Generated by All in One SEO v5.0.0.1, this is an llms.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site. # Portigal Consulting We help companies build more mature user research practices ## Posts - [Episode 6 of "Off the Path with Sam and Steve" - Making Mistakes](https://portigal.com/episode-6-of-off-the-path-with-sam-and-steve-making-mistakes/) - Here's the sixth (and final!) episode of Off the Path with Sam and Steve, Making Mistakes. Above is a short promo. Here's the episode itself: Apple Podcasts YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXG7kLCbOSs We aren't sharing our content (including Dollars to Donuts) on Spotify because they are recruiting ads for ICE, and we won't allow our work to support - [Interviewing Users audiobook sale: 50% off!](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-audiobook-sale-50-off/) - The audiobook of Interviewing Users is 50% off, through January 1st. You can buy it here. - [Episode 5 of "Off the Path with Sam and Steve" - Why aren't you a big shot?](https://portigal.com/episode-5-of-off-the-path-with-sam-and-steve-why-arent-you-a-big-shot/) - Here's the fifth episode of Off the Path with Sam and Steve. It's called "Why aren't you a big shot?" We've got a short promo video above. Here's the episode itself: Apple Podcasts YouTube https://youtu.be/s0SjW5xK4CI Once again, we took this podcast (and Dollars to Donuts) off of Spotify because they are running recruitment ads for - [Episode 4 of "Off the Path with Sam and Steve" - Impact without Authority](https://portigal.com/episode-4-of-off-the-path-with-sam-and-steve-impact-without-authority/) - Here's the fourth episode of Off the Path with Sam and Steve. It's called "Impact without Authority" and above is a short promo video. Here's the episode itself: Apple Podcasts YouTube https://youtu.be/29_2SdE_2Fw We took this podcast (and Dollars to Donuts) off of Spotify because they are running recruitment ads for ICE, and we won't allow - [Listen to Steve on the Product Manager podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-product-manager-podcast/) - As part of the 'book tour' for second edition of Interviewing Users, I was interviewed by Hannah Clark for the Product Manager podcast, for an episode titled “How To Master User Interviews To Build More Lovable Products." You can find our 40-minute conversation (and a transcript) on the episode page and also embedded below. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1779875/14356546-how-to-master-user-interviews-to-build-more-lovable-products.mp3 - [Listen to Steve on the Product Thinking podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-product-thinking-podcast/) - Thanks to Melissa Perri for having me on the Product Thinking Podcast to discuss of the second edition of Interviewing Users. Our one-hour conversation is on the episode page, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. You can find a transcript on this page. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0ATgXzxSkY In this episode of the Product Thinking podcast, host Melissa Perri celebrates - [Episode 1 of "Off the Path with Sam and Steve" - The Good Enough Career](https://portigal.com/episode-1-of-off-the-path-with-sam-and-steve-the-good-enough-career/) - Here's the first episode of Off the Path with Sam and Steve The Good Enough Career Apple Podcasts YouTube https://youtu.be/LeYiMINPN90?si=HhJ_T3-WOOtozfUe - [Episode 2 of "Off the Path with Sam and Steve" - What Do You Do When You Want To Grow](https://portigal.com/episode-2-of-off-the-path-with-sam-and-steve-what-do-you-do-when-you-want-to-grow/) - Here's the second episode of Off the Path with Sam and Steve What Do You Do When You Want To Grow Apple Podcasts YouTube https://youtu.be/LsbRBIGq1e8?si=uIxMwj0OIuyOw05E - [Episode 3 of "Off the Path with Sam and Steve" - Good Interviewing](https://portigal.com/episode-3-of-off-the-path-with-sam-and-steve-good-interviewing/) - Here's the third episode of Off the Path with Sam and Steve Good Interviewing Apple Podcasts YouTube https://youtu.be/ct9pwM8qvn4?si=lv9i4yg91vlMDBlW - [Check out "Off the Path with Sam and Steve" - a limited series podcast](https://portigal.com/check-out-off-the-path-with-sam-and-steve-a-limited-series-podcast/) - Sam Ladner and I have a new podcast, called Off the Path with Sam and Steve. It's a limited series, where we talk about what a research career looks like, even when it goes "off the path." It's on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Spotify. Our first three episodes are live. Here's a few videos with - [Thinking About Tomorrow Makes My Brain Hurt](https://portigal.com/thinking-about-tomorrow-makes-my-brain-hurt/) - Back in January, the Wall Street Journal ran a technology-oriented look at what our lives will be like in 10 years, around shopping, gaming, movies and TV, making and keeping friends, searching online, getting news info, and protecting privacy. It's filled with many speeds-and-feeds-driven predictions like Moviegoers also can expect digital projection of their movies - [Crack This!](https://portigal.com/crack-this/) - Fast Company looks at marketing/research/culture proto-guru Clotaire Rapaille and observes "the conversation reinforces what I'd come to suspect: Rapaille is 25% substance and 75% shtick." It's a good piece especially because it challenges the validity/myth/efficacy of a powerful and popular media figure er um I mean consultant. For those of us who aren't clients, all - [Hindu! There are 700 million of us! (That's super)](https://portigal.com/hindu-there-are-700-million-of-us-thats-super/) - Sure, I've been getting spam for/from other continents for a long, long, long time, but still I was amused by spam I got today: Subject: Wish You Very Happy Diwali Dear Sir/ Madam, Best wishes to you and your family for a Very Happy Diwali and a Pleasant, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. May the - [Snakes in a Tube, 2001](https://portigal.com/snakes-in-a-tube-2001/) - This is how they display snakes in the "natural history" museum at Big Basin campground. And this is my 3000th picture posted to flickr. About as exciting, I guess, as seeing the numbers on your odometer roll over, but worth sharing here so we can stop for a moment and consider how the extent of - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-28/) - Photoblogger calls attention to surveillance camera on Crown Fountain in Chicago's Millennium Park Mainstream media picks up the story and the camera goes away the next day. Hmm. The fountain features huge photos of faces, twisted irony to use that structure to take pictures of park patrons. - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-37/) - Three New Yorkers Track What They Read, Watch, and Listen to for One Week Only the woman who works for Penthouse has anything even close to a level of granularity that might be useful. I'd suggest the "real" diary would be at least 4x as detailed, although hard to capture one's self. Raises some methodology - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-48/) - Steven Heller interview on mediabistro.com They do eventually talk about design but I love that a good chunk of the interview is about interviewing and asking questions (one of my favorite topics). "Well, it helps to ask questions that people want to answer." - [Interviewing and Soundbites](https://portigal.com/interviewing-and-soundbites/) - Yesterday on KQED's Forum their guest was Brooke Gladstone from On the Media. I was struck by this quote, early in the broadcast. I will ask a question...maybe 5, 6 times, and the person we're interviewing gets around to answering bits and pieces of it after every iteration and we will sometimes assemble all those - [Hold Everything](https://portigal.com/hold-everything/) - Ice Cream Cone Holder, Ben & Jerry's, San Jose, CA Plates on Bumper, Taco Truck, San Francisco, CA Toilet and Sapporo Can, Bar, location unknown - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-385/) - UX guy complains about AA.com being crap and UX guy from AA.com responds - UX guy reprints email and then attempts to address corporate culture issue; strong opinions follow but most compelling part is the insight from the AA.com UX guy himself (known as Mr. X) "But—and I guess here’s the thing I most wanted - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-535/) - The Story: A one-day conference about stories and story-telling - The Story will be a celebration of everything that is wonderful, inspiring and awesome about stories, in whatever medium possible. We’re hoping to have stories that are written, spoken, played, described, enacted, whispered, projected, orchestrated, performed, printed – whatever form stories come in, we hope - [Stories behind the themes: Transformation](https://portigal.com/stories-behind-the-themes-transformation/) - Here we offer the third installment of an unfolding bibliography of secondary research that fueled our generation of themes for the Omni project. This time around we are focusing on the transformational role of technology in our everyday lives, both in terms of what is changing (us) and how, i.e. the process of moving ritualistically - [Steve speaking to the Rome UX Book Club](https://portigal.com/steve-speaking-to-the-rome-ux-book-club/) - Steve spoke to the Rome UX Book Club. - [Dollars to Donuts: Frances Karandy of Citrix](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-frances-karandy-of-citrix/) - Today’s guest is Frances Karandy, a senior manager within the Customer Experience Group at Citrix. We discuss doing product-focused research in a company with a large number of products, what to look for when hiring researchers, and how to select projects that not only support the business but also help team members to develop. Design - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-159/) - Happy March, everyone! I head to San Jose tomorrow to meet with our client team and talk about what we've learned so far and lead a discuss about where we can focus the analysis to ensure the research will provide the most value to the team. The rest of this week is heavily focused on - [Out and About: Steve in Las Vegas](https://portigal.com/out-and-about-steve-in-las-vegas/) - I was in Las Vegas last week to kick off a new project. Here's some of my pictures from my time there. buy suhagra online https://neuliferehab.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/suhagra.html - [Randy's War Story: Don't Fall Flat](https://portigal.com/randys-war-story-dont-fall-flat/) - Randolph Duke II is an Experience Strategist with Cantina. He is always open to connecting on Slack or LinkedIn. He presented this story live at the Advancing Research conference. (This post will be updated with videos etc. as available) Apotheke-Frankfurt.com As a researcher, you come to expect the unexpected. But that doesn’t mean you don’t - [Ethnography of Elevator UX](https://portigal.com/ethnography-of-elevator-ux/) - Check out An uplifting experience - adopting ethnography to study elevator user experience (on Ethnography Matters). I love that someone has done (and shared) a study like this. A few years ago a leading elevator design and manufacturing company gave me the task of examining how people experienced and interacted with elevators. The scope included - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-359/) - Large collection of (actual?) screenplay pitches (technically query letters). - Just one: Title: Remnants of Hammers Logline: Constant bickering drives this comedy-drama as the plots of immature Bill, rabble-rousing Eldon, and ex-Marine George converge upon poor Dr. FitzUrse. The Che brand - In "Che’s Afterlife.” Casey has written a book that is not only a - [Announcing my new (fiction) book: Occupied Minds](https://portigal.com/announcing-my-new-fiction-book-occupied-minds/) - My new novella, Occupied Minds, is now for sale at Amazon. If you've enjoyed my writing, I hope you'll check it out and leave a review. It's only $2.99! On a quiet and humid night, good-hearted county employee Bubba Montgomery meets a strange visitor who needs his assistance. When Bubba agrees to help, he soon - [Listen to Steve and Justin on The UX Consultants Lounge](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-and-justin-on-the-ux-consultants-lounge/) - Thanks to Kyle Soucy for the conversation with me and my collaborator Justin Dauer on her podcast The UX Consultants Lounge. The episode is embedded at the bottom of this post and is on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music. Visit the episode page for a transcript. In this new episode of The UX Consultants - [Listen to Steve talk about creative writing](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-talk-about-creative-writing/) - Thanks to Guy Segal for having me on Design Downtime to talk about creative writing. The thirty-minute episode is here, as well as YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music. I've also embedded it below. https://youtu.be/KUOdFujBZW4?si=pG5jRFaTKErTTF7N https://open.spotify.com/episode/0pUpYEUNExJY1swzyZuBQY?si=6b5daba5a8504e33 - [Steve "interviewed" for Spin That Bottle](https://portigal.com/steve-interviewed-for-spin-that-bottle/) - You might call it a nano-interview, but it's just 10 questions, and it's just for fun. Check it out here! - [Announcing a new collaboration with Justin Dauer](https://portigal.com/announcing-a-new-collaboration-with-justin-dauer/) - I’m happy to announce that - in addition to my existing practice - I’m also working with clients in partnership with Justin Dauer. We are really excited about our small-but-mighty unified offering. We’ve helped a lot of teams grow and thrive—as well as build and ship great products that people want. Through research and design, - [Dollars to Donuts: Remembering Tomer Sharon](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-remembering-tomer-sharon/) - Tomer Sharon passed away last week. This is his appearance on Dollars to Donuts from 2019. https://media.blubrry.com/dollarstodonuts/content.blubrry.com/dollarstodonuts/053_Remembering_Tomer_Sharon.mp3 Show Links Episode (and show links) from 2019 From LinkedIn, announcement of Tomer's passing Help other people find Dollars to Donuts by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. Transcript Steve Portigal: Hey everyone, it’s Steve. My friend and - [Steve speaking at UX Research & Strategy JAPAN (online)](https://portigal.com/steve-speaking-at-ux-research-strategy-japan-online/) - Join me online on April 23/24 (depending on your time zone), for a presentation to the Japanese UX community. I will talk about the second edition of “Interviewing Users”, focusing on experience and industry changes since its release in 2013. English announcement/registration here. Japanese announcement/registration here. - [Listen to "How to Use UX Research to Delight Your Users"](https://portigal.com/listen-to-how-to-use-ux-research-to-delight-your-users/) - Last summer I was part of an online panel by The Product Manager, along with Laura Klein and Thomas Stokes, called How to Use UX Research to Delight Your Users. It's now a 45-minute podcast, which is embedded below, but is also available at the episode page along with a summary of the discussion and - [Steve is on the Insights Unlocked podcast](https://portigal.com/steve-is-on-the-insights-unlocked-podcast/) - Thanks to Lija Hogan for a fun conversation on Insights Unlocked. There's a nice summary here, and you can find the interview