Jemma Ahmed

" Holistic sensemaking matters. "

" We need to stop centering ourselves in research and start fighting to pay participants, ensure representation, and use real data. "

" We must switch our mindset from extractive to relational, from creator to also curator. "

" That mink showed up and it took on a fight that felt more enormous than it was. "

" The big question to ask in collaboration is: what is the main question you’re trying to answer and why does it matter? "

" Democratization requires intentional investment; you can’t just add it as a bullet point on someone’s to-do list and expect it to work. "

" Iteration means don’t prepare your talk the night before. Start early, practice, and evolve your message over time. "

" Victor is going to throw a wrecking ball through the idea of interviewing. "

" Jackie Ho talks about how to keep teams accountable and aligned while maintaining their autonomy. "

" Secondary research should be given significantly stronger consideration in our practice. "

" The insight and research community had such a hunger to keep growing and evolving to better amplify the voices of the people we seek to understand. "

" The storytelling is what ultimately supports actual change more than just data. "

" There are more and more specialized roles emerging as research expands, like DesignOps and UX recruiting. "

" We found timed exercises and shifting power dynamics in groups helped trigger a different, less rational part of the brain. "

" It really matters to researchers’ identities whether they see themselves as user or market researchers. "