Key Insights

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  Democratizing research involves both involving non-researchers in the research and upskilling them to collect better data.

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  Having a large appetite for research is a positive problem that requires structured management to avoid chaos.

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  Using exposure hours for non-researchers to regularly interact with research helps build empathy and understanding.

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  The 'Come See For Yourself' program breaks research into three phases: planning, data collection, and analysis, to teach fundamentals.

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  Planning research carefully with scripted interview questions aligned to business goals improves reliability and avoids on-the-fly errors.

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  Empathy training for non-researchers before interviews teaches active listening, managing power dynamics, and avoiding leading questions.

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  Non-researchers as observers use note-taking sheets to focus on specific research questions, reinforcing data collection rather than casual conversation.

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  Synthesis sessions use unstructured, inclusive discussion to surface similarities, differences, and underlying themes across all interviews.

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  Analysis involves translating factual data into user needs and problem statements, often framed as 'how might we' questions.

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  Collaborative solution workshops prioritize problems and evaluate multiple solution ideas, enabling user-centered decision-making beyond individual opinions.

Notable Quotes