embedded on that page, as well as Amazon, Spotify, and Apple. It's also embedded below. https://dcs-spotify.megaphone.fm/GSEEE2241570981.mp3 Looking to the future of UX research As the field continues to grow, Steve envisions a future - [Remote research and empathy - from my conversation with Johan Berndtsson](https://portigal.com/remote-research-and-empathy-from-my-conversation-with-johan-berndtsson/) - Reposting from Johnan's newsletter -- the newsletter is written in his voice; the italicized portion is a quote from me Many years ago, after completing my Master’s, I was accepted as a PhD student and moved to Copenhagen to join a European research team focused on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) in complex work environments. While - [Interviewing Users Anniversary: The book tour (3 of 5)](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-anniversary-the-book-tour-3-of-5/) - https://youtu.be/WBFZW2BQt80 It's the first anniversary of Interviewing Users, 2nd edition. I'm sharing some of the conversations I've had about the book and user research. Check out the following podcasts that I've appeared on in the past year. Greenbook Rally UX Research Geeks Understanding Users Rock n’ Roll Research UXRMX Get Curious Buy the book here, - [Interviewing Users Anniversary: The audiobook!](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-anniversary-the-audiobook/) - https://youtu.be/QGIAxQXgSZI I’m thrilled to announce that my book, along with other popular titles from Rosenfeld Media, is now available as an audiobook on Audible! Whether you're commuting, working out, or just relaxing, you can now tune in and learn from your favorite UX experts on the go. In addition to my book, Interviewing Users you - [Interviewing Users Anniversary: The book tour (5 of 5)](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-anniversary-the-book-tour-5-of-5/) - https://youtu.be/zngKZ3WFcM8 It's the first anniversary of Interviewing Users, 2nd edition. I'm sharing some of the conversations I've had about the book and user research. Check out the following podcasts that I've appeared on in the past year. The Informed Life (part 1, part 2) The Rosenfeld Review Design Bubble Advancing Research Buy the book here, - [Interviewing Users Anniversary: The book tour (4 of 5)](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-anniversary-the-book-tour-4-of-5/) - https://youtu.be/CeQxN_CdMIQ It's the first anniversary of Interviewing Users, 2nd edition. I'm sharing some of the conversations I've had about the book and user research. Check out the following podcasts that I've appeared on in the past year. Content Strategy Insights Tent Talks Experiencing Data CXChronicles Buy the book here, and use the discount code ANNIVERSARY - [Interviewing Users Anniversary: The book tour (2 of 5)](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-anniversary-the-book-tour-2-of-5/) - https://youtu.be/Uy8L2L8RsWM It's the first anniversary of Interviewing Users, 2nd edition. I'm sharing some of the conversations I've had about the book and user research. Check out the following podcasts that I've appeared on in the past year. Design Better NN/g UX UX Podcast UI Breakfast World of UX Buy the book here, and use the - [Interviewing Users Anniversary: The book tour (1 of 5)](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-anniversary-the-book-tour-1-of-5/) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiMRQqxv-sA It's the first anniversary of Interviewing Users, 2nd edition. Over the next week I'll share some of the conversations I've had about the book and user research. Check out the following podcasts that I've appeared on in the past year. Product Quest Product Thinking Product Manager Product Mastery Now One Knight In Product Making - [Check out Steve on the GetCurious podcast](https://portigal.com/check-out-steve-on-the-getcurious-podcast/) - A little while ago I spoke with Anshul Divakar on his GetCurious podcast. We spoke for an hour about the history of user research, classic examples of research informing business decisions (for better or worse), the value of storytelling, and a lot more. You can watch our conversation on YouTube, and embedded below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti6mj217ZrI (See - [Listen to Steve on the UXRMX podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-uxrmx-podcast/) - Thanks to Darinka Buendía for a lovely conversation about user research. It's up as a one-hour episode, on Spotify and embedded below. https://open.spotify.com/episode/7GgW7Tgco6zkFV9ctsUy17?si=wDYcfp3_Qai22FwJMl4CPA - [Listen to Steve on the UX Research Geeks podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-ux-research-geeks-podcast/) - I'm grateful to Tina Licková for hosting our great discussion on the UX Research Geeks podcast. You can listen to our 40-minute conversation on the episode page, where you'll also find a transcript. It's also on Spotify and Apple (and embedded below locally and from Spotify). https://open.spotify.com/episode/62x8DfnuQsqrWE7cNZs1iH Excerpt: It’s a messy human activity. It’s something - [Listen to Steve on the World of UX podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-world-of-ux-podcast/) - Thanks to Darren Hood for leading a great conversation on his World of UX podcast. You can listen to our 70-minute conversation on the episode page (also on Spotify, and Apple (and embedded below in two different formats). https://media.transistor.fm/5414ab59/f8ed8755.mp3 https://share.transistor.fm/s/5414ab59 Excerpt: There was a semi viral post about how to go into a bar and - [Listen to Steve on the Greenbook podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-greenbook-podcast/) - I was on the Greenbook podcast recently, in a episode titled Beyond the Surface: Navigating the Depths of User Research with Steve Portigal. Check out our 40-minute discussion on the episode page (and on Spotify, and Apple) and embedded below in two different formats. https://podcasts.captivate.fm/media/421717f4-c3ce-4f6d-a42d-dccaf06c64b5/GB-90-Steve-Portigal-2.mp3 Excerpt: There’s this interesting part of research where it’s collaborative - [Listen to Steve on the Product Mastery Now podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-product-mastery-now-podcast/) - Thanks to Chad McAllister and Product Mastery Now for their interview with me, titled How product managers best interview users (bonus: it's still good advice if you aren't a product manager) You can find our 35-minute conversation on the episode page and embedded below. https://content.blubrry.com/theeverydayinnovator/471_Steve_Portigal.mp3 Updated: now on video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9C8W_aWqAM Summary [2:52] Why did your - [Listen to Steve on the Experiencing Data podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-experiencing-data-podcast/) - In connection with the second edition of Interviewing Users, I spoke with Brian O'Neill for his Experiencing Data podcast, titled “No Time for That:” Enabling Effective Data Product UX Research in Product-Immature Organizations. You can find our one hour conversation (and a transcript) on the episode page (and on Apple, Spotify, and Stitcher) and embedded - [Listen to Steve on the UI Breakfast podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-ui-breakfast-podcast/) - I had a great conversation with Jane Portman about interviewing users (to coincide with the launch of the second edition of Interviewing Users). Do listen to our fifty-minute conversation on the episode page, embedded below, and at Apple. https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/6cd16543-f849-4954-85c0-9d1cc1460e2d/episodes/954c7eec-2fca-4cf5-875d-ad99b699f7ca/audio/c0d7c8c9-e461-4aa6-8c21-f47d2746203a/default_tc.mp3 I think some of our fear is that that are questions are kind of probing and - [Listen to Steve on the Design Bubble podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-design-bubble-podcast/) - Thanks to the team from Design Bubble for having me as a guest to talk about podcasting (and less so user research or anything else). You'll hear a bit about my experience and process and also the Design Bubble team's perspective. Bonus: you'll hear me utter the phrase "Hello, bubblies" for the first, and perhaps - [Steve leading a Design Research track at Ambition Empower](https://portigal.com/steve-leading-a-design-research-track-at-ambition-empower/) - Ambition Empower is a subscription service where thought-leaders in UX, service design, and product design helps you and your team to grow. I'll be leading a design research track starting this fall. This track continually adapts to the emergent thinking in the field as well as the needs of members but includes topics such as: - [Steve and his pals talk about running our own user research practices](https://portigal.com/steve-and-his-pals-talk-about-running-our-own-user-research-practices/) - The other day I had a great conversation with Janelle Ward and Michele Ronsen about running our own one-person user research consulting practices. We have followed three different paths, with different durations, and different individual motivations and strengths. If you want to hear what we each had to share with each other (about unpaid work, - [Check out Steve on the Vit Lyoshin Podcast](https://portigal.com/check-out-steve-on-the-vit-lyoshin-podcast/) - I spoke with Vit Lyoshin about User Research in Product Development for his podcast. The one-hour episode is on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and below. https://youtu.be/UcGxUiPYk_w?si=1tFQT3t__CMjXaGM https://open.spotify.com/episode/6NfhhDizM0w53r3wpfs2TM Takeaways User research helps make informed product management and development decisions by understanding user behaviors, attitudes, and needs. Mature user research practices involve skilled researchers, infrastructure, and effective - [Join me for "How to Use UX Research to Delight Your Users"](https://portigal.com/join-me-for-how-to-use-ux-research-to-delight-your-users/) - I'm excited to be on a panel with Laura Klein and Thomas Stokes to talk about How to Use UX Research to Delight Your Users. Join us on August 27 at 9am PT/12pm ET for an exclusive live webinar featuring three industry experts who will dive deep into the nuances of UX research and design, - [Listen to Steve on the Nodes of Design Podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-nodes-of-design-podcast/) - Thanks to Ravi Tej for having me on the Nodes of Design podcast. The 35-minute episode is embedded below and can also be found on the podcast site and YouTube. https://open.spotify.com/episode/4wpjDXwPmRvPzjsfKrWsr3?si=VGnJxU6JR0m9bpGpijbvdA In this episode, Steve shared wonderful insights on user interviews and why we do user interviews in design; we then discussed the framework of - [Dollars to Donuts: Emily Sun of Hipcamp](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-emily-sun-of-hipcamp/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts, I talk with Emily Sun, the head of Design and Research at Hipcamp. We discuss staying engaged in work, designers doing their own research, and research at a small, growing company. There’s actually a big opportunity with smaller companies. At small startups, you are much closer to the - [Check out Steve on the Design Better podcast](https://portigal.com/check-out-steve-on-the-design-better-podcast/) - Thank you to Elijah Woolery and Aarron Walter for having me on their Design Better podcast, for The art of interviewing users. There’s an art to interviewing customers. It’s so much harder than just asking a few people some questions. If we’re not careful, bias can throw off our findings. And sometimes the most salient - [Join me for Soft Skills Are Hard at Interaction 15](https://portigal.com/join-me-for-soft-skills-are-hard-at-interaction-15/) - On February 9 I'll be teaching a new workshop at Interaction 15 online pharmacy purchase clomiphene online with best prices today in the USA in San Francisco. Entitled Soft Skills Are Hard, it's a deeper-dive that build the interactive talks I've done recently that focus on developing the interpersonal, creative, and cognitive skill sets that - [Listen to Steve on the Product Quest podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-product-quest-podcast/) - I enjoyed speaking with Yann Wermuth, Jonathan Edwards, and Scott Burleson on their Product Quest podcast. We talked about How to go into an interview with someone you know you disagree How to keep a conversation going without tripping up How to create meaningful interview guides that solve business questions How to formulate questions in - [Dollars to Donuts: Celeste Ridlen of Robinhood](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-celeste-ridlen-of-robinhood/) - For this episode of Dollars to Donuts I had a wonderful conversation with Celeste Ridlen, the Head of Research at Robinhood This is a fundamental leadership-y thing where no two people are going to do that same leadership role the same way. You're never going to do them the same way as somebody else. And - [Dollars to Donuts: Leanne Waldal returns](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-leanne-waldal-returns/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts I catch up with Leanne Waldal, five years after she first appeared on the podcast. She's now a Principal in User Experience at ADP. A couple of years ago, I realized I know things. We all know things, but sometimes we go through life thinking there's always something - [Dollars to Donuts: Reggie Murphy of Zendesk (part 1)](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-reggie-murphy-of-zendesk-part-1/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features part 1 of my two-part conversation with Reggie Murphy of Zendesk. We talk about aligning the work of the research team with stakeholder OKRs and empowering non-researchers to do user research. The researcher would go into these meetings and say we're going to do a "I Wish I - [Dollars to Donuts: Reggie Murphy of Zendesk (part 2)](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-reggie-murphy-of-zendesk-part-2/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features part 2 of my two-part conversation with Reggie Murphy of Zendesk. We talk about psychological safety at work, Reggie's career journey, and online career resources for UX researchers. That helps the team be better researchers when they feel like they have a space where, man, I don't have - [Dollars to Donuts: Daniel Escher of Remitly](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-daniel-escher-of-remitly/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts I speak with Daniel Escher, Director of UX and Research at Remitly. We talk about more ways for researchers to add value, business questions over research questions, and the things that researchers worry about. Where I think collective identity can be limiting is when someone thinks of themselves - [Dollars to Donuts: Akshay Verma of Duolingo](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-akshay-verma-of-duolingo/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features my interview with Akshay Verma, the head of User Research at Duolingo. We talk about being qualitative focused in an experimentation-driven organization, research team structures, team rituals, and sharing knowledge between researchers. I don't actually want to bemoan or belabor this concept of a room that we're invited - [Dollars to Donuts: Jamika Burge of Capital One](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-jamika-burge-of-capital-one/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts I speak with Jamika Burge, the head of research for Data and AI at Capital One. We talk about her journey through academia, discovering user research, and intersectionality. Doing good – for me, as a researcher, and as someone who wants to do good in the world, it - [Dollars to Donuts: Sarah Gregory of Coinbase](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-sarah-gregory-of-coinbase/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features my conversation with Sarah Gregory, Director of User Research for Consumer at Coinbase. We talk about research comms, archiving user research, and doing research that no one is yet asking for. Our email is designed for one very specific leadership stakeholder, and it is tailored to how that - [Listen to Steve on the Making Things That Matter podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-making-things-that-matter-podcast/) - Thanks to Andrew Skotzko for a fun conversation on the Making Things That Matter podcast where we talked about improving your user research process. Our 75-minute conversation is on the episode page, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. You can find a transcript on this page. