laying foundations for foundational research
A few weeks ago I was asked to give a quick overview of a project of which I'm most proud of the outcomes. It proved to be a good prompt for me to get my head around what exactly I've been up to for the last few years.
Typically when asked my role is I'll say something like "design researcher" or "research strategist." I've used other descriptors, but lately these fit me best. When asked what I work on, I usually say something like "I research how people live with tools and technology" or "I explore problem solving behaviors surrounding tools in day to day life." These are also fairly accurate, and they happen to be areas I'm very interested in.
But that's not the whole story, and on reflection it's not where I'm doing my most impactful work. Not yet anyway (more on the intersection of tools and life coming... soon?).
Here's an attempt to share a different side of my work with a broader audience:
- Format: a narrative case study (or something like it)
- Status: solidifying draft
- Disclaimers: not at all final, too long in places, light in detail in others.
Project: foundational research
It's a story of carving a niche for thinking about research, running a strategically impactful project, and growing that project into a full blown practice. It's my best project to date — and of course, I didn't do it alone.
The overview begins with the early days and how I met up with Lena Blackstock, how we framed up the need. Then, a summary of our 2019 design ethnography project, the resulting insights and personas, and our activation plan for getting insights to the relevant stakeholders. All throughout, but especially towards the end, I've tried to show the ripples of lingering impact, how we used momentum (and strategic democratization) to build out a research practice where we can punch above our weight and drive impactful research across a complex problem space.
If you dig in and have thoughts or ideas for improving it, or just want to go deeper on a specific section, please let me know. I find that I write best when I'm in active dialog.
Seeds, currents, and orbits (?)
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🚔 The history of policing in America, our tradition of professionalizing and over-funding the police, how bad they are at their job, and what we could do about it
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📖 Thinking about the last book I read on a plane (apologies in advance… but it's real good)
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💸 Watching the increasingly intense ripples from Proposition 22 — and the growing response
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🔎 New directions in which to apply research skills