 00:02:15.479 --> 00:02:20.039 and also quantitative as well, and I wanted to continue doing research in some 28 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:23.759 capacity as a professional, but I didn't know how that would manifest. Thankfully, 29 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:28.000 I had a mentor who was an alumna of the university who was a 30 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:30.319 ux researcher in New York at the time, and so I'm thankful she and 31 00:02:30.360 --> 00:02:35.280 I got linked up because she taught me about UX research. Prior to her, 32 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:37.919 I'd never even heard of it. So she told me about it. 33 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:39.599 She explained what she did day to day, and she told me that I 34 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:43.400 probably would be good at it since I had all of this research experience from 35 00:02:43.479 --> 00:02:46.879 undergrad And as I dug deeper into UX research, I learned very quickly that 36 00:02:46.919 --> 00:02:52.080 it mostly exists in the tech space. So I wasn't really interested in tech 37 00:02:52.120 --> 00:02:54.000 per se. It was the fact that my interest in neu X research took 38 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:58.919 me to tech since UX research, for whatever reason, seems to be most 39 00:02:58.919 --> 00:03:01.080 dominant in the text. So that's how I became interested. It was more 40 00:03:01.159 --> 00:03:06.400 like, I guess a tangential entry into the tech space. Nice, nice, 41 00:03:06.439 --> 00:03:08.199 And I like that word tangential. Might have to use that sometimes. 42 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:12.120 No, some I was actually talking to someone earlier than they use it. 43 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:16.039 I'm like, you know, I'm going to use that great minds think alike 44 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:23.159 when you're interesting word, steal it and use it later on. Exactly nice. 45 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:29.360 Nice. So you mentioned what the letters stand for. The abbreviation UX 46 00:03:29.599 --> 00:03:34.840 stands for user experience, But tell us what a user experience researcher is. 47 00:03:35.240 --> 00:03:38.479 Yeah, it's always interesting because UX research is so straightforward, but yeah, 48 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:42.719 it's always so hard to define to other people. So I always say it's 49 00:03:42.759 --> 00:03:46.120 someone who studies users of a product to understand how they interact with interact with 50 00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:50.240 the product itself. And the product is usually a digital product, so I 51 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:53.159 think like a website, a web based experience, an app on your phone, 52 00:03:53.560 --> 00:03:57.680 and researchers we try to answer at a higher level, how do users 53 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:01.080 behave, how do they engage with the actual experience, what are there pain 54 00:04:01.159 --> 00:04:05.879 points? We usually try to understand how users behave, how they think, 55 00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:10.360 and how they feel, and we try to use our insights help to help 56 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:15.120 the product team, including the product managers and designers, understand how to design 57 00:04:15.159 --> 00:04:18.560 products that people actually like and therefore want to use. So that may manifest 58 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:23.959 as us observing how people actually use the product and asking questions about that and 59 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:28.199 giving them tasks to complete to see how they actually can achieve those tasks in 60 00:04:28.279 --> 00:04:31.920 the app or in the web experience can also manifest as US doing interviews with 61 00:04:31.959 --> 00:04:35.879 customers to understand how the product fits into their lives, to understand them more 62 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:41.439 as people, and to help design products around their humanity. Basically, so 63 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:44.519 it manifests in many different ways in terms of how we do it, but 64 00:04:44.600 --> 00:04:47.079 ultimately it's just someone who tries to understand and users of our product. I 65 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:54.800 like that. Here's something interesting, an interesting questions I'll post to you because 66 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:59.800 I think when people think about customers, let me actually this when you say 67 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:03.160 customers, right or who who are you? Who are you referring to? 68 00:05:03.319 --> 00:05:09.399 Because I had an experience, a conversation that I had with the person who 69 00:05:10.519 --> 00:05:15.279 was a ui u X person uh, and a lot of people when they 70 00:05:15.319 --> 00:06:16.000 think about, you know, customers, they think about people outside of You 71 00:06:16.040 --> 00:06:19.959 have your internal stakeholders who you work with at your actual job, and you 72 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:25.639 also have your external stakeholders who I think of as the customers. Excellent, 73 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:30.199 and that's that's UM. I wanted you to you to explain it because I 74 00:06:30.279 --> 00:06:34.000 felt it was necessary to kind of make that distinction. UM. Although you 75 00:06:34.040 --> 00:06:40.680 know they're you know, customers are is a general term, uh, the 76 00:06:40.759 --> 00:06:46.399 distinction between internal and external customers. UM. I wanted you to kind of, 77 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:49.759 you know, clarify that because I had an interesting discussion with um a 78 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:56.160 person who works for a large retailer, uh, and when he said he 79 00:06:56.240 --> 00:07:00.439 was a UIUX person, my mind instantly went to the people who who shot 80 00:07:00.519 --> 00:07:04.560 at this particular retailer, right, and instead he was referring to going around 81 00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:12.399 talking to the people inside the stores, employees who are working in bakery. 82 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:15.199 I was like, Oh, yeah, I guess if they were, you 83 00:07:15.240 --> 00:07:19.120 know, to use an internal app in order to you know, maybe uh, 84 00:07:19.160 --> 00:07:23.480 you know, order ingredients or something like that, or however, you 85 00:07:23.480 --> 00:07:27.319 know, whatever they needed to do, you would need to know, um, 86 00:07:27.879 --> 00:07:31.560 you know, what their experience is um with using that app. So 87 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:35.439 you know their internal their employees to the company, but you need to know 88 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:41.959 how to make their experience a lot better so that they actually use it because 89 00:07:41.959 --> 00:07:45.240 they're you know, they're not only use it, but use it in the 90 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:47.879 correct way too, right. So uh. I thought that was a very 91 00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:53.000 interesting discussion and it gave me a different perspective when I when I, you 92 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:57.639 know, think about customers exactly. That's a good example. It also what's 93 00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:01.759 really important too when thinking about customers is if the company is B to B 94 00:08:01.079 --> 00:08:05.160 right, or if it's B or what's the other B two C to be 95 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:09.000 right? That matters as well. Like I've mostly worked with companies at least 96 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:15.879 as a researcher where the company was direct to consumer, So the end user 97 00:08:16.040 --> 00:08:18.680 was the consumer. However, when you gave that example, I was thinking 98 00:08:18.680 --> 00:08:22.199 of a company like Uber, Uber Eats or door dash right, where the 99 00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:26.319 customer could be like someone like me just ordering some pizza, right, but 100 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:30.319 it could also be the Uber East driver as well. It could also be 101 00:08:30.360 --> 00:08:33.720 the restaurant owner. Um. So yeah, I think that it definitely matters 102 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:39.320 if the organization is like direct to consumer or not. That definitely changes the 103 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:43.600 context of who the customers and stakeholders are. And so you gave us a 104 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:48.480 little bit about about your actually your education, your background. But what are 105 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:54.720 some of the necessary skills you you think are needed to become a UX researcher. 