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S80FItxlL5c Steve Portigal is a veteran user research leader and - [Save 20% on Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries](https://portigal.com/save-20-on-doorbells-danger-and-dead-batteries/) - Save 20% on my book Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries through the Rosenfeld Media summer sale, through July 15. This book of stories from other researchers examines the bizarre, comic, tragic, and generally astonishing experiences that researchers have out in the field. Portigal’s collection of war stories illuminates the discipline and improvisation endemic to researching - [Check out Steve on the Happy Market Research podcast](https://portigal.com/check-out-steve-on-the-happy-market-research-podcast/) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yj7K9aAR8E Excerpt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCyrxx653Zk https://media.blubrry.com/happymr/s/content.blubrry.com/happymr/UPDATED-Steve_Portigal-Completed_Ep_2.mp3 I had a great conversation with Jamin Brazil for the Happy Market Research podcast recently. The audio and video are embedded above, and available on YouTube, or on the episode page. - [Can anyone interview users?](https://portigal.com/can-anyone-interview-users/) - Can anyone interview users? Should anyone interview users? Here's my short take on this classic question! In this video, I share my perspective. What do you think? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UQucEt4DH0 Interviewing Users, 2nd edition available here. - [Emerging applications for user research?](https://portigal.com/emerging-applications-for-user-research/) - What are emerging areas for applying user research that you are excited about? In this video, I share a bit about what's been interesting to me of late. What about you? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucRLenhu_iE Interviewing Users, 2nd edition available here. - [Dollars to Donuts: Tamara Hale of Splunk](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-tamara-hale-of-splunk/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features my conversation with Tamara Hale, the Director of Product Experience - Research & Insights at Splunk. We talk about the long tail of impact, being an anthropologist of work, and having a creative practice. The ‘doing the research’ bit is only about a quarter of your job. The - [Dollars to Donuts: Nancy Frishberg of Financial Engines](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-nancy-frishberg-of-financial-engines/) - My guest today is Nancy Frishberg, the manager of user research at Financial Engines. We discuss recruiting participants in an enterprise setting (where users are customers of your customers), finding the generative in the evaluative and how to think about collaborative workspace as entirely separate from reporting structure. Everybody in the organization should be interested - [Dollars to Donuts: Alex Wright of Etsy](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-alex-wright-of-etsy/) - Today’s guest is Alex Wright, who is the director of research at Etsy. We discuss the partnership between qualitative and quantitative research at Etsy and how his background in journalism helps him with the storytelling aspects of managing the research function. Etsy’s not just in the business of trying to generate maximal profits every quarter. - [Dollars to Donuts: Vanessa Arango Garcia of Delivery Hero](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-vanessa-arango-garcia-of-delivery-hero/) - In this latest episode of Dollars to Donuts, I talk with Vanessa Arango Garcia, Director UX Research & Research Operations at Delivery Hero. We discuss creating an engaged research community across a global organization, being accountable for impact, and how today's challenges provide an opportunity for the research progression to grow. We care a lot - [Dollars to Donuts: Gregg Bernstein of MailChimp](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-gregg-bernstein-of-mailchimp/) - Welcome to the debut episode of Dollars to Donuts. Today's guest is Gregg Bernstein, who manages customer research at MailChimp. We discuss how MailChimp uses research to uncover new product opportunities, how the right research artifacts can best provide value to different internal audiences and how humility is an essential soft skill for successful researchers. - [Check out Steve's AMA with Rally about user research maturity](https://portigal.com/check-out-steves-ama-with-rally-about-user-research-maturity/) - Thanks to Lauren Gibson and the team at Rally for having me on for an Ask Me Anything session about user research maturity. Here's the top takeaways. Rally published a detailed recap here and the recording is here (and embedded below). https://youtu.be/esOWeMbnUCU - [Listen to Steve on the UX podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-ux-podcast-3/) - It was great to chat with Per and James (again -- 2015 is here, 2017 is here) for their legendary UX Podcast (in support of the second edition of Interviewing Users). Our 40-minute conversation is on the episode page (with transcript here) and embedded below. https://media.blubrry.com/uxpodcast/content.blubrry.com/uxpodcast/uxpodcast-s02e18-328-steve-portigal.mp3 Over ten years have passed since the first edition - [Listen to Steve on the UX Podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-ux-podcast-2/) - I was interviewed by James Royal-Lawson and Per Axbom for the UX Podcast. We talked about Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries as well as user research and storytelling in general. Listen on their page or embedded below. https://media.blubrry.com/uxpodcast/content.blubrry.com/uxpodcast/uxpodcast-episode-149-steve-portigal.mp3 - [New episodes of Dollars to Donuts!](https://portigal.com/new-episodes-of-dollars-to-donuts/) - In case you missed it, there are a lot of new episodes of Dollars to Donuts (and more coming)! New guests: Daniel Escher of Remitly Reggie Murphy of Zendesk (part 1, part 2) Celeste Ridlen of Robinhood Mani Pande of Cisco Meraki Vanessa Whatley of Twilio Nizar Saqqar of Snowflake Returning guests: Leanne Waldal Carol - [When User Research Fails to Land](https://portigal.com/when-user-research-fails-to-land/) - Let's talk about what happens when user research fails to land. How do you deal with this? Video embedded below, or here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUb8_nTfEFY Buy the second edition of Interviewing Users! - [New guest essays in the brand new second edition of Interviewing Users](https://portigal.com/new-guest-essays-in-the-brand-new-second-edition-of-interviewing-users/) - What's new in the second edition of Interviewing Users? There's a whole bunch of guest essays (or "sidebars") so you can learn from a range of different experts. Video embedded below (or here). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F06SDfe03N8 Thanks to the sidebar contributors: Kate Towsey, Tamara Hale, Gregg Bernstein, Jorge Arango, Joyce Kakariyil Paul, Monal Chokshi, and Shima Houshyar - [Interviews provoke deeper reflection](https://portigal.com/interviews-provoke-deeper-reflection/) - Being in an in interview is a powerful opportunity to provoke deeper reflection - beyond but not limited to the 'data' - about what it is that you're trying to understand and even change about the world. Here's a short excerpt from my recent appearance on the NN/g podcast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEWjkMwp04Q - [AMA with Steve: What makes a mature research practice?](https://portigal.com/ama-with-steve-what-makes-a-mature-research-practice/) - I'm looking forward to this Ask Me Anything session hosted by Rally, May 30 at 12 pm ET. Register here. - [Check out Steve on the NN/g UX podcast](https://portigal.com/check-out-steve-on-the-nn-g-ux-podcast/) - Thanks to Therese Fessenden having me on the NN/g UX Podcast (in support of launching the second edition of Interviewing Users). Our 45-minute conversation is on YouTube (and embedded below), and Spotify (and embedded below). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWlXNS-3Ct8 https://open.spotify.com/episode/6jagcKc2xxuUkfACV4wD83 Topics/outline What is a User Interview Steve’s Journey Why to Choose User Interviews When to Choose Other Methods - [Steve's Book Signing at Advancing Research 2024](https://portigal.com/steves-book-signing-at-advancing-research-2024/) - I had a fun time signing copies of Interviewing Users, 2nd Edition, and Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries, at the Advancing Research conference last week. - [Listen to Steve's "Tent Talk" with Russ Unger/Chicago Camps](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steves-tent-talk-with-russ-unger-chicago-camps/) - It was wonderful to reconnect with my old friend Russ Unger to give a Tent Talk for his Chicago Camps series. I learned that (obviously, in retrospect) they are tent talks because the whole series of events is a camp! You can check out our 30-minute conversation on the episode page. There you'll find an - [Listen to Steve on Understanding Users: The UX Podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-understanding-users-the-ux-podcast/) - In promoting the second edition of Interviewing Users, I spoke with Mike Green on Understanding Users: The UX Podcast. Go check out one-hour conversation (and a transcript) on the episode page, embedded below, and at Spotify, and Apple. https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/download/ni3q7e/62_Steve_Portigal_0401246fmmp.mp3 Highlights 05:20 - How user research has evolved in the last 10 years and the genesis - [Learn interviewing techniques from Steve in New York in March](https://portigal.com/learn-interviewing-techniques-from-steve-in-new-york-in-march/) - As part of the Advancing Research conference, I'll be teaching a full-day workshop (registration info here) on March 27th. Interviewing is undeniably one of the most valuable and commonly used user research tools. Yet it’s often not used well, because: It’s based on skills we think we have (talking and even listening) It’s not taught - [Steve profiled in User Weekly](https://portigal.com/steve-profiled-in-user-weekly/) - The prolific Jan Ahrend ran a brief profile of me in the "Humans of User Research" section of this week's UserWeekly newsletter. - [Listen to Steve and Lou talk about the evolution of UX Research](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-and-lou-talk-about-the-evolution-of-ux-research/) - In anticipation of the Advancing Research conference (in person, in New York, coming up in March), I spoke with Lou Rosenfeld about: the state of the user research industry – where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re headed. If the field of research was once a lonely desert, today it’s a jungle. It - [Listen to Steve and Jorge talk about their writing processes](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-and-jorge-talk-about-their-writing-processes/) - Late last year I spoke with Jorge Arango on The Informed Life podcast. I've just written the second edition of Interviewing Users, and Jorge has just put out Duly Noted: Extend Your Mind through Connected Notes. We thought it would be helpful to reflect on our different processes for organizing information and book-writing in particular. - [Watch Steve on the Rock n' Roll Research Podcast](https://portigal.com/watch-steve-on-the-rock-n-roll-research-podcast/) - It was a real treat to speak with Matt Valle for the Rock n' Roll Research Podcast. Steve Portigal of Portigal Consulting has been doing User Research since the days our software all came in a box. He has written a seminal book on the topic, “Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights,” recently released - [Join me for the Expert Series event hosted by Michele Ronsen](https://portigal.com/join-me-for-the-expert-series-event-hosted-by-michele-ronsen/) - Please join us on January 10th! The brilliant Michele Ronsen is hosting me for an Expert Series event we're calling Interviewing Users: Evolving Perspectives and Umpteen Paths. We're going to talk about Research’s evolution over the past decade Updates to the second edition of "Interviewing Users" Finding continual inspiration within the user research industry online - [From UX Research Geeks podcast: User research is messy](https://portigal.com/from-ux-research-geeks-podcast-user-research-is-messy/) - An tiny excerpt from my UX Research Geeks podcast interview. User research is gloriously messy! Buy Interviewing Users from Rosenfeld Media. - [Creating those learning-ready moments](https://portigal.com/creating-those-learning-ready-moments/) - Creating those learning-ready moments so that user research can have impact is an ongoing journey in your relationships with the rest of your team. Here's a short excerpt from my conversation with Larry Swanson on his podcast. - [Listen to Steve on the CXChronicles podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-cxchronicles-podcast/) - I had a great time speaking with Adrian Brady-Cesana on the CXChronicles podcast. You can listen to our 40-minute conversation on the episode page, on YouTube, or embedded below, both as local file and via YouTube. https://youtu.be/Ft_AFWsGjSw?si=S6_0XFUzHgv49mMb We talked about: Understanding the core of a user's experience and how its originally designed Investing in user - [Janelle Ward recommends Interviewing Users](https://portigal.com/janelle-ward-recommends-interviewing-users/) - Watch this short clip where Janelle Ward gives an enthusiastic endorsement of the new edition of Interviewing Users. https://youtu.be/PxKG8ssWSss?si=Qs3KHqiMqt1tKavI&t=1549 This is from a conversation between Janelle and Anshul Divakar of GetCurious. Check out their entire interview here. - [Listen to Steve on the One Knight In Product podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-one-knight-in-product-podcast/) - Thanks to Jason Knight for having me on the One Knight In Produc podcast. You can listen to our 45-minute conversation (and see