Summary
More and more researchers with no business or product backgrounds are in product research. In the day-to-day industry practice, we are called to march towards the same goal despite our different ways of knowing, talking, and past experiences. Failing to do so could lead to missing opportunities for innovation, reinventing the wheels, and building products that may pose risks to society. When ‘thought worlds’ collide, what can we do to better understand and support each other? This talk answers the question by taking a closer look at the differences and similarities between research and practice, and offering lessons learned about communication and collaboration within diverse product teams made up of a mix of academic and professional disciplines.
Key Insights
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The research practice gap reflects mismatched expectations and communication styles between academia and industry that hinder impact.
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Academic research values truth and self-criticism, whereas industry research prioritizes speed, actionability, and user value.
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Different research 'thought worlds' (psychology, design, HCI) define research differently, complicating collaboration.
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Research outputs in academia and industry share structural similarities, such as problem framing, methods, insights, and implications.
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Trust and attention barriers often prevent research findings from influencing practitioners effectively.
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Translating dense academic findings into concise, jargon-free, visual, and actionable formats greatly improves usability.
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Timing research delivery to match designers’ work phases increases likelihood of uptake.
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Teams with diverse backgrounds must accept conflict as normal and navigate it towards constructive debate.
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Successful collaboration requires people-first empathy and self-awareness about how disagreements are communicated.
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Empathy, patience, and seeing others fully beyond labels or roles are fundamental for bridging gaps across identities and disciplines.
Notable Quotes
"All my work, especially coming from CEOs, I felt deeply defeated by that comment."
"The research practice gap is frustrating, and I try to bridge it when it makes sense to."
"Design is fast, accessible, actionable, intuitive; science is slow, dense, behind paywalls, and self-critical."
"Practitioners, researchers, and hybrids don’t really hang out on Twitter; few translators exist between these worlds."
"Science is not pure and naive; advancing research is a matter of chance, strategy, and marketing too."
"To better collaborate is to tackle barriers around user researcher and the people we’re trying to inspire, often trust and attention."
"If you just want to prove someone wrong then you’re actually not seeing that person in front of you."
"Teams with different thought worlds should start by sharing what their roles are, goals, and passions in and outside work."
"Conflict is the norm in interdisciplinary teams and should be steered into debate rather than personal undermining."
"As you touch a human soul, be just another human soul."
Or choose a question:
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