User Experience Researcher / UX Researcher
What is it? An individual whose primary function is to conduct user research in close collaboration with design, product management, data scientists, engineers, and other collaborators. They work in service to bettering the design of the experience for the end user.
User experience researcher is responsible for leading, facilitating or organizing both generative, exploratory and evaluative research activities. They may work as part of a product team, part of an agency or part of a centralized design or research team
A user researcher’s end goal is to uncover user behaviors, needs, and motivations in order to design products and services that provide optimized experiences.
When is it best used? User research is best employed continuously throughout the design process to inform iterative design decisions.
What does it entail? A trained researcher, or another member of the team. leads user research activities. They are responsible for creating the research plan, sourcing users to gather information. These tasks may be delegated to other collaborators.
Related terms: Design research, applied research, UXR/User Experience Research, usability research, HCI
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