106 00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:58.000 Yeah, so the skills I think that people really need. Um, 107 00:08:58.200 --> 00:09:03.720 this is obvious, but having research experience. UX research isn't really something that 108 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:07.279 you can learn by reading a book. It's very practical. It's very experimental 109 00:09:07.320 --> 00:09:13.960 and experimental and experiential as well. So you definitely have to learn by doing 110 00:09:13.960 --> 00:09:18.879 and making mistakes. So when I say knowing how to do research, having 111 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:22.440 knowledge of research methods, having applied knowledge like usability testing, user interviews, 112 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:26.919 focus group moderation, survey research, diary studies, field research, so on 113 00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:31.399 and so forth. So I think that's like the top hard skill to have 114 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:35.840 is actual research experience. And then I would say in terms of soft skills, 115 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:39.960 being a good listener. We talk to people all the time. Being 116 00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:43.200 a good note taker taking notes on what they're saying. You don't have to 117 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:46.159 be a super extrovert, I'm not, but being a good conversation list is 118 00:09:46.200 --> 00:09:50.600 important. Being organized because you work with a lot of different types of data 119 00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:54.519 points and you have to keep it all together. So I think that's are 120 00:09:54.559 --> 00:09:58.759 really the top for soft skills, So being able to listen, being able 121 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:01.039 to take notes, being able to speak well, and also being organized. 122 00:10:01.159 --> 00:10:05.519 And also I would say another one too is just knowing how to balance different 123 00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:09.440 temperaments as a researcher. When you have an active project, you're working with 124 00:10:09.480 --> 00:10:11.720 so many different people, and I mean, as anyone who works with people 125 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:16.840 knows, everyone has a different energy and vibe in personality, and there are 126 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:20.679 some people who are just easy to get along with their others who are not. 127 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:24.080 And so just having like maturity and patience to manage all of that as 128 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:28.840 also critically important as well. Interesting. I wouldn't know if I would have 129 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:33.120 thought that most people would be cooperative, I guess in the research, But 130 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:37.759 is that your experience or you you've come across people who are like, don't 131 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:41.080 want to talk kind of, or you know, people that you kind of 132 00:10:41.080 --> 00:10:45.759 have to pull information out of. Yeah, So generally most people are pretty 133 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:48.200 pleasant because they choose to participate, right, Like, I've never been in 134 00:10:48.200 --> 00:10:52.600 a I've never been in a situation where I've forced anyone to do to participate 135 00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:56.039 in research. So generally people are fine. But it's not uncommon, and 136 00:10:56.080 --> 00:10:58.679 I'm sure if any researcher listens to this, they're probably not in their head. 137 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:03.200 It's not uncommon to do a usability test or an interview where you need 138 00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:05.159 the person to talk and they just don't give you anything, right They say 139 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:07.879 yes, no, yes, no, and it's not really it's not really 140 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:11.240 a good conversation. So I would say most people generally that I've worked with, 141 00:11:11.320 --> 00:11:16.039 they're usually pretty pretty good to work with. But occasionally you do get 142 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:18.399 people who just won't talk, or if people are wanting to talk to you, 143 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:22.200 they may be really upset and I may be the closest person to the 144 00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:26.679 company that they actually get a chance to speak to. This closest live person, 145 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:30.720 so you may get the brunt of their frustrations. That doesn't happen often, 146 00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:33.159 but it has happened a few times. So generally I would say people 147 00:11:33.159 --> 00:11:35.519 are pretty pleasant, but occasionally I do have to pull pull it out of 148 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:43.360 people. Got you, got you? And I apologize beforehand because I know 149 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:48.240 I said that. I usually don't pivot or asked questions outside of some of 150 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:54.720 the questions that I send over, but this, this is kind of in 151 00:11:54.919 --> 00:12:01.480 the same lane. But I wanted to get your opinion on something, or 152 00:12:01.480 --> 00:12:05.919 get your thoughts on something I should say, because we're we're in a very 153 00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:11.840 I guess, precarious age of miss and disinformation. And with the I guess 154 00:12:11.879 --> 00:12:18.559 the advent of social media and now everyone thinks that they are a trained researcher. 155 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:26.120 You get a lot of nonsense right on social media. You know, 156 00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:31.720 things that are spread through means and that type of thing. And one of 157 00:12:31.720 --> 00:12:39.240 my things is that people don't do and and not to say that I do 158 00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:43.200 like proper research, but a lot of people who spread like misinformation and things 159 00:12:43.240 --> 00:12:48.480 like that, they don't actually do proper what I feel is proper research. 160 00:12:48.519 --> 00:12:54.799 They'll pull something from an article or YouTube, video, mail say, oh, 161 00:12:54.840 --> 00:12:56.639 that's you know, do your research. I've done my research. Look 162 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:01.799 at this YouTube video. So let me actually this. What do you think 163 00:13:01.919 --> 00:13:09.559 constitutes proper research? Like, what's a process a research kind of process look 164 00:13:09.639 --> 00:13:15.159 like. That's a great question. I definitely think it varies in terms of 165 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:18.159 what research looks like. I think it varies in terms of a type of 166 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:22.720 research you're doing. So if you are a medical researcher, it's very different 167 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:26.240 than being a UX researcher at a tech company, right as opposed to a 168 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:31.279 market researcher or I don't know, a legal researcher. So I think it 169 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:35.320 varies in that respect. But I would say for UX research, what really 170 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:39.679 constitutes good research is having a research plan ahead of time. So what is 171 00:13:39.679 --> 00:13:43.320 your hypothesis or the assumptions that you're testing, what methods are you using, 172 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:46.480 who are you recruiting, how are you recruiting them, what are the research 173 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:48.840 questions? What is the discussion guide if that's needed. So I think that 174 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:54.200 having a solid plan ahead of time is what makes research solid. I also 175 00:13:54.240 --> 00:14:00.440 think that getting stakeholders involved early early on in the research planning process is also 176 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:03.399 important. So let's say, for example, usually when i'm planning a research 177 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:07.559 study, I'll ask for the opinions of the product managers, the product marketing 178 00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:11.639 managers, the UX designers. If I have other researchers on the team as 179 00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:13.720 well, I'll ask them too, just to get some perspective and some buying. 