links to podcast services) on the episode page. The audio is also embedded below: https://portigal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/E193-Steve-Portigal.mp3 Episode highlights 1. Some people are still wary of user research, or think they don't need it, - [Bay Area User Research Holiday Party](https://portigal.com/bay-area-user-research-holiday-party/) - Most credit goes to Ned Dwyer and Great Question (but also Tremendous and the Research Ops Community). We're having a holiday party for user researchers and ReOps folks in SF on December 13th (there's also one in NYC that I'm not involved in). Great Question has 20 copies of my book Interviewing Users to give - [About the Author/Doggie Diner](https://portigal.com/about-the-author-doggie-diner/) - Thanks to Alisa Weinstein for taking this great photo of me. I used this for the About the Author page in Interviewing Users online pharmacy purchase inderal no prescription with best prices today in the USA . Also thanks to Kim Goodwin for (earnestly? teasingly? does it matter?) suggesting on Instagram that I use this - [Listen to Steve on the Content Strategy Insights podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-content-strategy-insights-podcast/) - Thanks to Larry Swanson for having me on his Content Strategy Insights podcast. You can listen to our 30-minute conversation (and find the transcript and various links to podcast services) on the episode page. Also, the audio is embedded below https://traffic.libsyn.com/ellessmedia/Steve_Portigal__Interviewing_Users.mp3 The episode is also on YouTube (and embedded below) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4sYIXSEd0c We talked about: my - [Kirkus Reviews on Interviewing Users, second edition](https://portigal.com/kirkus-reviews-on-interviewing-users-second-edition/) - Kirkus Reviews just published a review of Interviewing Users, second edition. [You can purchase the book here]. An extraordinarily thorough and thoughtful introduction to the art of the research interview. Portigal presents a comprehensive guide to conducting and analyzing user research interviews. Conducting a professional interview, the author astutely observes, is not the same as - [New storytelling workshop in partnership with Inzovu](https://portigal.com/new-storytelling-workshop-in-partnership-with-inzovu/) - Over the past while I've been working with Jason Ulaszek of Inzovu to deliver a storytelling workshop to clients. After a number of successful experiences, we're making it more widely available. Check out details at the Inzovu site online pharmacy buy atarax without prescription with best prices today in the USA , highlights below. Storytelling - [Sign up for Steve at Chicago Camps Tent Talks](https://portigal.com/sign-up-for-steve-at-chicago-camps-tent-talks/) - I'll be speaking at Chicago Camps Tent Talks on November 13 at 5 pm CT. It'll be a short, live discussion about Interviewing Users, and it'll be recorded and available online afterwards. Register for the session here buy https://pacchettidental.onhc.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/mobic.html online https://pacchettidental.onhc.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/mobic.html no prescription pharmacy . - [Listen to Steve on The Universal Lens Channel](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-universal-lens-channel/) - Thanks to Chris Kovel for having me on the inaugural episode of his "In Dialogue" series on the Universal Lens Channel. For about 75 minutes, we talked about the state of user research in 2023. The episode is on YouTube but the interview is audio only. The YouTube and audio versions are embedded below, and - [Second edition of Interviewing Users now available for pre-order](https://portigal.com/second-edition-of-interviewing-users-now-available-for-pre-order/) - It's been 10 years since I wrote Interviewing Users, and I'm thrilled to announce the second edition! It comes out October 17th and is available for pre-order, at a 15% discount. In this new and updated edition of the acclaimed classic Interviewing Users, Steve Portigal quickly and effectively dispels the myth that interviewing is trivial. - [Listen to Steve on This is HCD](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-this-is-hcd/) - Pharmacie Marseille Française I had the pleasure of speaking recently with Chirryl-Lee Ryan about user research and more - we got into outcomes versus deliverables, tipping points for the tech industry, and a few other fun areas. The conversation is now live on This is HCD (including a transcript), and embedded below. Chi shared her - [Video from NUX7: The Designer is Present](https://portigal.com/video-from-nux7-the-designer-is-present/) - Last year I gave the closing keynote The Designer is Present at NUX7 in Manchester. The video is here, and embedded below, and the slides are here, and embedded below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApLf47S4Xjg https://www.slideshare.net/steveportigal/steve-portigal-the-designer-is-present - [Watch Steve on "We Can Do Better"](https://portigal.com/watch-steve-on-we-can-do-better/) - I was interviewed by Matthew Oliphant about all things research for "We Can Do Better: A Show About Experience Design". It's a loose and somewhat wide-ranging conversation. Check it out below! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2uSCTcen4c buy female-cialis online https://www.otolaryn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/female-cialis.html no prescription pharmacy - [Check out Steve on the UX Cake podcast](https://portigal.com/check-out-steve-on-the-ux-cake-podcast/) - https://feed.pippa.io/public/streams/5a9354b6a5f5bf0c738a8e31/episodes/5de883c9103a3d6f7409a3b5.mp3 It was great to speak with Leigh Allen-Arredondo for the UX Cake podcast. The audio (32 min) is embedded above, and available on the episode page. - [Steve interviewed for "People of Research"](https://portigal.com/steve-interviewed-for-people-of-research/) - Thanks to Research Loop for interviewing me as part of their People of Research series. The interview is here, and I've reposted it below. Big thanks for accepting the invitation, Steve, a pleasure to have you on #PeopleOfResearch interview series! Let’s start! You have more than 19 years’ of experience, how user research changed and - [Observation and empathy](https://portigal.com/observation-and-empathy/) - Here's another proof point for the power of video in user research. Check out this very simple observational video. If you didn't watch it, it shows person after person stumbling on poorly designed stairs. I don't know about you but I felt increasingly emotional the more I watched this. A bubbling outrage and a sense - [A summary of Interviewing Users, in Portuguese](https://portigal.com/a-summary-of-interviewing-users-in-portuguese/) - Aline Ferreira, a sociologist who is studying UX and UX research, read Interviewing Users and summarized it in Portuguese (Planejamento e boas práticas de entrevista: o que aprendi com “Interviewing Users”, de Steve Portigal or Planning and good interview practices: what I learned from “Interviewing Users”, by Steve Portigal). Com uma linguagem simples e concisa, - [Read How To Talk To Strangers with Steve Portigal](https://portigal.com/read-how-to-talk-to-strangers-with-steve-portigal/) - Jennifer Rash interviewed me for DesignTalk, her blog. I pulled out one part of our exchange, but there's more and you should read the whole thing (it's pretty short!): What is your approach for discussing sensitive topics? I can think of plenty of times where participants opened the door to an off-topic sensitive area (say, - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-369/) - Visualizing sugar content - A brilliantly simple/simply brilliant idea: photographs of food items along with a stack of sugar cubes representing the volume of sugar those items contain. Packaged food is certainly one of the least transparent product categories and this is very enlightening. - [Bob Dylan : Q&A](https://portigal.com/rollingstonecom-bob-dylan-qa-bob-dylan-news/) - I loved this Rolling Stone interview with Dylan This is how I see it: You fly to Italy, hang out with beautiful women, make a little scratch and next thing you're in a Victoria's Secret commercial. Yeah. Was I not supposed to do that? online pharmacy bimatoprost for sale with best prices today in the - [Watch Steve speak about Boosting User Research Impact](https://portigal.com/watch-steve-speak-about-boosting-user-research-impact/) - I recently spoke about Boosting User Impact to the Product Makers community. The 47-minute video is embedded below, and on YouTube here. https://youtu.be/TVtvUPFSK50?t=46 Steve joined us to talk about how organizations can operate user research programs with greater maturity, engaging stakeholders to maximize influence and impact. Event summary here online pharmacy http://solidgroundpsychotherapy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/zovirax.html with best prices - [Superficial, stereotyped user research bullshit.](https://portigal.com/superficial-stereotyped-user-research-bullshit/) - If you're at all online, you probably have seen the reactions to SyntheticUsers. I have enjoyed the snark and outrage about this ridiculous ‘service’ but we really benefit from Niloufar Salehi actually trying it and reporting back so the outrage can be founded in the facts. Ironically, this is something that SyntheticUsers doesn’t actually do - [Steve teaching User Research workshop at Mind The Product SF](https://portigal.com/steve-teaching-user-research-workshop-at-mind-the-product-sf/) - Coming up June 14 in San Francisco, I'll be running my first public user research training in several years. Thanks to Mind the Product for hosting me for this day-long session. Register here. - [Introverted Observers](https://portigal.com/introverted-observers/) - We've had a lot of good posts - and comments - as of late about extroversion, introversion, talking to strangers, comfort zones, and so on. This brought to mind a story from a visit to New York a while back. In Let's Embrace Open-Mindedness I tell two stories from my personal life (e.g., not when - [Portigal Consulting year in review, 2009](https://portigal.com/our-year-in-review-2009/) - It's been a busy year and as we head into the home stretch, looking forward to 2010 (supposedly the year we make contact), we wanted to take a look back at the past 12 months and call out some of the highlights. Our blog, All This ChittahChattah, turned 8 We conducted our own study (Reading - [Challenge: Keep our minds open](https://portigal.com/challenge-keep-our-minds-open/) - Johnny Holland has published my latest article, Let's Embrace Open-Mindedness. A few months earlier, however, I gazed at the edge of my comfort zone and decided not to cross: walking through Santa Monica we came upon the Independent Spirit Awards ceremony. Crowds of people were gathered, waiting for a glimpse of the stars. We found - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-262/) - How does insight work? Kottke posts about a New Yorker piece that aligns nicely with our recent column, Ever Notice, at AIGA Gain online pharmacy buy singulair no prescription online pharmacy - [London Bananas](https://portigal.com/london-bananas/) - In our recent AIGA Gain article about noticing, we relate how the process of noticing once and then noticing again is a way to find patterns and uncover themes. During my recent trip to the UK, I took this picture of a discarded banana peel. I didn't notice other bananas, but someone else did and - [Facilitation and exercises for creativity and presence](https://portigal.com/facilitation-and-exercises-for-creativity-and-presence/) - I run different types of workshops with clients and at events and have built up a number of different activities that invite the participants to have a novel moment and then reflect on it to reveal something potentially profound. I've written my current favorites, but welcome suggestions, additions, requests for clarification, and so on. 1. - [DRC08 Workshop: Tapping into super-noticing power](https://portigal.com/drc08-workshop-tapping-into-super-noticing-power/) - Last weekend was my workshop ("Did you see that? Tapping into your super-noticing power") at the Institute of Design's Design Research Conference. Most of the folks in the workshop completed a homework assignment where they went out and took photos of something they noticed (similar to the assignment I had given to the students I - [Dan and Steve's "Ever Notice?" published at AIGA Gain](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-259/) - Ever Notice? A dialogue between Steve Portigal and Dan Soltzberg at Gain: AIGA Journal of Business and Design - The importance of being aware and the advantages of tapping into your "super-noticing power" in practicing design and specifically in user research. online pharmacy buy norvasc no prescription - [Notice Your Way To Happiness](https://portigal.com/notice-your-way-to-happiness/) - Foresight's Mental Capital and Wellbeing report has identified behaviors that can make people feel better about themselves. 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I offered my high-level take on the history of user research, especially in tech. Phase 1 - Research Consultants (aka the Caveman era): The first cohort of User Researchers in - [Watch Steve present Stop Solving Problems! at CEDIM](https://portigal.com/watch-steve-present-stop-solving-problems-at-cedim/) - I recently presented Stop Solving Problems! as part of the CEDIM Innovation Talk series. The 40 minute video is embedded below, and on YouTube here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy71eLAfVck The old maxim says we should “Find a need and fill it;” while at a one level that is certainly true, even in this era of fetishized disruption, organizations - [Steve to lead "Interviewing Users" workshop 9/28 in Seattle](https://portigal.com/steve-to-lead-interviewing-users-workshop-928-in-seattle/) - As part of the Rosenfeld Media UX Workshops Fall 2011 Tour, I'll be leading a full-day workshop - Interviewing Users: Spinning Data into Gold. You can choose up to 3 workshops, including ones from Lou Rosenfeld and Steve Krug. Early registration (with a decent discount) ends September 9. Bonus: the event will held at the - [Watch Steve on Good Morning UX](https://portigal.com/watch-steve-on-good-morning-ux/) - Thanks to Rafael Burity and Rodrigo Lemes for having me as a guest on Good Morning UX. The one-hour episode is embedded below and can also be found on the episode home page and YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U37eDHiz1Lg We usually have this life training to ask questions, but it doesn’t make us researchers, to be honest. Especially - [Listen to Steve on The Informed Life](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-informed-life/) - Thanks to Jorge Arango for a great conversation on The Informed Life podcast. The half-hour episode is embedded below, available at the podcast site, and wherever you get yer podcasts. 