Rosenverse

This video is only accessible to Gold members. Log in or register for a free Gold Trial Account to watch.

Log in Register

Most conference talks are accessible to Gold members, while community videos are generally available to all logged-in members.

How UX Research Hit It Big in Las Vegas
Gold
Tuesday, June 4, 2019 • Enterprise Experience 2019
Share the love for this talk
How UX Research Hit It Big in Las Vegas
Speakers: Melissa Schmidt and Adam Menter
Link:

Summary

Directly experiencing research with customers has a powerful focusing effect on teams and decision-making. This case study describes how we created a massively scaled customer research program at Autodesk, in coordination with our large user conference, Autodesk University in Las Vegas, and how we then synthesized and shared the customer insights back with our employees. This program has helped cross-functional teams make better product decisions, deepen customer empathy, and break down silos. We’ll share lessons learned and the keys to success of this program that invites anyone in the company to conduct customer research.

Key Insights

  • Large enterprise companies like Autodesk face silos caused by product lines and global distribution that hinder shared customer understanding.

  • Early Autodesk University research efforts were fragmented and resource-intensive, requiring dedicated coordination to scale.

  • Creating visible, approachable research spaces (e.g., researchers in lab coats) encouraged customer engagement but later needed adjusting to be less intimidating.

  • Involving non-researchers, such as marketers and legal teams, democratized and expanded the impact of customer research at Autodesk.

  • Executive sponsorship by Maria Judice was crucial in elevating customer research to a strategic company-wide initiative.

  • Organizing research insights into thematic tracks aligned with business goals helped make the data relevant and actionable across teams.

  • Track leads, skilled at synthesis and facilitating conversations, are the secret ingredient to scaling and deepening research impact.

  • Simple, structured reporting templates empower novices to share useful insights without requiring formal research expertise.

  • Post-conference online share-outs ensured research learnings were synthesized, widely distributed, and not lost in busy work environments.

  • Continuous, year-round customer dialogue rather than one-off events strengthens product innovation and customer empathy over time.

Notable Quotes

"Sometimes working at a big company feels like there are dozens of teams pulling in different directions, making progress hard."

"These two teams have very different mental models, but customers are using both products seamlessly in reality."

"Customer understanding gives teams focus, and customer empathy gives purpose."

"We ditched the lab coats because they were a little off-putting to customers."

"The program became a gateway drug for customer research for people who didn’t know its power."

"On the flight home after AU, I panicked thinking no one would synthesize or share what they learned."

"At Autodesk, we found the track lead role was the number one secret ingredient to making this program scale."

"Customer empathy comes when you can sit face to face, hear their smiles or groans, and get real-time feedback."

"Start small and grow organically without needing lots of budget or executive sponsorship at first."

"This work is helping people get in touch with the soul of the company during transitions."

Ask the Rosenbot
Dave Hora
Advice for Establishing Research (Videoconference)
2022 • Advancing Research Community
Adrian Howard
Sturgeon’s Biases
2024 • DesignOps 2024
Gold
Sam Proulx
Understanding Screen Readers on Mobile: How And Why to Learn from Native Users
2023 • Enterprise UX 2023
Gold
Amber Knabl
Empowering innovation: The critical role of inclusive product development in the AI era
2024 • Designing with AI 2024
Gold
Bria Alexander
Opening Remarks
2023 • Advancing Research 2023
Gold
Changying (Z) Zheng
Navigating Innovation with Integrity
2024 • DesignOps 2024
Gold
Michael Weir
Mixed Methods and Behavioural Science (Videoconference)
2023 • Rosenfeld Community
Marieke McCloskey
User Science: Product Analytics & User Research
2021 • Advancing Research 2021
Gold
Ruzanna Rozman
Getting in Flow with Your Team
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2020
Gold
Ron Bronson
Design, Consequences & Everyday Life
2022 • Civic Design 2022
Gold
Sam Proulx
Understanding Screen Readers on Mobile: How And Why to Learn from Native Users
2023 • DesignOps Summit 2023
Gold
Craig Villamor
Design Systems for Ethical Design (Videoconference)
2023 • Enterprise Community
Marc Fonteijn
Increase your confidence, influence, and impact (through a Professional Community)
2024 • Advancing Service Design 2024
Gold
Tutti Taygerly
Make Space to Lead
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Jon Fukuda
Theme One Intro
2022 • DesignOps Summit 2022
Gold
Bria Alexander
Opening Remarks
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold

More Videos

"People often debate internally about whether they lean more towards product, service, or design artifacts."

Shaping design, designers and teams

November 8, 2018

Sabrina Mach

"We are not a circus juggling nine balls; we focus on two to avoid cognitive overload and achieve meaningful output."

Sabrina Mach Nina Wainwright

How to Design Your Design Operating Model

September 29, 2021

Samuel Proulx

"Complexity is not a barrier to accessibility – even the most complicated games have been made accessible."

Samuel Proulx

Invisible barriers: Why accessible service design can’t be an afterthought

December 3, 2024

Saara Kamppari-Miller

"Meeting designers where they spend their time and integrating accessibility into their tools is the most effective way to drive adoption."

Saara Kamppari-Miller

DesignOps for Inclusive Design and Accessibility (Videoconference)

May 26, 2022

Briana Thomas

"I simply asked the team about their strengths and needs instead of figuring it all out on my own."

Briana Thomas

The Quiet Force: Uncovering Hidden Leadership in High-Impact Design Teams

September 24, 2024

Adam Cutler

"I have to triangulate socially because Yorkshire folks are quite reserved; they won't openly admit issues."

Adam Cutler Karen Pascoe Ian Swinson Susan Worthman

Discussion

June 8, 2016

"By building tools around the natural workflow and how work was being done, we moved faster and worked more productively."

Operationalizing DesignOps

November 7, 2018

Leah Buley

"You cannot be emotionally attached to whether or not anyone implements your advice — it’s out of your control once given."

Leah Buley Joe Natoli

Ask Me Anything with Leah Buley and Joe Natoli, co-authors of The User Experience Team of One (2nd edition)

October 8, 2024

Nathan Shedroff

"The most important value delivered to customers is always the qualitative value—the emotional and experiential impact."

Nathan Shedroff

Double Your Mileage: Use Your Research Strategically

March 31, 2020