180 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:16.919 And also the people I mentioned, some of them are the ones who 181 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:20.320 actually can take the research and actually apply it. So it's important that they 182 00:14:20.360 --> 00:14:24.759 know what's going on and they have input as to what I'm actually asking people 183 00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:28.440 during the interview sessions or during the usability testing sessions for example. So I 184 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:33.679 think what mixed research, reputable and solid is being able to have a research 185 00:14:33.879 --> 00:14:39.120 I keep using the word solid, keep having a sound research plan ahead of 186 00:14:39.159 --> 00:14:43.000 time, and also getting stakeholder buying and getting their opinions, because you want 187 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:46.200 to make sure that you're asking questions of your customers and end users that yield 188 00:14:46.200 --> 00:14:50.279 answers that people at the company can actually use, so answers that the product 189 00:14:50.279 --> 00:14:54.559 managers can actually use to help prioritize features on the roadmap, to help designers 190 00:14:54.679 --> 00:14:58.399 understand what's actually design in the app or on the website. And thanks, 191 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:03.120 thank you for the that clarification. UM it's it's one of my it's it's 192 00:15:03.159 --> 00:15:07.720 a pet peever mine. Um, I'm on I'm on Facebook a lot, 193 00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:11.320 and so um, it's someone who's on Facebook a lot. I see a 194 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:16.519 lot of nonsense and discussions and things like that, and you know, people 195 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:24.279 kind of throw their opinions or uh they're so called facts, uh and and 196 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:28.799 discussions and you know, I have I have a serious problem when people try 197 00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:35.399 to pass off something as fact and it's not thoroughly like checked out, and 198 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:41.559 it's not properly researched, and they and so that's why I asked that question. 199 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:45.879 Anyhow, let me let me get back to the regular questions. So 200 00:15:46.440 --> 00:15:50.159 one thing that I like to do, because I've you know, spoken to 201 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:54.480 classrooms and you know, college students and things like that, is I like 202 00:15:54.600 --> 00:16:00.240 to tell people how much I make. Like I'm not ashamed or I don't 203 00:16:00.279 --> 00:16:04.600 try to make it private, because I think it's important for people, especially 204 00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:08.480 if they are looking to get into tech, and especially if they're people within 205 00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:14.279 the black community, so they can you know, see like what could be 206 00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:18.600 on the horizon for them. Right as far as salary, how much can 207 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:23.480 a UX researcher make in terms of salary Yeah, it varies pretty significantly depending 208 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:27.320 on location, seniority, company size. Right, if you're in the Bay 209 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:30.120 Area, which is where like all the UX stuff is happening, you probably 210 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:33.960 get a really high salary there, but it's also that area has a high 211 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:37.879 cost of living. Same here with New York. I would say in terms 212 00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:41.240 of range overall, I would imagine somewhere between like sixtk if you're just like 213 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:45.279 getting started at a smaller company, all the way up maybe through two hundred 214 00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:49.720 k or more if you're like super senior ten plus years of experience at a 215 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:55.399 company like Facebook or Amazon or something. So yeah, I would say, 216 00:16:55.519 --> 00:16:59.519 which is a pretty significant range. Yeah, I guess it depends a lot 217 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:02.559 on like those factors that I mentioned, the location, scenority, and company 218 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:04.640 size. But I think it's a pretty I think it's a pretty well compensated 219 00:17:04.680 --> 00:17:07.200 career, which is why I think it's probably so popular. But yeah, 220 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:10.920 I would say it somewhere in that range, and there probably may be some 221 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:15.759 unicorns making way more than that if you account for things like profit sharing stocks 222 00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:18.160 bonuses. So yeah, that the range I gave was probably what I would 223 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:22.200 estimate for like base salary. And so how does someone get started. I 224 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:26.240 know you taught us a little bit about kind of your journey and that you 225 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:29.440 know, you kind of had a mentor that came to you and said, 226 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:32.559 hey, you know, this might be a good path for you to take. 227 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:37.680 How would you recommend someone get started in becoming a UX researcher. Oh, 228 00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:41.359 it's such a mystery. I mean I always say I think there's a 229 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:45.759 thing amongst UX researchers that none of us know how we got into it. 230 00:17:45.119 --> 00:17:48.640 It's just one of those things that you just kind of fall into it. 231 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:51.359 It's not a clear career path, Like if you want to become a doctor 232 00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:52.799 or a lawyer, it's pretty clear what you need to do. It's not 233 00:17:52.839 --> 00:17:56.440 like that with UX research. So for me personally, I started with academic 234 00:17:56.519 --> 00:18:03.440 research as an undergrad and I did UX research very briefly. After I graduated. 235 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:07.400 I wanted to try something different than I did market research for like a 236 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:10.680 year and a half and I didn't really like that and that wasn't all that 237 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:12.559 great at it, honestly, and then I went back to UX research, 238 00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:15.359 which I enjoy. So I think a lot of people get started with academic 239 00:18:15.400 --> 00:18:19.440 research. There are people who get their PhDs and masters in a human computer 240 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:23.480 interaction or psychology or something related to us. In that way, that's a 241 00:18:23.480 --> 00:18:27.839 good place to start, or starting with being a designer. It's not uncommon 242 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:33.920 for designers to also transition into research. Some people start in market research or 243 00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:37.400 consumer insights. There are a variety of paths to come into it, but 244 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:41.359 those usually seem to be the top three that I've witnessed, either from myself 245 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:45.839 or from other researchers. I'm one of the things about UX research it's there's 246 00:18:45.880 --> 00:18:48.559 no one path to it, like I mentioned a few moments ago, and 247 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:51.440 that's good and bad. I mean it's bad because