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Some research from 2012 (The Bias Against Creativity: Why People Desire but Reject Creative Ideas) delves into that further. “Prior research shows that - [Roll Over Beethoven](https://portigal.com/roll-over-beethoven/) - Roll Over Beethoven is a collection of classical music for pets and the people who love them. This compact disc of classical music includes selections to inspire pets, as well as ones that truly were inspired by a composer's love for a pet. "Initially, it may sound a little unconventional, but a lot of thought - [Wiki Talk](https://portigal.com/wiki-talk/) - This Talk page from the Muppet Wiki Pharmacy-Montreal.com is more compelling for its detailed banality (and hey, that's what the Internet is amazing for, isn't it?) than the Snuffleupagus page they are debating. Excerpt from the much longer entry: Can Snuffy sometimes still go invisiable? 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The video is now online. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZD6763s4R0 We went for about 75 minutes and talked about learning to balance all different pressures when leading an interview, encouraging teams to support the need for research, helping teams to act on user research - [What you asked/What they heard](https://portigal.com/what-you-asked-what-they-heard/) - In this video from 2016, basketball player Taurean Prince, in a post-game press conference, responds to a question about the team's rebound performance with an explanation of how rebounds work. I can't tell from this clip if there's an actual miscommunication or if Prince is being intentional, and for my purposes here, I don't suppose - [How Garfield Helped Me Make Peace With a Culture in Decline](https://portigal.com/how-garfield-helped-me-make-peace-with-a-culture-in-decline/) - https://twitter.com/RandomizedGarf/status/1341518927902478340 https://twitter.com/GarfieldPipe/status/1356588183392301057 I really enjoyed this thoughtful (and gentle) analysis (NYT, Archive.is) of Garfield, brands, culture, consistency, and nostalgia. Despite the proliferation of arch/snark Garfield remixes, the author considers them authentically. 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We discuss the complexities of doing user research in a B2B context, the challenges - [Frederick Wiseman on observing natural behavior](https://portigal.com/frederick-wiseman-on-observing-natural-behavior/) - This wonderful profile of documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman confirms my own experience with this frequently-asked-question about user research. "There’s a whole issue as to whether the camera changes behavior — the pretentious way of talking about it is, ‘Does the Heisenberg principle apply to documentary filmmaking?’ — but in my experience, 99.9 percent of the - [The "Runnin' With The Devil" UI](https://portigal.com/the-runnin-with-the-devil-ui/) - The Diamond Dave soundboard (updated link) is getting a lot of heat in the blogosphere lately. Taken from a recently unearthed isolated vocal track of David Lee Roth singing "Runnin' With the Devil" in the studio, this website provides clickable buttons that trigger various DLR vocal stylings. If you listen to morning radio (and hey, - [Master of the Flying Guillotine](https://portigal.com/79570563/) - I saw Master of the Flying Guillotine over the weekend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmdP1qTjGZY The trailer, sadly, doesn't convey just how much of a B movie this thing is. Hilarious. Apotheke Vienna Austria - [How William Gibson keeps an eye out for possible futures](https://portigal.com/how-william-gibson-keeps-an-eye-out-for-possible-futures/) - From an interview with William Gibson last year for the Mother Jones podcast. You’ve always had an uncanny ability to write about technology that doesn’t exist or certainly isn’t widely known, but that then comes to the fore. 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I've been giving a talk over the past few months about the stories and what I've learned from - [The Insight at Scale track from Enterprise UX](https://portigal.com/the-insight-at-scale-track-from-from-enterprise-ux/) - A couple of months ago I moderated the "Insight at Scale" track at the Enterprise UX conference, which featured three presentations and discussion. The videos for each presentation (and our discussion) are linked to below as well as links to the slide decks. There's also sketch notes for the whole session. Video Insight Types That - [Listen to Steve on Yours Productly, on the Art of Interviewing Users](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-yours-productly-on-the-art-of-interviewing-users/) - I was a guest on the Yours Productly online pharmacy https://integratehealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/estrace.html no prescription podcast, in an episode generously titled The Art of Interviewing Users. 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I remember that we did this project - [Lee the Puppet teaches you about body language over video conference](https://portigal.com/lee-the-puppet-teaches-you-about-body-language-over-video-conference/) - User researchers are continuing to experiment with and be challenged by remote research, especially around rapport and building empathy. For help, check out this charming 9-minute video from puppeteer and sci-fi author Mary Robinette Kowal about body language and communicating meaning and intent between people over video conferencing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc-m95HRYXM&feature=emb_logo - [Today we are ten](https://portigal.com/today-we-are-ten/) - Ten years of All This ChittahChattah! https://youtu.be/1wxHeWaXa_I How many is ten? Some of the earliest posts dealt with Engrish, home electronics purchasing, epic FAIL with Fidelity, epic FAIL with Monster.com, and dark patterns from Comet Cursor. - [Congrats to IxD13 Student Design Challenge winners](https://portigal.com/congrats-to-ixd13-student-design-challenge-winners/) - Congrats to the five winners of the first phase of the IxD13 Student Design Challenge who will be joining us in Toronto in January! Special thanks to our wonderful slate of judges who helped us get to this point. James McIntyre, Malmo Hogskola https://youtu.be/Dzf90LGC59c Mani Hariharan, National Institute of Design, India http://player.vimeo.com/video/54699417 Ari Zilnik, Carnegie - [Big Content/Big Data Quickies](https://portigal.com/big-content-big-data-quickies/) - My interactions article Content, The Once And Future King has just come out. Here are some other examples, articles, resources, and so on that build on the topics of Big Content and Big Data that I explored. 99 Problems (Explicit Political Remix) [YouTube] - Jay-Z's 99 Problems "covered" by Barack Obama. Astonishing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C22wBf2h5k Look to - [Check out my articles on "Great User Research For Non-Researchers"](https://portigal.com/check-out-my-articles-on-great-user-research-for-non-researchers/) - I was honored to be invited to be part of User Research Explained - A Charity Collection Of Essays For Pandemic Relief (To Benefit Doctors Without Borders). My contribution is Great Research For Non-Researchers, presented in three parts Planning Research Doing Research Acting on Research The demand for User Research exceeds the supply of researchers. - [How to Grow and Thrive as A User Researcher](https://portigal.com/how-to-grow-and-thrive-as-a-user-researcher/) - buy imuran online https://ewam.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/58.html no prescription Check out an interview with me in How to Grow and Thrive as A User Researcher on the Adobe blog. An excerpt is below What are the benefits of sharing career failures and mishaps rather than just successes? We need to share both! Thinking about the field of user - [Steve in conversation with What Users Do](https://portigal.com/steve-in-conversation-with-what-users-do/) - What Users Do has published our conversation about user research and war stories. Below is a tiny excerpt but please read the whole thing here. Your book ‘Doorbells, Danger and Dead Batteries’ is a collection of war stories from the world of user research, collected from real life researchers. Are there common themes between the - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-590/) - [from julienorvaisas] David Brooks Defends the Humanities [NYTimes.com] - "Let me stand up for the history, English and art classes, even in the face of today’s economic realities. Studying the humanities improves your ability to read and write. No matter what you do in life, you will have a huge advantage if you can read - [Listen to Steve on the Why UX? Podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-why-ux-podcast/) - http://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/forcedn/whyux/30Steve_Portigal.mp3 Thanks to Helena Levison ("Queen of UX") for having me on the Why UX? podcast to talk about Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries. The audio (28 min) is embedded above, and available on the episode page. This was a particularly exciting conversation for me because over the past while Helena has been hosting a - [Steve contributed to "Remote User Research: 12 Tips from Experts"](https://portigal.com/steve-contributed-to-remote-user-research-12-tips-from-experts/) - There's a really good range of ideas and best practices in Remote User Research: 12 Tips from Experts. Mine is below 2. Set expectations for your participants If you’re carrying out remote research via video conferencing tools, it’s always a good idea to set expectations before the interview. “It’s likely that a remote user research - [Video of my Mind The Product AMA](https://portigal.com/video-of-my-mind-the-product-ama/) - I recently did a small Ask Me Anything session organized by Mind the Product. The video is now online. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh9NHzXZW8k It runs about an hour and includes discussion about balancing quantitative and qualitative research in an organization that leans heavily towards one or the other, doing research when you have an exceptionally small user population, - [Read the recap of my Rosenfeld Media AMA](https://portigal.com/rosenfeld-media-ama/) - I recently did an "Ask Me Anything" session on the Rosenfeld Media Slack. We touched on subjects ranging from how to handle difficult clients, my favorite band, and recommended reading, to dealing with “heavy topics” in interviews and how to improve your skills. Here's a recap of the session... Q: What book except your own - [5 minute video on Asking User Research Questions](https://portigal.com/5-minute-video-on-asking-user-research-questions/) - Here's my sub-5-minute video on Asking User Research Questions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK5RJMeZqkQ& - [Read an interview with Steve in QRCA Views magazine](https://portigal.com/read-an-interview-with-steve-in-qrca-views-magazine/) - I was interviewed recently by Kay Corry Aubrey for QRCA Views magazine. The interview has been published online and in print (PDF). Take a look! - [Check out Steve on the Design Thinking 101 podcast](https://portigal.com/check-out-steve-on-the-design-thinking-101-podcast/) - https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/designthinking101/DT101_048.mp3 I really enjoyed my conversation with Dawan Stanford for his Design Thinking 101 podcast. The audio (57 min) is embedded above, and available on the episode page. 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The video is now available and is embedded below. https://youtu.be/x-_1r5uKqlA?t=9 Note: this talk is a slight evolution of those from Mind the Product and Awwwards earlier this year. - [My talk "Great User Research (for Non-Researchers)" at Mind the Product](https://portigal.com/my-talk-great-user-research-for-non-researchers-at-mind-the-product/) - I recently spoke in front of a 1500+ person audience at Mind the Product. My 25-minute talk was Great User Research (for Non-Researchers). The video is embedded below and is available here. Also below is the write-up by Emily Tate (originally posted here) and some audience sketchnotes. https://vimeo.com/353212701 Researchers often have concerns about what will - [Jaimes and Aico's War Story: Sumimasen!](https://portigal.com/jaimes-and-aicos-war-story-sumimasen/) - Jaimes Nel of Connected Futures collaborated with Aico Shimuzu to tell this story about their rapid research in post-quake Japan. Research often feels like a process of managing confusion and uncertainty until we find conceptual tools to understand a situation. Failure (and subsequent redemption) are, after all, a well-worn trope in ethnography. The journey from - [Highlights from my Ask Me Anything with What Users Do](https://portigal.com/highlights-from-my-ask-me-anything-with-what-users-do/) - I did an Ask Ask Me Anything with What Users Do recently. Here's the recap they put together. Any tips for interviewing users who work with highly confidential information? Any strategies for incentivising such an audience to be open about which problems they struggle with and how they use our software, when almost everything they - [Cordy's War Story: A Crisis of Credibility](https://portigal.com/cordys-war-story-a-crisis-of-credibility/) - Cordy Swope (Twitter) describes himself as either a Design Researcher with Grey Hair or a design researcher with grey hair. IDEO. NYC. Early 2010. I had been summoned from Europe to lead a project about the future of education in the US. At IDEO, there is a well-established a code of ethics for site visits. - [Ilona's War Story: First Stop the Bleeding!](https://portigal.com/ilonas-war-story-first-stop-the-bleeding/) - Ilona Posner is a User Experience and Usability consultant with more than 25 years of experience. In this story, she is challenged in different ways to leave her participants in relatively good shape. Around the year 2000, homes with internet service were rare. AOL was plastering the planet with CDs that promised free internet. Modems - [Jon's War Story: Of Speed and Strip Clubs](https://portigal.com/jons-war-story-of-speed-and-strip-clubs/) - Jon McNeill is the Principal of Hunter. Relatively early in my career, as I began stepping out and leading studies on my own, I was in Miami Beach doing ethnographic interviews with participatory “drive-alongs” for a luxury car brand. It was the last day in town, and I, with client in tow, had three 3-hour - [Designing the Problem, my keynote from ISA14 (now with video)](https://portigal.com/designing-the-problem-my-keynote-from-isa14-now-with-video/) - I gave a (remote) presentation, Designing the Problem, at Interaction South America a few weeks ago. Too often we assume that doing research with users means checking in with them to get feedback on the solution we've already outlined. But the biggest value from research is in uncovering the crucial details of the problem that - [Steve speaking locally, about improv, design, and creativity](https://portigal.com/steve-speaking-locally-about-improv-design-and-creativity/) - I am frequently asked when I'm doing a public talk in the SF Bay Area, and now I can answer: next week! I'm giving my popular talk Yes, My Iguana Loves to Cha-Cha in Cupertino on Wednesday, June 20th, at 6:30. This talk, about improv, creativity, and design, is something I've revisited and revised for - [Listen to Steve on the Aurelius podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-aurelius-podcast/) - I had a great chat with Zack Naylor about user research for the Aurelius podcast. We talked about Why you should be doing [more] user research How to convince your stakeholders that user research is important 3 approaches to building brilliant products and features (and which one is best) Convincing your stakeholders and leaders to - [Join my 'Fundamentals of Interviewing Users' workshop in NYC](https://portigal.com/join-my-fundamentals-of-interviewing-users-workshop-in-nyc/) - I'm teaching a full-day workshop on Fundamentals of Interviewing Users in New York City on May 20. Indi Young is teaching a workshop the next day. You can register for one or the other or both. It's part of a series of workshops that also includes Dave Malouf, Kate Rutter, Nathan Curtis, Steve Krug. Spread - [Steve speaking at User Experience Hong Kong](https://portigal.com/steve-speaking-at-user-experience-hong-kong/) - online pharmacy purchase champix online no prescription I'm thrilled to be invited to speak at the first User Experience Hong Kong, taking place next February. Organized by my good friends at Apogee, the event also features a number of super smart (and super nice!) folks: Steve Baty, Janna DeVylder, Rachel Hinman, and Gerry Gaffney. I'll - [Steve Portigal on Reusable Research, Interview War Stories, and Letting Go of Implicit Beliefs](https://portigal.com/steve-portigal-on-reusable-research-interview-war-stories-and-letting-go-of-implicit-beliefs/) - online pharmacy wegovy online with best prices today in the USA I did a brief Q&A with Bloomfire. The original is here and I've reposted it below. As just about any market research professional would be quick to tell you, their job isn’t just about conducting research: it’s about disseminating what they learn to the - [Video from Awwwards: Great User Research For Non-Researchers](https://portigal.com/video-from-awwwards-great-user-research-for-non-researchers/) - In the spring I spoke at the Awwwards conference in San Francisco. I gave a new talk "Great User Research For Non-Researchers." The 25-minute video is here, and embedded below. