ABOUT
Elizabeth Baylor is an applied anthropologist and Senior User Experience Researcher in the Next Billion User (NBU) group at Google, where she serves as Research Lead for Tez, Google’s new digital payment app for India. She received her PhD in Applied Anthropology from the University of South Florida and has previous experience at Microsoft, the University of Alabama, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Before UX, Elizabeth was a nutritional anthropologist studying foodways in Southeast Asia. She has been trained and funded by the National Science Foundation, and is a Fulbright Scholar, published author, and a regular contributor to the American Anthropological Association, Society for Applied Anthropology, EPIC, and CHI. Elizabeth specializes in adapting and applying classic social science methods to product design and development.
Better User Interviews, Better UX: A UXR Masterclass
3 hrs Workshop | Category: Design Practice & Process | Target Audience: UX Researchers (Improved interview and moderation skills will enhance the practice of qualitative researchers engaged in usability studies and field research for enterprise, startups, nonprofits, and educational institutions. While researchers at any level can benefit from this session, it targets experienced researchers with a good understanding of basic interviewing techniques, who want to take their skills to the next level).
Your solution can only be as good as your understanding of the problem. Get the best data possible with these practical strategies for improved user interviews – from crafting the right questions to effective probing, body language, and note-taking. This interactive workshop will give you tips and time to apply your learning with fellow workshop participants and your Google instructors.
Rough outline of your workshop:
- Intro to Workshop & Facilitators.
- Writing Good Questions [good question/bad question activity].
- Body Language [observation & mirror activities].
- Interview Probes & How to Use Them.
- Interviewing Users [hands-on].
- Continuous Improvement: Organizing a Critique.
- Q&A.
Three key takeaways:
Attendees will:
- Identify and fix bad interview questions.
- Learn 7 classic interview probes and how to use them.
- Build their professional network of UXR contacts.
Building for People You Don’t Know
30 min Talk | Category: Design Practice & Process.
How do we focus on users who are far away or have a different culture or lifestyle?
Dr. Elizabeth Baylor, research lead for Google Tez, will discuss user experience (UX) as an NBU solution that allows us to confidently build for for people we don’t know. Join for a guided discussion of the UX process and 3 principles of good UX, and get tailored advice on research solutions for your next big project.
Three key takeaways:
- You are not your user (sometimes it’s just more obvious).
- Your solution is only as good as your understanding of the problem.
- Always know if your primary research question is about problems (usability) or preferences (usefulness).