if you're trying to break 248 00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:53.200 into it, it's hard to know where to start or if you're doing things 249 00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:59.920 quote right end quote. However, it can also be really good because since 250 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:03.000 there's no typical UX researcher, you have a chance to really define what that 251 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:06.680 means for you if you want to do that. So, yeah, it's 252 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:15.960 it's like a double edged sword there in that respect. The Bit Foundation has 253 00:19:15.079 --> 00:19:22.519 established featured partnerships and programs with companies such as Amazon, at and t comp 254 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:26.839 Tia, tech Stars, and more to provide our members with the resources we 255 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:33.559 want and need to thrive and succeed in this tech ecosystem. To learn more, 256 00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:41.240 visit Foundation dot blacks and Technology dot net. Join now and remember membership 257 00:19:41.440 --> 00:19:48.039 is free. Tell us a little bit about as a UX researcher. What 258 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:52.440 do you do on a day to day? It varies pretty significantly, which 259 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:55.960 I hate when people give that response when you ask them what they do every 260 00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:59.920 day, But it's true. But it's true it varies significantly. And also 261 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:03.079 so I own myne that keeps it in right. It does, it definitely 262 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:06.319 does, and I own my own research company, which I know will probably 263 00:20:06.359 --> 00:20:07.720 talkbout a little bit later in the episode. But on a day to day 264 00:20:07.720 --> 00:20:11.240 it varies, So I may if I'm doing an active research project, I'll 265 00:20:11.240 --> 00:20:18.759 be writing research plans, recruiting participants, conducting the actual research, scheduling time 266 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:23.200 with participants, following up with incentives, analyzing notes from the research, sharing 267 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:27.240 insights with the team. If I'm at a if I'm on a longer engagement, 268 00:20:27.319 --> 00:20:33.880 creating a research roadmap, if there's a repository, updating a research repository 269 00:20:33.960 --> 00:20:37.839 with my notes, with recordings from sessions. And of course, because I 270 00:20:37.880 --> 00:20:40.960 do work for myself and I am I might work on a contract basis, 271 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:45.480 applying for contracts. And also I have a coaching program where I coach aspiring 272 00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:51.079 and current UX researchers and I help them get their application materials together to apply 273 00:20:51.240 --> 00:20:53.119 for UX research roles, so I may be doing a little bit of that 274 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:57.559 too, or and I'll also produce my own podcasts, the US Research Podcast, 275 00:20:57.640 --> 00:21:02.440 so it's a podcast about research, primarily US research, but I have 276 00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:06.359 other researchers come on at times as well, so I may be producing that. 277 00:21:06.440 --> 00:21:10.359 So again, it really varies depending on if I'm working on a client 278 00:21:10.440 --> 00:21:14.960 project, if a research study is active, if I have like um coaching 279 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:18.359 mentees lined up, So it just it varies quite a bit. But that's 280 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:21.799 usually it's usually one of those handful of tasks. Sounds like you have a 281 00:21:21.799 --> 00:21:29.319 ton of spare time on your hands. Yeah, but thankfully I enjoy what 282 00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:32.359 I do, so it's easy to find the energy to do it. But 283 00:21:32.440 --> 00:21:33.319 yeah, it is a lot, but like, um, you know, 284 00:21:33.880 --> 00:21:37.759 just juggling different things on different days, right, right, and when you 285 00:21:37.880 --> 00:21:41.319 enjoy it doesn't seem like work, and it's just you know, you just 286 00:21:41.400 --> 00:21:45.119 kind of flow right exactly. Yeah, I think that's the word for it. 287 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:48.519 In psychology, I think it's called flow, like when you just get 288 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:52.440 in the zone. Yeah, there's a psychological I could totally be lying too, 289 00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:56.119 I could be making it up. I think it is called flow, 290 00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:59.279 like when you find something that you really enjoy. Time just goes by. 291 00:21:59.440 --> 00:22:02.039 So yeah, I do think that research for me is one of those things 292 00:22:02.039 --> 00:22:04.480 for me, like at this point in my career. So what do you 293 00:22:04.519 --> 00:22:08.640 think, out of all those things, are are like the most important function 294 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:15.039 of your job? Yeah, I would say practically is actually conducting the research 295 00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:21.319 and also making sure that my internal stakeholders like product managers and designers actually understand 296 00:22:21.319 --> 00:22:23.519 the findings and can apply them if they need to. And also at a 297 00:22:23.559 --> 00:22:29.599 more higher level, being a liaison between the users or the customers and the 298 00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:33.640 internal stakeholders like that I mentioned. So I would definitely say getting collecting the 299 00:22:33.720 --> 00:22:38.039 data and also making sense of it and relaying that sense to internal stakeholders as 300 00:22:38.079 --> 00:22:42.160 well. Speaking speaking of that, kind of let's let's walk through that that 301 00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:45.960 process. Um, you know, and you don't have to go, you 302 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:49.240 know, super in depth about about it, but tell us kind of a 303 00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:55.319 little bit about what that process is from you know, kind of beginning to 304 00:22:55.480 --> 00:22:59.599 end. They are just like a quick you know, run through of what 305 00:22:59.640 --> 00:23:03.000 that is. Like, what does it like to like start our project all 306 00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:07.359 the way through delivering the insights exactly. Yeah, So I had mentioned a 307 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:11.039 few moments ago. I mentioned like the research plan and getting by stakeholder buy 308 00:23:11.079 --> 00:23:15.079 in early on. So that's usually the first step, and then once I 309 00:23:15.160 --> 00:23:18.480 get the green life from the stakeholders to move forward, then I do recruitment 310 00:23:18.519 --> 00:23:22.400 for participants, which is not usually the most fun part. People sometimes don't 311 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:26.240 show up, they cancel, and it's kind of hard to reschedule. Sometimes 312 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:30.039 That's what I do next. And then I conduct the actual research. So 313 00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:33.039 let's say if I'm doing user interviews, I'll conduct the actual interviews, and 314 00:23:33.079 --> 00:23:37.359 then once the research is conducted, I'll go ahead and analyze and synthesize the 315 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:42.519 findings. So I'll review the notes from the interviews to find patterns and themes 316 00:23:42.920 --> 00:23:47.759 to see what answers I found the research questions that were on the research plan, 317 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:51.519 and then I'll take those and put those in a presentation usually and share 318 00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:56.279 it with those internal stakeholders like the product managers, designers, salespeople, et 319 00:23:56.319 --> 00:24:00.960 cetera. Depending on which contexts I'm in, and then once I share it 320 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:03.680 with them, I usually follow up with them to see if there's anything else 321 00:24:03.720 --> 00:24:07.319 they need for me, if there any other questions that are an answered that 322 00:24:07.319 --> 00:24:11.000 I can use another research study for. So that's usually that's usually the flow 323 