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wkhjyytsl8E - [If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice](https://portigal.com/if-you-choose-not-to-decide-you-still-have-made-a-choice/) - Heaven's Dog online pharmacy https://aha-clinical-review.ascendeventmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/abilify.html with best prices today in the USA is a new restaurant in San Francisco. Their menu features a Freedom From Choice cocktail: An interesting comment on modern life: that choice (of a "reward") is something we might consider outsourcing, even to an expert. Often freedom from choice would be a - [Lowrider: Take a little trip and see](https://portigal.com/lowrider-take-a-little-trip-and-see/) - Image from documentary film South American Cholo The New York Times, in Lowrider Culture Spreads to Brazil and Beyond, offers up yet another astounding example of globalization meets enthusiast-culture. The spread of this seemingly distant subculture, with Brazilian followers calling themselves "cholos" and cruising around in their low-and-slow automobiles, is raising eyebrows here in South - [Don't put your garbage here! Please!](https://portigal.com/dont-put-your-garbage-here-please/) - buy metformin online https://www.rrvbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/33.html no prescription pharmacy I encountered this box recently at my local medical office. It's a squat white bin with a wide black opening near the top. It looks a lot like a trash bin. Obviously I'm not the only person that reacted that way, because they've tried desperately and ineffectively (with - [Check out Steve on the "Nie tylko design" podcast](https://portigal.com/check-out-steve-on-the-nie-tylko-design-podcast/) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J72vMOir650 http://media.blubrry.com/nietylkodesign/s/traffic.libsyn.com/nietylkodesign/NTD025-Interview-with-Steve-Portigal.mp3 While I was in Poland last year I was interviewed by Tomasz Skórski about the state of UX and user research. The audio and video from our conversation is embedded above, available on YouTube here, or on the episode page. - [Steve interviewed by dscout for People Nerds](https://portigal.com/steve-interviewed-by-dscout-for-people-nerds/) - I was interviewed by dscout for their People Nerds blog. Check out Finding the 'Aha!' Moment Farmacia Rome Italia ! Expert user researcher Steve Portigal breaks down why thinking about bias and mistakes is the key to joyful discovery. Steve Portigal says being a researcher allows him to do things he would never do as - [Slides/audio from UX Australia: Stop Solving Problems!](https://portigal.com/slides-audio-from-ux-australia-stop-solving-problems/) - I recently presented Stop Solving Problems! at UX Australia. The slides are here, and embedded below, and the audio is here, and embedded below. https://www.slideshare.net/steveportigal/stop-solving-problems via @SketchGr via @fable_us via @jakecausby via @MikaelaLDesign via @g_hoges - [Dollars to Donuts is back, baby!](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-is-back-baby/) - online pharmacy purchase buspar online no prescription In case you missed it, Dollars to Donuts, the podcast where I talk to people who lead user research in their organizations, is back with new episodes! So far, I've spoken with Leanne Waldal, Marianne Berkovich, and Tomer Sharon. And there are more to come! Check out the - [Dollars to Donuts is back!](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-is-back/) - Big news! The Dollars to Donuts podcast is back. Check out my brand new episode, a fascinating conversation with Leanne Waldal, Senior Director of Product Research at New Relic. If you don't know, in this podcast I talk to people who lead user research in their organization. You can get Dollars to Donuts in a - [Design Research class - student blogs and flickr accounts](https://portigal.com/design-research-class-student-blogs-and-flickr-accounts/) - Like before, we've asked students in our Design Research class to regularly blog or post pictures to flickr as a way to exercise their noticing skills, as well as having a chance to tell stories to each other. You can check out their efforts - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-141/) - I am actually doing okay after a week with Google's Gmail and Calendar, and Evernote. I've dipped my toe in cleaning up more than a decade of digital detritus but that is a long road. It's a shortened week here as I host visiting family and take a long weekend. This week I'll be chatting - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-143/) - We've decided to consolidate our office space and so I'll be spending time in the next few weeks going through the accumulated tech gear, paperwork, books, furniture and office supplies, getting rid of what we don't need any more and moving stuff around to create a more streamlined and comfortable workspace. It's overwhelming but necessary. - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-148/) - It may be the time of year, but it sure feels like a busy Monday, right out the gate. So many phone calls and planning meetings to try to get scheduled. I've been enjoying my collaboration with a new team in downtown San Francisco, as we help assemble a point of view about design directions - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-149/) - Over the weekend we tried to make some sense out of the office space chaos, figuring out what the new layout will be and what furniture we need to get rid of. There's a long way to go but there's definitely a sense of progress. I'm working with a client to do a bit of - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-153/) - It's a holiday today (MLK day) for some folks in the US. But we're working today. Last week on Dollars to Donuts, my new podcast with people who lead user research in their organization, I had a great conversation with Alex Wright of Etsy. Another episode drops on Wednesday; you can find them all on - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-154/) - I'm here today, giving a talk about The Power of Bad Ideas for the UX students at General Assembly. Then (Juno permitting) I'm off to New York, to attend the NASDAQ Pro/Design conference. On Wednesday, I'm doing a casual meetup in Brooklyn if you want to come and say "hi." Last week on Dollars to - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-155/) - I had an epic week in New York City last week: happy hour with the Brooklyn UX folks, lunch at Etsy, a visit to General Assembly, the NASDAQ ProDesign conference, hanging out at the SVA Products of Design studio and a few meals with friends. But I'm glad to be back in the warmer climes - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-156/) - I'm staying up in San Francisco for the next few days. It's the Interaction 15 conference and in addition to my workshop on soft skills today, there's a ton of interesting talks and a plethora of people to catch up with. I'm speaking about Beating the Blank Page at The Design Writing Summit this Thursday. - [An update on 100 doodles in 100 days](https://portigal.com/an-update-on-100-doodles-in-100-days/) - Since the beginning of the year, I've been working on 100 doodles in 100 days. I'll probably wait for the project to complete before I reflect in more detail but I thought for the last half I'd do a few posts to share the output. Here are the 50s. online pharmacy https://goodsamgwinnett.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/73.html no prescription - [More of 100 doodles in 100 days](https://portigal.com/more-of-100-doodles-in-100-days/) - Since the beginning of the year, I've been working on 100 doodles in 100 days. Here are the 60s. Apotheke Frankfurt DE - [Even more 100 doodles](https://portigal.com/even-more-100-doodles/) - Since the beginning of the year, I've been working on 100 doodles in 100 days. Here are the 70s. Also see the 60s and the 50s. - [Yet Even More 100 Doodles](https://portigal.com/yet-even-more-100-doodles/) - I've been doing 100 doodles in 100 days since 2015 started. Here are the 80s. Also see the 70s, the 60s and the 50s. online pharmacy order fildena without prescription with best prices today in the USA - [The Last of The Doodles](https://portigal.com/the-last-of-the-doodles/) - Today I wrapped up 100 doodles in 100 days. Stay tuned for some reflections on the experience. Below is the last set. Also see the 80s, the 70s, the 60s and the 50s. - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-171/) - It's a holiday Monday! For most in the US, anyway. Me, I'm back on a plane again. Today I'm flying to Boston, returning to the client from a few weeks back. Over the next couple of days we'll be sharing our initial themes about their different users, and running a workshop with different parts of - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-134/) - I'm sitting in the airport lounge, waiting for my flight from Sydney back to San Francisco. It's Tuesday here, and a holiday Monday in the US. I left my AirBnB in Hobart at 4:00 am to get a flight to Melbourne and then to Sydney. I'll be spending a good couple of days just trying - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-173/) - Howdy to a sunny Monday to begin the week. I'm back to Boston on Wednesday for one last quick trip. We're running a day of brainstorming workshops with our client, helping them to think divergently about the different products and services they could create to support their users better. We're all very excited about it. - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-174/) - Well, a good day to all! I'm in town this week but traveling to Las Vegas next week to kick off a project, one of several that has been languishing in pre-planning for a long time. I think everyone's excited to finally start the work together. I've been getting a tremendous response from my new - [Out and About: Steve in New Zealand](https://portigal.com/out-and-about-steve-in-new-zealand/) - We traveled to New Zealand to give a workshop and a talk at UX New Zealand. We had some time to explore after the conference; here are just some of the pictures (the whole set is here). Six Barrel Soda One of my favorite sheep. Geothermal wonders. The ice cream loves ice cream, or so - [ABC Stores - a photoset on Flickr](https://portigal.com/abc-stores-a-photoset-on-flickr/) - I was in Honolulu in December and took pictures of as many of the ABC stores as I could find, and have put then up in ABC Stores - a photoset on Flickr. It's not exhaustive, but it's fun to see a whole bunch, anyway. online pharmacy topamax buy with best prices today in the - [Blog/flickr project for class](https://portigal.com/blogflickr-project-for-class/) - For my class in Design Research Methods at CCA, I've asked the students to start either blogging or adding pictures to flickr. They are ideally doing this regularly, at least weekly, but I think it's taking some time to ramp up. I've asked them to think like design researchers and use this as a way - [Bangkok Pics posted to flickr](https://portigal.com/bangkok-pics-posted-to-flickr/) - I've finished uploading more than 200285 photos from Bangkok to flickr. Check 'em all out, but here are a few samples It's butter Ronald does the wai Crockery Flower Detail: Shrine at a shrine at a temple Working Boat Thai Coke Reserved for monks Monk awaits Soi Cowboy Big Bowling Pin Reindeer pair - [India pics posted to flickr](https://portigal.com/india-pics-posted-to-flickr/) - I have completed the mammoth task of editing and posting all my Asia pictures to flickr, with the completion today of the set from India (Mumbai and Bangalore). Previously: Bangkok and Hong Kong. All told, about 650 pictures. Whew. I've written two long pieces (and many smaller pieces on this blog) about our trip. An - [Listen to Steve on Tech for Good Live](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-tech-for-good-live/) - While I was in Manchester last year I had a very enjoyable and friendly conversation with Bex and Jonny, the hosts of Tech for Good Live. We talked about the role of the user researcher, the increasingly blurry line between design and research, design ethics, and my favorite stories from user researchers out in the - [Good thoughts about Design 2.0](https://portigal.com/good-thoughts-about-design-20/) - Although I often take the role of curmudgeon, it was a pleasant surprise at Overlap Lekharna Prague ?eská to see others taking that role. That said, I sometimes can be negative about those who are cheerleaders. One notable exception is when they are cheering for me, as in this post from Business Week's Bruce Nussbaum, - [Design2.0 podcasts](https://portigal.com/design20-podcasts/) - Core77 has put up podcasts ofJune's Design 2.0 event, including my presentation (21M mp3 link here) below - [Design 2.0](https://portigal.com/design-20/) - The Core77/BusinessWeek Design 2.0 event was almost 2 weeks ago. It was a fantastic experience, good networking, different presentations, good conversation. Some links the set crashing during my talk (and Niti's take on it) PeterMe's writeup LukeW's writeup here and here Nick Baum's detailed notes here The view from the stage A ton of pictures - [Design2.0 - Discussions on Design Strategy and Innovation](https://portigal.com/design20-discussions-on-design-strategy-and-innovation-presented-by-core77/) - Just announced! I will be one of the panelists at Design2.0 - San Francisco. The theme of the event is Products and their Ecosystems: Understanding the power of context in product innovation Moderated by Jesse Scanlon of BusinessWeek and in addition to myself, the speakers are: Diego Rodriguez - IDEO, MetaCool Peter Rojas - Engadget - [Video for PARC Forum "Ethnography as a Cultural Practice" now available](https://portigal.com/video-for-parc-forum-ethnography-as-a-cultural-practice-now-available/) - The video for my PARC Forum presentation Ethnography as a Cultural Practice has been posted. Unfortunately we can't embed it here, but please check it out here online pharmacy symbicort-inhaler for sale with best prices today in the USA . https://vimeo.com/311347050 - [Tomorrow: Steve Speaking at PARC (and streaming live)](https://portigal.com/tomorrow-steve-speaking-at-parc-and-streaming-live/) - I'll be speaking at PARC tomorrow (Thursday, July 21) on Ethnography as a cultural practice. The talk will be webcast live here. If you can't make it, and don't catch the webcast, they will be be posting the video in a couple of weeks. Update: video is available here. - [Sam Lucente: The Ethnographer](https://portigal.com/sam-lucente-ethnographer/) - Sam Lucente: The Ethnographer is an article in the BusinessWeek IN magazine, a new thing they've launched - with a bit of hype and controversy - to focus specifically on innovation. They've got the usual set of folks no doubt, Claudia Kotchka, IDEO, Marissa Mayer (and if this sounds bitter, it's not since I seem - [Six Feet Under or Over The Shark](https://portigal.com/six-feet-under-or-over-shark/) - What's wrong with Six Feet Under? In May 2001, Tad Friend had a long article in The New Yorker (not that I can find online anywhere) about the impending premiere of this show. Alan Ball talked about all the typical TV-writing tropes and how they would stay away from them. I'm pretty sure he mentioned - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-480/) - Storylistening for consumer insight - There are many ways of collecting stories but here are three that may be new to you: * Anecdote circles * Naive interviewers * Mass narrative capture Collecting stories is not about finding the one perfect story that describes a brand or a consumer experience. Rather it is about gathering - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-92/) - Greetings from Minneapolis! I'm in Minneapolis this week to speak about Interviewing Users: Uncovering Compelling Insights at the MIMA Summit. Looking forward to the local cuisine and of course meeting up with some cool people. We’ve moved the webhost for portigal.com so that will likely impact when this gets posted, and perhaps some other things. - [Out and About: Steve in Minneapolis](https://portigal.com/out-and-about-steve-in-minneapolis/) - I was in Minneapolis earlier this week to speak at the MIMA Summit. I hadn't been in Minneapolis since 1999, so I took a little bit of time to explore - here's some of my photographs. City icons: Charles Schultz hails from Minneapolis, as did Mary Richards. Who needs the Kuik-E-Mark? Create your Turkey Masterpiece! - [The game of life](https://portigal.com/the-game-of-life/) - Better than Sims [agendabeijing.com] - This interview with Kwestr game creator Frank Yu contains a vision for the future, when things like Kwestr will help us connect "online life" with "actual life." Kwestr aims to gamify life to facilitate this. I started up on Kwestr beta to give it a try. It feels a little - [New symbols for new times](https://portigal.com/new-symbols-for-new-times/) - Medical marijuana dispensary, Sausalito, CA, November 2010 online pharmacy purchase estrace online generic I was unable to find out about this symbol's history or affiliation. Green Cross is a common term/symbol for medical pot, but seems tied to various local organizations (including a delivery service in San Francisco), while this specific graphic didn't show up - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-431/) - Summer Reading Programs Gain Momentum for Students About to Enter College - Nationwide, hundreds of colleges and universities, large and small, public and private, assign first-year students a book to read over the summer, hoping to create a sense of community and engage students intellectually. While there are no reliable statistics on summer reading programs, - [Steve interviewed by Tomer Sharon](https://portigal.com/steve-interviewed-by-tomer-sharon/) - I was interviewed by Tomer Sharon (as part of his incredible series of interviews for It's Our Research). Our conversation ranged from about why it's hard for people to do user research, the collaboration between agency and clients, and how to think about organizational and stakeholder challenges as design problems. The 22-minute video is embedded - [Five Questions with Steve Portigal](https://portigal.com/five-questions-with-steve-portigal/) - This Friday I'll be speaking at 18F in DC about The Power of Bad Ideas. The talk will be streamed here. In advance of the talk, I answered a few questions about buy synthroid online synthroid no prescription working with clients and planning research projects. Here's a snippet; more at the 18F site. SP: I'm - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-705-2/) - [from julienorvaisas] Japan's Smokestacks Draw Industrial-Strength Sightseers [WSJ.com] - [This sub-culture is exerting economic influence. I'm looking for the American equivalent.] What started as a fringe subculture known as kojo moe, or "factory infatuation," is beginning to gain wider appeal in Japan, turning industrial zones into unlikely tourist attractions. It's the Japanese equivalent of going - [Building on what isn't there](https://portigal.com/building-on-what-isnt-there/) - Sketch for curved shelf ¬©2007 Dan Soltzberg There's a testament to the power of openness as a spur to creative participation nestled in Scott Brown's piece on early fan fiction in this month's Wired. Brown writes about the works Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's more avid readers created around his Sherlock Holmes novels, and how what - [Connecting07: Connecting The Play of Improv with The Work of Ethnographic Research](https://portigal.com/connecting07-connecting-the-play-of-improv-with-the-work-of-ethnographic-research/) - Here's the presentation from last week's IDSA/ICSID conference. Audio We spent about 1/3 of the time doing improv games (which may be "you had to be there") and about 1/3 in discussion (in which the audio favors me over the audience), but maybe you can skip past some of those parts. - [Slides and audio from UX Process Improved: Integrating User Insight at SXSW](https://portigal.com/slides-and-audio-from-ux-process-improved-integrating-user-insight-at-sxsw/) - At SXSW last month, I presented UX Process Improved: Integrating User Insight with Aviva Rosenstein. I'm posting the slides and audio here. Listen to audio: To download the audio Right-Click and Save As... (Windows) or Ctrl-Click (Mac) - [Skill Building for Design Innovators (from CHIFOO)](https://portigal.com/skill-building-for-design-innovators-from-chifoo/) - At CHIFOO in Portland this week, I presented Skill Building for Design Innovators. How can you broaden your sphere of influence within the field of human-computer interaction? You can start by building your muscles! Steve will take a look at some fundamental skills that underlie the creation and launch of innovative goods and services. He - [Video now available from Steve's talk at Mozilla](https://portigal.com/video-now-available-from-steves-talk-at-mozilla/) - Last week I visited Mozilla's beautiful, dog-friendly offices to talk with their user researchers and designers. They've just posted the video from my presentation of We've done all this research, now what? buy zantac online buy zantac online no prescription online pharmacy buy estrace no prescription . Note that the start is cut off, and - [in memoriam: Steve Sato](https://portigal.com/in-memoriam-steve-sato/) - I was stunned and saddened the other day to learn that Steve Sato had passed away. I had known him as a friend and colleague for many many years. In 2014, Steve contributed a War Story and then got up at my CHIFOO presentation and told his story to the group. It's a lovely story - [Jon's War Story: Beware of Trap Doors](https://portigal.com/jons-war-story-beware-of-trap-doors/) - Jon Innes, founder of UX Innovation has a story about getting - and maintaining - access to a secure location. Very secure. buy zetia online zetia online no prescription Early in my career I helped a number of companies outside of the consumer space adopt methods from consumer design research for devevloping products sold to - [Good and Bad Business Names](https://portigal.com/good-and-bad-business-names/) - Two L.A.-area business with names that just make sense: Right of Way, exceeding all of your traffic control needs Green Set, motion picture plant rentals. This truck was traveling with a another, both with palm trees hanging out the back. And, for contrast: Got Kosher? Provisions is a retail outlet for the much better-named Got - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-698/) - [from steve_portigal] Honey buns sweeten life for Florida prisoners [St. Petersburg Times] - [Hollywood had convinced us that cigarettes - dangerous, tough, addictive - were the currency in prison. This article suggests a cultural shift with doughy sweet comfort food taking the place of jailhouse smokes] Inmates in the Florida prison system buy 270,000 honey - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-798/) - Locker Decorations Growing in Popularity in Middle Schools [NYTimes.com] - Yet another extremely specific product development area opening up. So many that emphasize the customizing (aesthetically, functionally) of environments (or products that represent environments): digital devices, closets, cars, lockers. At middle schools across the country, metal lockers that were long considered decorated if they had - [Take Me To The Other Side](https://portigal.com/take-me-to-the-other-side/) - My latest Core77 Broadcast is up; I speak with Will Tschumy and Chris Bernard who recently joined Microsoft as User-Experience Evangelists. Steve says check it out. - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-748/) - [from wstarosta] There are no such things as “Insights” [PLH] - [Pretty Little Head contributor, Farrah Bostic, shares her opinion on what an insight is and what it isn't. In doing so, she makes the point that insights are not things that can be gathered. Rather, the best we can hope for is to be - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-757/) - [from julienorvaisas] Facebook Policy Spurs Big Pharma to Rethink Social Media [Advertising Age] - [Beyond challenges such as authenticity, relevancy and voice, social media presence is a regulatory risk for brands in some industries.] Being forced to enable comments on its Facebook pages puts pharmaceutical companies at risk of running afoul of the current FDA - [Thanks Bolt | Peters, for a great URF10](https://portigal.com/thanks-bolt-peters-for-a-great-urf10/) - All of us here at Portigal Consulting participated in Bolt | Peters' mostly-annual User Research Friday conference (URF10) last week. URF is a conference designed to be A full-day conference all about user research! This time it's also two optional half-day workshops on advanced research techniques you can choose from on the preceding day. There - [Recap of Steve and Julie's URF10 synthesis workshop](https://portigal.com/recap-of-steve-and-julies-urf10-synthesis-workshop/) - Our friends at Bolt | Peters hosted their (mostly) annual User Research Friday event last week, bringing together practitioners from the client-side as well as consultants to share stories and discuss best practices. Some of our takeaways from the day are here. The day before the conference, Steve and Julie co-led a sold-out workshop titled - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-516/) - Forrester’s 2010 Customer Experience Rankings [Customer Experience Matters] - # Retailers take 12 out of the top 20 spots. Most of the top rated companies on the list are retailers. Hotels also grabbed three of the top 20 spots. Interestingly, three financial services firms also cracked the top 20: credit unions, SunTrust Bank, and Vanguard. - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-487/) - Waldo Hunt, 88, dies; repopularized pop-up books in 1960s - "He was such an important publisher of pop-up books who really advanced them technically. The pop-up designers who worked for him were amazing creative engineers," said Cynthia Burlingham, director of the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts at the Hammer Museum of UCLA. The first - [This week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-41/) - It's another week of gorgeous fall weather but with lots and lots and lots of coastal fog. Here's our week Hail Ants! I came back into the office today after a great few days in Ottawa (the talks were very well received; the people were super engaged and had a lot of good thoughts and - [Out and About: Steve in Ottawa](https://portigal.com/out-and-about-steve-in-ottawa/) - Last week I was in Ottawa speaking at Carleton University as well as delivering the closing keynote for UXcamp Ottawa. Here are some photographic highlights of my time there. Look for the rest of my pictures on Flickr. Joseph Henri Maurice "The Rocket" Richard Suzy Q Donuts. The Canada Hall in the Canadian Museum of - [Body language changes you inside](https://portigal.com/body-language-changes-you-inside/) - Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here! In Chapter 2, I talk about how body language (see good and bad examples here and here) not only signals that you are listening to your interviewee, it also signals you to listen better. I based on this on some writing by Malcolm Gladwell (in Blink, - [Easy Listening](https://portigal.com/easy-listening/) - [Note: I was asked by a national print publication to join their crowded roster of design bloggers; Over a few months we worked together on my pitch and eventually I wrote and shared my first post. They were quite keen and ran me through all the technical and style guidelines for using their site. But - [FreshMeat #13: The Name of the Game is the Name](https://portigal.com/freshmeat-13-the-name-of-the-game-is-the-name/) - ======================================================== FreshMeat #13 from Steve Portigal (__) (oo) Fresh \/ Meat Gimme gimme gimme! Gimme FreshMeat, Gimme FreshMeat! ========================================================= Over the last couple of years, the Safeway grocery chain has attempted to improve their quality of service by addressing customers by name. You see, if you use their loyalty card, or if you pay by - [Grump of the Day: Grant McCracken](https://portigal.com/grump-of-the-day-grant-mccracken/) - In The "nod" and other acts of rudeness in the consumer society Grant takes inexplicable offense to The Nod - the phenomenon where an eye-contact/chin gesture is exchanged between two people who drive the same vehicle, use the same computer, or whatever.But I have to say "the nod" creeps me out. I don't want to - [Dan and Steve write: We express ourselves](https://portigal.com/dan-and-steve-write-we-express-ourselves/) - Cool artwork at 111 Minna makes for an exciting backdrop for presentations Steve and I recently attended an event hosted by Microsoft, called Express Yourself. It was a party/networking gathering focused around a "design contest" in which four prominent Bay Area software design firms presented the work they had done to "solve a real-world design - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-540/) - Glamtini