00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:18.319 and the more abbreviated UM since nice nice and without naming like names or companies 324 00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:22.599 or anything like that. Are there companies out there where you go through this 325 00:24:22.759 --> 00:24:26.759 entire process and I'm not sure you know what the time frame is like for 326 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:30.640 a process like this, Uh that when you get to the end and you 327 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:36.519 kind of present all your findings that they like totally go the opposite way and 328 00:24:36.519 --> 00:24:38.440 say, yeah, well, you know, thank you, We're we're not 329 00:24:38.519 --> 00:24:44.440 gonna use these you know these these findings, you know, we kind of 330 00:24:44.440 --> 00:24:47.599 think we have a handle on it, and they go an opposite way and 331 00:24:47.640 --> 00:24:53.400 then things like fail miserably or moments like that. So, in terms of 332 00:24:53.400 --> 00:24:57.039 being a researcher, it does happen often when you deliver insights and they're not 333 00:24:57.079 --> 00:25:02.079 always applied and sometimes not apply for a variety of reasons. There may not 334 00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:06.799 be enough bandwidth to actually help build what you suggested or improve what you suggested. 335 00:25:07.400 --> 00:25:08.880 There may not be enough time. That's always an issue. There may 336 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:12.440 not be enough money to put towards creating X, Y and Z. So 337 00:25:12.480 --> 00:25:18.920 there are usually a variety of reasons why stakeholders can't move forward, or if 338 00:25:18.920 --> 00:25:22.119 they already have something in flight, it may be too much to adjust it 339 00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:25.440 at the moment that they get the research. So it definitely varies in terms 340 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:33.839 of reasons why, but it definitely does happen. BIT is always focused on 341 00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:38.759 forming new partnerships and opportunities to assist the community and our members with their continued 342 00:25:38.839 --> 00:25:44.160 professional growth and development. If you'd like to partner with us, send an 343 00:25:44.200 --> 00:25:59.079 email inquiries at blacks and Technology dot net. So let's let's talk about your 344 00:25:59.400 --> 00:26:00.880 company. And I don't know how do you how do you pronounce that? 345 00:26:02.039 --> 00:26:07.759 Is that or yuzzy yuzzy? Okay yazy research? So tell us a little 346 00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:11.839 bit about yusy Research and why why you chose to start your own business. 347 00:26:12.519 --> 00:26:18.000 Yeah, so yusy Research. It's a ux research company, UM and I 348 00:26:18.039 --> 00:26:21.960 always wanted to work for myself and have that flexibility and like being able to 349 00:26:21.960 --> 00:26:25.640 pick who I work with. UM. I like having the variety of clients 350 00:26:25.799 --> 00:26:27.960 and also being able to work on projects that are really engaging. So that's 351 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:32.400 why I started my own company. Is something I've always wanted to do. 352 00:26:32.440 --> 00:26:34.920 I didn't know until fairly recently that I wanted to do a ux research company. 353 00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:38.359 Um, but I've always wanted to own a business, even as a 354 00:26:38.440 --> 00:26:41.160 child. Where do you think that came from? Did you have like, 355 00:26:41.759 --> 00:26:47.200 you know, influences as a as a as a young child that you know 356 00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:49.759 you kind of drew from and said, hey, like that. I like 357 00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:56.119 that the idea of working for myself and the flexibility, and I think I 358 00:26:56.119 --> 00:26:59.799 want to do that later on in life. I don't think so, yes, 359 00:27:00.119 --> 00:27:03.440 No, I would say no because it probably wasn't consciously looking at someone 360 00:27:03.480 --> 00:27:07.039 and thinking that. But both of my parents, at some point when I 361 00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:11.359 was much younger, they were entrepreneurs, so they owned like different businesses and 362 00:27:11.480 --> 00:27:15.680 when I was much younger, so I'm pretty sure like growing up seeing them 363 00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:22.559 work on their own and work for themselves was probably an inspiration by a virtue 364 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:25.799 of osmosis. But wasn't like that. I consciously think that most likely not. 365 00:27:25.880 --> 00:27:29.000 But you know how it is, if it's just an environment something as 366 00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:32.880 a kid would do it too. Exactly. Shout out to moms and pops 367 00:27:32.920 --> 00:27:41.200 for yes, for subconsciously inspiring exactly. So tell us about some of the 368 00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:45.079 services that you provide. Yeah, So I provide UX research services. So 369 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:48.480 I do discovery and the value to of UX research. So the value to 370 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:52.640 of UX research is what most people associate with UX research. So think something 371 00:27:52.680 --> 00:27:57.680 like usability testing for example, and discovery research is more open ended, more 372 00:27:57.759 --> 00:28:03.799 like strategic research that isn't really centered around specific usability about a product, but 373 00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:07.119 more so about learning who the users are. So I do both of those, 374 00:28:07.160 --> 00:28:11.680 and that can include things like interviews, journey maps, personas, usability 375 00:28:11.720 --> 00:28:15.319 testing, focus groups, field research. More we're able to actually go out 376 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:18.519 in public again, cards, sorts. And also in addition to doing UX 377 00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:22.960 research, I also produce the Easy Research podcasts where I talk about research with 378 00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:27.799 other researchers. And also I have the Easy Research Coaching program, which is 379 00:28:27.839 --> 00:28:33.359 geared aspiring and practicing UX researchers who want to work on their job application collateral. 380 00:28:33.440 --> 00:28:37.880 So think like their LinkedIn accounts, cover letters, resumes, portfolios, 381 00:28:38.359 --> 00:28:41.319 mock interviewing skills. I help them as well. So I take a lot 382 00:28:41.359 --> 00:28:45.160 of what I've learned because it was kind of hard for me to actually break 383 00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:48.559 into UX research and figure out how I needed to present myself because you need 384 00:28:48.599 --> 00:28:52.400 to do it in a very particular way, but it's not always clear how 385 00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:55.799 you're supposed to do that. So that's why I started the coaching program element 386 00:28:55.799 --> 00:28:59.160 of it. So that's what I do. So I do UX research and 387 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:03.400 also coaching for UX researchers as well. Very nice, very nice. So 388 00:29:03.559 --> 00:29:07.640 let me what are you know, because I've worked in companies that have like 389 00:29:07.839 --> 00:29:12.000 UIUX personnel that are employees of a company. What are some of the benefits 390 00:29:12.039 --> 00:29:17.640 of like hiring just a UX research firm. Yeah, And in terms of 391 00:29:17.759 --> 00:29:22.799 hiring a UX research firm, you get very intimate knowledge about your user base. 392 00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:26.319 I always say, like market research is good for like the big picture, 393 00:29:26.400 --> 00:29:29.759 and it's good for collecting big data. However, when you need small 394 00:29:29.880 --> 00:29:34.599 data, like that human touch or a sense of narrative or understanding your users 395 00:29:34.640 --> 00:29:40.440 more intimately, that's where UX research really is a strength. You get that 396 00:29:40.559 --> 00:29:45.160 expertise that you just can't get from market research or from data science. And 397 00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:48.920 also bringing in a third party firm for someone who doesn't actually work at the 398 00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:52.680 company, because we obviously don't have any company knowledge if we haven't worked there 399 00:29:52.680 --> 00:29:56.359 before. We bring a unique perspective as individuals coming into this dynamic, and 400 00:29:56.480 --> 00:30:02.799 also the research skills as well. So I think that what I'm saying is 401 00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:07.119 that UX research hiring or UX research or UX research firm definitely gives companies competitive 402 00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:11.559 advantage because a lot of companies don't do UX research and they don't know their 403 00:30:11.599 --> 00:30:15.000 customers and they their customers. If you actually talk to your customers, they 404 00:30:15.039 --> 00:30:18.160 will tell you what they want. People are not shy when it comes to 405 00:30:18.200 --> 00:30:21.599 things like that to tell you what they like and dislike what they want to 406 00:30:21.640 --> 00:30:25.720 see. So I definitely think that the major benefit is that the company doing 407 00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:34.079 the hiring gets a significant competitive advantage over their competitors. What's up, everyone, 408 00:30:34.599 --> 00:30:37.880 We hope that you're enjoying this episode of the Blacks and Technology BIT tech 409 00:30:37.920 --> 00:30:42.279 Talk podcasts. Do you or someone you know have a dope story that they 410 00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:47.599 want to share with our bit audience. Blocks and Technology is seeking guests to 411 00:30:47.599 --> 00:30:52.319 be on our podcast. We're looking to highlight the journeys and experiences of black 412 00:30:52.319 --> 00:30:55.720 women and men in the tech industry. So if you know of someone, 413 00:30:56.480 --> 00:31:00.440 send them our way, shoot us an email to contact us the Blacks and 414 00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:04.039 Technology got net, or click on the link in the show notes and fill 415 00:31:04.039 --> 00:31:15.119 out our form. We're looking to hear from you. I like that you 416 00:31:15.240 --> 00:31:22.160 mentioned just having a different perspective because being inside a company, you can kind 417 00:31:22.200 --> 00:31:26.119 of become what's the good word term for the You become so embedded in the 418 00:31:26.160 --> 00:31:32.759 culture, right, uh, that you don't have that fresh perspective that someone 419 00:31:32.839 --> 00:31:37.440 coming from the outside might have. Right, You're kind of uh entrenched in 420 00:31:37.640 --> 00:31:41.079 the culture of the company. H So you you become kind of biased, 421 00:31:41.359 --> 00:31:45.599 um and not saying that all you know, you ux people are like this, 422 00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:49.359 but it's good to kind of have, you know, that outside perspective 423 00:31:49.400 --> 00:31:53.640 coming in where you don't have the bias or you don't have the you know, 424 00:31:53.759 --> 00:31:57.720 kind of the some of the things that the company has done in the 425 00:31:57.799 --> 00:32:01.599 past and things like that. You don't have that history, so to speak, 426 00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:07.319 and so you can you can ask questions and look at things in a 427 00:32:07.359 --> 00:32:12.480 different way than someone who has been at a company for life, let's say 428 00:32:12.480 --> 00:32:15.440 a few years or whatever has. So. Yeah, I also think that 429 00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:20.000 coming in as a third party, as a contractor or as a consultant like 430 00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:22.599 you said, I'm not entrenched in the business, so I can do a 431 00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:28.279 little bit more freely amongst like different departments and different teams and rallying the troops 432 00:32:28.319 --> 00:32:31.160 with little resistance. I feel like when you work somewhere at full time, 433 00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:35.599 a lot of companies, especially big companies, tend to be very silo just 434 00:32:35.640 --> 00:32:37.799 because they're so big. And when you come in as a consultant or a 435 00:32:37.799 --> 00:32:42.359 contractor and you have to pull in all these different parts, it's easier to 436 00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:45.880 pull in people from different parts of the company because you're you're not there all 437 00:32:45.960 --> 00:32:47.480 the time, and you're there for a certain time period, so there's a 438 00:32:47.519 --> 00:32:50.759 sense of, Okay, well we have to if you want to get these 439 00:32:50.759 --> 00:32:52.960 insights by the end of this contract, you kind of need to collaborate with 440 00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:55.480 you. So there's a sense of that as well. So yeah, I 441 00:32:55.519 --> 00:32:59.480 definitely think that coming in as a third party helps me move a little bit 442 00:32:59.519 --> 00:33:02.519 more freely amongst teams that may be more siloed. I love the fact that 443 00:33:02.599 --> 00:33:07.480 you are coaching as well, like it's as her way of giving back. 444 00:33:07.559 --> 00:33:09.880 You know, there are people who once they get to a certain status, 445 00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:14.680 are a certain point in their career, they kind of want to cruise right 446 00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:16.079 because they're comfortable with that point, like, hey, you know, I'm 447 00:33:16.119 --> 00:33:20.680 making good money, I'm you know, doing what I love. And there's 448 00:33:20.720 --> 00:33:24.680 something different about a person who can reach back and they can give back and 449 00:33:24.720 --> 00:33:29.759 say, hey, you know, I understand the struggles and that some of 450 00:33:29.799 --> 00:33:32.319 the obstacles that that I had to overcome to get there, and I want 451 00:33:32.359 --> 00:33:36.920 to give back and make it easier for the for the next person. It 452 00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:39.240 takes a special person to do something like that, because then you're you're a 453 00:33:39.279 --> 00:33:45.400 little bit you're a lot more more selfless and that aspect, and not everyone 454 00:33:45.480 --> 00:33:51.079 can do that, right, So kudos kudos to you for for coaching and 455 00:33:51.440 --> 00:33:57.200 giving back. Oh shucks, Greg, No, but thanks, I appreciate 456 00:33:57.279 --> 00:34:00.000 that. But I so for my coaching program, I do charge for that. 457 00:34:00.160 --> 00:34:04.279 However, I do realize that not everyone obviously can afford to pay for 458 00:34:04.359 --> 00:34:07.319 support. That's the reason why I did the podcast, which is free and 459 00:34:07.359 --> 00:34:09.199 will always be free. I share a lot of knowledge there as well, 460 00:34:09.239 --> 00:34:14.320 in terms of like interviewing and getting your portfolio together and what do researchers actually 461 00:34:14.400 --> 00:34:16.000 do, et cetera, et cetera. So I try to balance that out 462 00:34:16.039 --> 00:34:20.480 too. Because I'm not oblivious to the fact that not everyone can afford a 463 00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:23.159 coaching program. So the podcast is free. That's also a lot of information 464 00:34:23.199 --> 00:34:27.840 there too for people as well. Excellent and well we'll get into a little 465 00:34:27.840 --> 00:34:31.119 bit more about that, because I mean I think that's you know it for 466 00:34:31.239 --> 00:34:36.000 me, you know, blacks and technology has always been about, you know, 467 00:34:36.119 --> 00:34:42.039 kind of providing information and supporting one another and community. So I love 468 00:34:42.119 --> 00:34:47.039 to see another black person in tech, uh doing the same thing, right 469 00:34:47.079 --> 00:34:53.440 because when you know, I say this quite often on the past podcast, 470 00:34:53.559 --> 00:34:59.239 but when when I got started doing podcasts, there weren't a lot of black 471 00:34:59.280 --> 00:35:04.119 people doing podcasts at all period, like not in tech for sure, right, 472 00:35:04.159 --> 00:35:10.039 And so m I started seeing like this expansion of black people in tech 473 00:35:10.360 --> 00:35:14.000 doing podcasts, and I was I thought, like, this is great, 474 00:35:14.039 --> 00:35:16.960 Like this is what we need because not a lot of us are out there 475 00:35:17.039 --> 00:35:22.079 doing it, and uh, it's great to kind of hear us being in 476 00:35:22.119 --> 00:35:27.519 this space, being in this ecosystem, providing the knowledge and being an experts 477 00:35:27.599 --> 00:35:32.679 in our field and giving back to others. Right. So I think I 478 00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:37.840 think that's you having a podcast, I mean on top of you running a 479 00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:43.599 business, uh, and you working, uh and all other things that you 480 00:35:43.719 --> 00:35:45.599 have to deal with in life that you still have the time, I mean, 481 00:35:45.599 --> 00:35:50.039 and then you're coaching, you're giving back that in that respect, and 482 00:35:50.079 --> 00:35:54.119 then also producing a podcast like I you know, I know firsthand that's not 483 00:35:54.199 --> 00:35:59.559 easy, Like it takes a lot of cycles to be able to to do 484 00:35:59.639 --> 00:36:04.119 something like that. So again, once again, kudos kudos to you for 485 00:36:05.159 --> 00:36:08.679 giving back and you know during this podcast and provide people with uh, you 486 00:36:08.719 --> 00:36:16.639 know, the knowledge and things like that. Do you have a product or 487 00:36:16.679 --> 00:36:21.280 service that you would like to share with a bit audience or maybe you'd like 488 00:36:21.320 --> 00:36:24.760 to support the bit community and do your part in helping us with stomping the 489 00:36:24.840 --> 00:36:32.079 divide. Start by sponsoring one of our podcasts. Please email us at contact 490 00:36:32.239 --> 00:36:47.239 us at blacks and Technology dot net. Tell us you know what's the hardest 491 00:36:47.280 --> 00:36:52.519 part about owning your own business a tech business? Yeah, I also have 492 00:36:52.559 --> 00:36:57.760 the hardest part about owning a company, especially as a researcher, is learning 493 00:36:57.760 --> 00:37:00.920 how to actually be a consultant. When I short, relatively short term basis, 494 00:37:01.320 --> 00:37:05.599 if you're a a company full time as a traditional nine to five employee, 495 00:37:05.599 --> 00:37:08.280 you're there until you choose to leave or you get laid off or you 496 00:37:08.320 --> 00:37:12.920 quit or you get fired. Right when you're there as a contract or a 497 00:37:12.960 --> 00:37:15.840 consultant, you're there until you're there for six months, eight months a year, 498 00:37:15.880 --> 00:37:20.639 and that's pretty set in stone unless something changes. And learning how to 499 00:37:20.679 --> 00:37:24.039 adapt to different clients every few months is something I'm still trying to get adjusted 500 00:37:24.079 --> 00:37:29.280 to. So I like the variety. I like trying different different things, 501 00:37:29.320 --> 00:37:32.079 working with different companies in different industries. However, it is kind of hard 502 00:37:32.159 --> 00:37:36.840 sometimes to figure out, Okay, how do they do it here? Right? 503 00:37:36.880 --> 00:37:38.920 Like what are the dynamics here? Like who can I actually talk to 504 00:37:39.000 --> 00:37:44.440 as an advocate? Who's really pro research, who's not? Whose temperament is 505 00:37:44.480 --> 00:37:50.079 really compatible with mind with mine? Whose temperament isn't? Who can help me 506 00:37:50.119 --> 00:37:52.519 with my tech stuff? Right? Like? Trying to figure all this stuff 507 00:37:52.519 --> 00:37:57.599 out every few months or once a year can be a learning experience. And 508 00:37:57.599 --> 00:38:00.679 that's definitely something that's been the trickiest part. It's just learning how to actually 509 00:38:00.719 --> 00:38:06.159 adjust to new working environments every few months. Wow, Yeah, I would 510 00:38:06.199 --> 00:38:09.400 suspected that, you know that, I mean, because onboarding is hard anyhow, 511 00:38:09.599 --> 00:38:15.760 right, Like every time I work at I work at a technology solutions 512 00:38:15.760 --> 00:38:22.199 company, we're consultants and we go into we either augment teams or uh we 513 00:38:22.320 --> 00:38:27.559 provide a team to to certain businesses and things like that. So I definitely 514 00:38:28.159 --> 00:38:34.119 understand the aspect of going into a new company and or a new team or 515 00:38:34.280 --> 00:38:37.840 you know, and things like that. So one of the things that I 516 00:38:37.320 --> 00:38:44.119 found is that, you know, onboarding is a problem for almost every company. 517 00:38:44.239 --> 00:38:49.199 Every company that I've been a part of has never gotten onboarding completely right, 518 00:38:49.440 --> 00:38:54.800 right, It's it's there's always gaps and how they onboard somebody. So 519 00:38:55.840 --> 00:39:00.360 you you know, coming in as a as a ux researcher, I can 520 00:39:00.440 --> 00:39:06.880 only imagine, you know, they definitely don't have a policy or something you 521 00:39:06.920 --> 00:39:10.599 know, in place onboarding plan for you know, somebody who's doing research. 522 00:39:10.639 --> 00:39:16.840 So I can only imagine how difficult that could be at some of these companies, 523 00:39:16.960 --> 00:39:22.280 right. So, yeah, especially since due to the pandemic, everything 524 00:39:22.360 --> 00:39:24.079 is remote. At least as of right as of this recording, everything is 525 00:39:24.079 --> 00:39:28.880 still remote. So that definitely, I know a lot of companies are struggling. 526 00:39:28.880 --> 00:39:31.199 They're used to doing everything in person and now how do you onboard people 527 00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:36.840 virtually? So it's also been a challenge as well. But I'm getting the 528 00:39:36.880 --> 00:39:42.079 impression. So I've been working full time as a contractor since February of twenty 529 00:39:42.159 --> 00:39:45.679 twenty one, so not very long as of this recording. However, I've 530 00:39:45.719 --> 00:39:50.239 noticed very quickly that I'm going to have to create my own sort of research 531 00:39:50.320 --> 00:39:52.840 onboarding. So if I get I'm going to ask that, Yeah, I 532 00:39:52.880 --> 00:39:55.840 have to have some sort of research onboarding I create, So figuring out who 533 00:39:55.880 --> 00:40:00.880 the stakeholders are, just having a meeting with them initially, figuring out where 534 00:40:00.920 --> 00:40:02.840 documents are stored, things like that, and just trying to pull those people 535 00:40:02.880 --> 00:40:06.840 in myself. So that's something I'm going to have to learn how to do. 536 00:40:07.119 --> 00:40:08.679 However, I have had contracts where that was already done for me, 537 00:40:08.719 --> 00:40:13.199 which was nice. For the contracts where that's not done for me, I 538 00:40:13.239 --> 00:40:15.800 definitely have to start thinking of a way to actually get that information myself and 539 00:40:15.880 --> 00:40:21.480 kind of give myself a ux research specific onboarding for that particular contract. It's 540 00:40:21.480 --> 00:40:23.440 that's something I'm still learning how to do too. Nice. Nice, Yeah, 541 00:40:23.440 --> 00:40:25.559 that's what I was thinking about, Like, you know, how how 542 00:40:25.559 --> 00:40:35.239 how can you create like a run book on getting their information and things like 543 00:40:35.280 --> 00:40:38.880 that that you need in order to be able to successfully do your job. 544 00:40:39.000 --> 00:40:43.760 So yeah, kulos, Okay, So tell me what what what do you 545 00:40:43.760 --> 00:40:45.960 think is uh, you know, kind of the most fun part of owning 546 00:40:46.000 --> 00:40:50.880 the tech business. I would say one of the most fun parts so far 547 00:40:51.079 --> 00:40:54.360 has been the ability to pick and choose who I work with. If I 548 00:40:54.360 --> 00:40:59.320 I've turned contracts down because I just wasn't feeling it, frankly, for a 549 00:40:59.400 --> 00:41:01.360 variety of thefferent reasons. And it's nice being able to just say no to 550 00:41:01.400 --> 00:41:05.840 someone, to someone or something you just don't want to do. That's nice. 551 00:41:06.000 --> 00:41:09.239 And also being able to flex different research muscles. So I may be 552 00:41:09.320 --> 00:41:15.480 working with one client that's really focused on usability testing, but another client wants 553 00:41:15.480 --> 00:41:17.920 to do a lot of survey research or interviews, for example, So it's 554 00:41:19.000 --> 00:41:22.360 nice being able just to try out different methods and not having to commit to 555 00:41:22.400 --> 00:41:27.360 one or the other. So I like that too. So just being able 556 00:41:27.400 --> 00:41:30.679 to have some flexibility and who I actually work with, and also being able 557 00:41:30.719 --> 00:41:34.960 to flex different research skills nice. Nice. And so are you at the 558 00:41:35.039 --> 00:41:38.400 point right now and your company that you're hiring or you're still kind of growing 559 00:41:38.480 --> 00:41:42.679 the company. So I'm still growing. It's just me right now and probably 560 00:41:42.679 --> 00:41:45.239 will be for a while, So I'm not at that point. I'm definitely 561 00:41:45.280 --> 00:41:46.360 not at that point yet, but I will. I would love to be 562 00:41:46.400 --> 00:41:51.760 at that point if I do continue to develop with Ux Research and with Gizi 563 00:41:51.880 --> 00:41:54.719 Research. However, yeah, I'm not there yet. Well, you know, 564 00:41:55.639 --> 00:42:01.000 every company has a beginning, and hopefully this is the beginning of something 565 00:42:01.079 --> 00:42:06.599 big and great for you. So so tell me a little bit about Um, 566 00:42:07.119 --> 00:42:09.880 let's let's switch to to your podcast. Let's talk about that. What's 567 00:42:09.880 --> 00:42:13.440 the name of it. What's the name of your podcast? It's the Easy 568 00:42:13.559 --> 00:42:19.440 Research Podcastle's spell why z z i um And that's how everything that's branded for 569 00:42:19.440 --> 00:42:23.360 the for the business is spelled as well. Tell us what's behind the name? 570 00:42:23.840 --> 00:42:27.599 What is it? What does that mean? So one of my nicknames 571 00:42:27.679 --> 00:42:30.239 is zi z z y and it was just that backwards. Um, I 572 00:42:30.239 --> 00:42:34.000 couldn't. I had a hard thing of a business name, and that was 573 00:42:34.039 --> 00:42:37.599 actually the temporary name. But I kind of just stuck with it, Okay. 574 00:42:37.639 --> 00:42:39.920 So that yeah, so I just kind of ran ran with it. 575 00:42:40.280 --> 00:42:46.079 Okay, Okay that Um, I'm about to really show my my geatness here. 576 00:42:46.159 --> 00:42:50.760 So when when you said that, the first thing that came to mind 577 00:42:50.920 --> 00:42:54.280 was Mixupleix. And I don't know if you if you read comics or anything 578 00:42:54.320 --> 00:43:01.159 like that, but Mixelplix was this fifth dimensional character, uh that was a 579 00:43:01.239 --> 00:43:08.159 nemesis of Superman. And the only way Superman could get Mixelplix to go back 580 00:43:08.159 --> 00:43:13.400 to his own dimension, so like he could control like pretty much anything, 581 00:43:13.440 --> 00:43:15.079 like he could create, you know, create things out of thin air, 582 00:43:15.920 --> 00:43:21.320 uh and things like that, like he was godlike and so to speak, 583 00:43:21.400 --> 00:43:24.559 right, But the only way to get him to go back to his dimension 584 00:43:24.639 --> 00:43:29.119 and kind of leave like you know, Earth third dimension alone is to get 585 00:43:29.199 --> 00:43:34.039 him to say his name backwards. And his name back backwards was Clippo Skim 586 00:43:34.119 --> 00:43:38.760 for all my nerd people who get people who read comics. Yeah, that 587 00:43:38.840 --> 00:43:42.639 kind of reminds me of Candy Man, right, you say his name five 588 00:43:42.679 --> 00:43:50.760 times or Bloody Mary. Right. But the rub about that is he had 589 00:43:50.760 --> 00:43:54.440 to get Mixelplix to say his own name backwards. So so Superman would like 590 00:43:54.880 --> 00:44:00.840 come up with all these clever ways to get Mixelplix to say his name backwards, 591 00:44:00.880 --> 00:44:05.960 Like one time he got them to say it backwards by skywriting his name 592 00:44:06.079 --> 00:44:08.480 backwards, you know, using like an airplane and you know, smoke and 593 00:44:08.559 --> 00:44:10.480 things like that, and he was like, look what is that. It 594 00:44:10.559 --> 00:44:14.440 was like, oh, let's say it is blah blah blah, and next 595 00:44:14.480 --> 00:44:16.360 thing you know, he would disappear and be back in this dimension. But 596 00:44:16.440 --> 00:44:22.480 anyhow, that's that whole thing. Your name backwards is kind of what drove 597 00:44:22.480 --> 00:44:28.039 overto that. So sorry about that anyhow, So tell us what motivated you 598 00:44:28.079 --> 00:44:32.239 to start your podcasts? Well, motivated me to start the YUSY Research podcast 599 00:44:32.480 --> 00:44:37.119 was a few things. Um One, I mentioned that I knew that when 600 00:44:37.159 --> 00:44:39.920 I started my coaching program, I knew that not everyone could afford that, 601 00:44:40.039 --> 00:44:45.159 So having a podcast allowed me to answer a lot of common research questions and 602 00:44:45.199 --> 00:44:50.199 also feature guests to help provide that information for free. Also, secondly, 603 00:44:50.199 --> 00:44:52.159 I get a lot of questions, especially on LinkedIn, about ux research, 604 00:44:52.239 --> 00:44:55.480 and I can't always answer every question, so if I get enough questions, 605 00:44:55.519 --> 00:45:00.679 I'll just make an episode about it. There's that. Then. Also, 606 00:45:00.920 --> 00:45:04.320 lastly, I do use it to promote. I do use it the podcast 607 00:45:04.440 --> 00:45:07.679 promote my business itself, so I'll promote the coaching program, my research services. 608 00:45:08.000 --> 00:45:10.559 So it serves a variety of reasons. So it's a mix of being 609 00:45:10.599 --> 00:45:14.360 able to help other people, but also to help myself as well and to 610 00:45:14.400 --> 00:45:16.880 promote the business too. So what tell us a little bit about some of 611 00:45:16.880 --> 00:45:22.280 the topics that you cover. I know you mentioned some of them earlier. 612 00:45:22.559 --> 00:45:25.440 Yeah, some of the topics that I cover, I talk about UX research, 613 00:45:25.559 --> 00:45:30.519 career, coaching, and mentorship. I talk about like the personality traits 614 00:45:30.519 --> 00:45:35.400 of good researchers, what do UX researchers actually do in a day, how 615 00:45:35.440 --> 00:45:38.639 to aid the UX research interview. I also have like a few market research. 616 00:45:39.360 --> 00:45:43.559 I also have a few market researchers come on and talk about what they 617 00:45:43.639 --> 00:45:46.239 do. In the future, I do plan to have different types of researchers 618 00:45:46.280 --> 00:45:50.400 as well, but those are like a sampling of topics that I've talked about 619 00:45:50.440 --> 00:45:54.000 so far. And generally I try to keep the episodes pretty like digestible, 620 00:45:54.400 --> 00:45:58.400 So in the episodes where it's just me by myself, it's like fifteen minutes 621 00:45:58.519 --> 00:46:01.119 or less, which you mentioned earlier that producing a podcast is no joke. 622 00:46:01.199 --> 00:46:05.239 For a fifteen minute episode, it can take me months to put it together. 623 00:46:05.320 --> 00:46:08.000 It's crazy how much time it takes to produce these. It takes a 624 00:46:08.039 --> 00:46:12.239 lot of time, but that's about how long it takes when it's by when 625 00:46:12.239 --> 00:46:15.800 it's me by myself. When I have guests, the episode can range from 626 00:46:15.800 --> 00:46:19.719 about can range anywhere from thirty minutes to about an hour. So I have 627 00:46:19.800 --> 00:46:23.760 some short form, quick digestible episodes and also some longer form episodes as well. 628 00:46:24.079 --> 00:46:28.519 That's a sampling of what to expect with the podcasts. Okay, and 629 00:46:28.559 --> 00:46:31.679 how can people subscribe to that podcast? How can they find out more about 630 00:46:31.679 --> 00:46:37.119 it? Yeah? Wherever they listen to podcasts, so Spotify, Apple podcasts, 631 00:46:37.119 --> 00:46:42.760 Google podcasts on the easy to Research website, which is why zeziresearch dot 632 00:46:42.760 --> 00:46:45.639 com, and I have a section there where you can find the show notes 633 00:46:45.679 --> 00:46:47.960 from the podcast and also listen to episodes there as well. But anywhere where 634 00:46:47.960 --> 00:46:54.360 you listen to episodes popularly you can find the podcast there. Okay, and 635 00:46:54.519 --> 00:46:58.760 before we get out of here, um, what's next for you? I 636 00:46:58.880 --> 00:47:02.519 want to continue to build up YUSY research and also getting into audio production as 637 00:47:02.519 --> 00:47:07.119 well. I really love producing a podcast, so I'd like to do more 638 00:47:07.239 --> 00:47:13.000 audio production and media production in the future, but more immediately, definitely continuing 639 00:47:13.039 --> 00:47:16.239 to build up US research, build up my clientele, helping more people in 640 00:47:16.360 --> 00:47:20.920 terms of coaching, and also having more clients as well. And how can 641 00:47:20.960 --> 00:47:23.920 people follow you? Contact, you know, give us all your hand your 642 00:47:24.000 --> 00:47:28.239 Twitter handles, Instagram, all that stuff. Yeah, so it's easy to 643 00:47:28.320 --> 00:47:30.679 find me because everything is branded. So on Twitter you can find me at 644 00:47:30.719 --> 00:47:37.840 yuzy Research y z zi Research. I post tips there weekly about UX Research, 645 00:47:37.960 --> 00:47:40.719 getting hired, etc. And also the same with LinkedIn. For my 646 00:47:40.800 --> 00:47:44.800 LinkedIn, you can just search my name Imani Nichols, I am A and 647 00:47:44.880 --> 00:47:49.639 I and I shls and every week or two I post tips there as well 648 00:47:49.679 --> 00:47:52.920 about UX Research, about interviews, case studies. I post information there too. 649 00:47:52.960 --> 00:47:55.719 So linked and Twitter are the two best ways to follow me and get 650 00:47:55.719 --> 00:48:00.519 in touch, stay in touch as well well, WORLDLYMANI ill really I appreciate 651 00:48:00.519 --> 00:48:02.519 you coming on to the show, telling us about your journey, telling us 652 00:48:02.519 --> 00:48:07.960 about RX researching UH and telling us about you know, some of the fabliest 653 00:48:07.000 --> 00:48:13.000 things you're doing with your company, with your podcast, with your coaching h 654 00:48:13.039 --> 00:48:15.679 and we wish you the best of luck and you know, later on you 655 00:48:15.719 --> 00:48:19.320 know, kind of check in with us and let us know how things are 656 00:48:19.360 --> 00:48:22.639 going. Definitely, definitely, I really appreciate you giving me the opportunity. 657 00:48:22.639 --> 00:48:24.800 This was really fun and it was good talking with you. Same here, 658 00:48:24.840 --> 00:48:29.719 same here, so take care and we'll be in contact soon. All right, 659 00:48:29.800 --> 00:48:31.079 sounds good, Thank you, have a good night you too, take 660 00:48:31.119 --> 00:48:43.320 care. By Black in Technology back black, Black in technology and technology. 661 00:48:44.440 --> 00:48:51.280 Why black in technology? In technology? Why black in technology