Events: Where Girls of All Ages GLAM IT UP - Party packages include hair, makeup, nails, dress-up accessories to glam it up, and a 15-minute photo shoot. Check out the "party photos" and the video at http://blip.tv/file/1714995/> Adobe and Wired Introduce a New Digital Magazine Experience [YouTube] - A strong emphasis on digital (i.e., - [Slides from When NOT to Follow User-Centered Design Techniques at HFES](https://portigal.com/slides-from-when-not-to-follow-user-centered-design-techniques-at-hfes/) - Yesterday I spoke on a panel session (along with Dan Saffer (Kicker), Cordell Ratzlaff (Cisco), and Dan Rosenberg (SAP)) at HFES201 entitled When NOT to Follow User-Centered Design Techniques. While there's no audio, these slides offer a general idea of how I approached the topic Also see Dan Saffer's slides here. - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-38/) - Welcome to the beginning of another work week! I'm meeting with the editor and publisher today to talk about the book: we're revisiting the title, and thinking about the foreward and that sort of stuff. Meanwhile, I'm hoping that somewhere I'll find some time to dive into the editor feedback on the manuscript itself. We're - [Portigal year in review, 2013](https://portigal.com/portigal-year-in-review-2013/) - It's time to sum up some of the noteworthy writings/happenings of the year. Let's get to it! The highlight of the year was the publication of Interviewing Users, my first book! Check out reviews by Garrett Moon, QRCA Views Magazine, and Digital Anthropologist, as well as Goodreads and Amazon. Some book goodies online include: cover, - [Announcing the Interaction13 Student Design Challenge](https://portigal.com/announcing-the-interaction13-student-design-challenge/) - After a successful experience with the 2012 conference, Jeremy Yuille and I are the co-chairs for the IxD13 2013 Student Design Challenge, sponsored by Intel Labs. Entries are open now, and close on December 1, 2012. Be in the running to win a scholarship to Interaction 13 in Toronto, and take part in an exciting - [Interviewing Users: Link roundup!](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-link-roundup/) - Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here! It's been two months since Interviewing Users came out! Below is a roundup of links to various bits connected with the book. I'll republish this regularly with accumulated updates. The Book Buy from Rosenfeld Media Buy from Amazon Foreword by Grant McCracken Excerpt from chapter 2 - [Interviewing Users: Link Roundup!](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-link-roundup-2/) - Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here! It's been three months since Interviewing Users came out! Below is a roundup of links to various bits connected with the book. I'll republish this regularly with accumulated updates. The Book Buy from Rosenfeld Media Buy from Amazon Foreword by Grant McCracken Excerpt from chapter 2 - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-74/) - Arise, Sir Week! Last Monday was the San Francisco book launch party. It was a wonderful experience! Thanks to Nathan at CCA for hosting and to Rosenfeld Media for all the books that we gave out. Thanks to the friends and family who helped make everything run smoothly, and to everyone who came out and - [Nicolas Nova: Scanning for signals](https://portigal.com/nicolas-nova-scanning-for-signals/) - We'll be interviewing experts and thought-leaders to uncover a range of perspectives on technology and its impact on society. If you or someone you know would be a good interview, let us know! This interview has been edited, condensed, etc. Nicolas Nova is a consultant and researcher who undertakes field studies to inform and evaluate - [Nicolas' War Story: Do you want me to act?](https://portigal.com/nicolas-war-story-do-you-want-me-to-act/) - Nicolas Nova, consultant and researcher at Near Future Laboratory encounters an unusual individual, entirely unrelated to his study. Pharmacie Marseille Française I remember a study I've conducted last year that was set in a big shopping mall in France. We were there interviewing users of smartphones for an R&D project. The place was pretty standard - [Stories behind the themes: Relational Connections](https://portigal.com/stories-behind-the-themes-relational-connections/) - Welcome to the next installment of an unfolding bibliography of secondary research that fueled our generation of themes for the Omni project. Today we are focusing on the relational role of technology as a facilitator, participant, and obstacle. This broadly encompasses relationships between human and technology, humans and other humans, human with self, and even - [And then there were themes: Secondary research results](https://portigal.com/and-then-there-were-themes-secondary-research-results/) - We read quite a bit on a daily basis here. Once we embarked on the Omni project, everything crossing our screens seemed to relate to the topic at hand. We created a secondary research database to document and collect various articles, blogs, video, blurbs and stories about the role of technology in our lives. We - [Dan writes: Object Mutations](https://portigal.com/dan-writes-object-mutations/) - A friend sent me this link to artist Mark Luthringer's website. Check out this exquisite visual cataloging of modern artifacts in the Ridgemont Typologies section of the site. Mark Luthringer, Taillights - [Reductive Neighborhood Wiki](https://portigal.com/reductive-neighborhood-wiki/) - Over the course of a few weeks, a bold neighborhood declaration was edited down until it disappeared, leaving only a faint impression. I appreciated the casual, gradual collaboration implied by this erosion. Also funny that all the weeds disappeared along with the messsage. See also: Dan's recent musings on a piece of graffiti he ran - [Recycling recursion](https://portigal.com/recycling-recursion/) - As a recent transplant to the California coast I am both impressed and confounded by local recycling requirements. Fortunately there are plenty of experts willing to share with me a blend of fact and urban myth (i.e. Will I really get a terrible fine in San Francisco if I don't put my coffee grounds in - [Stories behind the themes: Personal Exposure](https://portigal.com/stories-behind-the-themes-personal-exposure/) - We recently shared some of the themes emerging from our secondary research for the Omni project. In lieu of a bibliographic deluge, over the next few days we are offering up a sprinkling of the articles, art, commentaries, presentations and other miscellany that contributed to the pool from which our themes were drawn. You - [Put your money where your meme is: #dollars4boobies](https://portigal.com/put-your-money-where-your-meme-is-dollars4boobies/) - Two nights ago I (and 194 others) received a Facebook message from an old friend. It outlined instructions for a post with the noble intentions of raising breast cancer awareness (spoiler alert) with instructions not to share with men. This conjures up a saying that has become something of a personal mantra for me: We - [Stories behind the themes: Biological](https://portigal.com/stories-behind-the-themes-biological/) - Welcome to the fourth installment of an unfolding bibliography of secondary research that fueled our generation of themes for the Omni project. This time around we are focusing on the blurring biological boundaries between technology and our everyday lives (and bodies). We have seen a number of articles and other tidbits that hint at how - [Stories behind the themes: Wonderland](https://portigal.com/stories-behind-the-themes-wonderland/) - 2011 is coming to a close and so are the installments of secondary research for the Omni Project themes. The fifth theme, Wonderland, comes as no surprise. In fact, the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles alluded to it over two thousand years ago when he wrote "And through the future, near and far, as through the - [Curating Consumption: Identity Crisis](https://portigal.com/curating-consumption-identity-crisis/) - Yet another collection of random musings from the perspective of a consumer/researcher. This is awkward on so many levels. Of course there is the bizarre act of turning a fine cut of meat into a hot dog. Most troubling for the polyglot in me is the collision of cultures and languages: Kobe Beef is - [Out and About: Tamara in LA](https://portigal.com/out-and-about-tamara-in-la/) - I am missing the sun and beaches of LA from our trip there last week. At least I have these fond memories to keep me warm... I've read about airlines letting passengers choose their seats using social media profiles and finally got to experience a digital/analog collision first hand on our Virgin America flight. I - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-814/) - Are You Learning as Fast as the World Is Changing? [HBR Blog Network] - Innovation is about the new. It begins with new thinking and typically involves learning new things and being exposed to new ideas. Through our self-funded study, the Omni project, we describe this challenge to keep up with the pace of possibilities - [Breakfast of Champions](https://portigal.com/breakfast-of-champions/) - Last Friday we opened our doors to a few superheroic leaders from Silicon Valley firms for a morning discussion about championing user research within an organization (thus "Breakfast of Champions"). This event came hot on the heels of Steve's recent webinar and provided a learning forum for us as consultants and for our guests, who - [Playing Participant: An autoethnography](https://portigal.com/playing-participant-an-autoethnography/) - With our Curating Consumption series Steve and I take time to look through our researcher lens at our lives as consumers. Sometimes we get to play participant and experience the other side of the research conversation. I recently participated in an online focus group for the redesign of a website. I couldn't help but reflect - [Curating Consumption #3](https://portigal.com/curating-consumption-3/) - We're back this month with another round of Curating Consumption, seen last week over at Johnny Holland. In previous editions we have looked far and near for ponderous consumer experiences. This time around we are looking a little closer at the messages targeting us and what meanings they explicitly and unintentionally reveal. On my last - [Out and About: Tamara in Atlanta](https://portigal.com/out-and-about-tamara-in-atlanta/) - While attending and presenting at the CPSI conference last week I managed to find a few moments to get outside of the hotel and take in some of the sights, sounds and flavors of Atlanta. The conference was dedicated to creative thinking and innovation so perhaps it's no coincidence that I kept running into examples - [From Us, To Steve: The techno present](https://portigal.com/from-us-to-steve-the-techno-present/) - For the Omni project we are exploring the impact of technology on people's everyday lives. This has involved a lot of "looking out" into the world. Of course we are also "looking in" and paying attention to how technology is impacting our own lives, i.e. when it comes to tolerating traffic and making consensual decisions - [Lucy Kimbell: Expanding the visible and sayable](https://portigal.com/lucy-kimbell-expanding-the-visible-and-sayable/) - This interview has been edited, condensed, etc. Lucy Kimbell works as a designer, educator and researcher. She is head of social design at the Young Foundation in London and associate fellow at Said Business School, University of Oxford. As an undergraduate she studied engineering design and appropriate technology and made feminist performance/theatre. What she does - [War Stories, Live!](https://portigal.com/war-stories-live/) - This past Monday was the Interviewing Users book launch party. It was a fantastic good time. The room was filled beyond capacity with people happily diving into yummy beer, wine, snacks and desserts. We gave away 20 free copies of the book, and had the first-ever live War Stories. It was fascinating to see how - [Reading Ahead: Secondary Research (part 2)](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-secondary-research-part-2/) - Here's some more articles, projects, websites, and other online ephemera that we've come across since we posted part 1. A series of humorous videos from Green Apple Books comparing the Kindle to a book Books and Browsers (audio link) - Dave Gray (IDEA2008) The book as a form factor has been around for about 2,000 - [Prasad's War Story: Skin in the game](https://portigal.com/prasads-war-story-skin-in-the-game/) - Prasad Kantamneni is a Silicon Valley transplant in rural Andhra Pradesh. He lives at the intersection of politics, design, social work, and entrepreneurship. online pharmacy purchase temovate no prescription with best prices today in the USA I was visiting an informant's home with a couple of colleagues to observe her trying to find information on - [Elaine's War Story: They call me Mister](https://portigal.com/elaines-war-story-they-call-me-mister/) - Elaine Fukuda is a design research consultant from California. I admit I don't have a lot of experience with children but the opportunity to shadow a patient through an entire day's hospital visit was one to not pass up. The patient being 13 years old added another layer of consent and assent, a mythical ethnographic - [Rachel's War Story: Research, in Sickness and in Health](https://portigal.com/rachels-war-story-research-in-sickness-and-in-health/) - Rachel Shadoan is co-founder of Akashic Labs, a research consultancy that leverages hybrid methodologies to create rich and accurate portraits of users. It was my first field assignment out of school. Okay, technically it wasn't my assignment--a contractor would be conducting the interviews, and I would be along to observe and record. But I'd spent - [Bringing the reframe to cookies](https://portigal.com/bringing-the-reframe-to-cookies/) - It's time for a cookie post, isn't it? Grab yourself one or two and settle in. This video is brilliant. It takes the familiar trope of the manufacturing-process video, plays it backwards, and then constructs an overarching narrative that makes sense of what we're seeing. The Oblique Strategies offer a set of provocations that can - [And the pundits cry "Lo, let there be a time of No Flip Charts"](https://portigal.com/and-the-pundits-cry-lo-let-there-be-a-time-of-no-flip-charts/) - Johnnie Moore calls for No FlipchartsI would like to propose an International No Flip Chart Week. During this period, no one will leap up in the middle of meetings and attempt to capture what's being discussed on a flip chart I apologize for ripping on Johnnie specifically (as he is just my own personal tipping - [The Age Of Conversation, 2008](https://portigal.com/the-age-of-conversation-2008/) - Last year, a large group of people collaborated to produce an e-book called The Age of Conversation. I heard about this when David Armano got involved. The same folks are putting something together for 2008, and we're signed up to contribute. They are still looking for authors and for votes on possible topics, so if - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-13/) - We are traveling this week and finding time for... Storytelling - We are headed to sunny San Diego this week to deliver the results of a recent project. Though the prototypes were super sci-fi, the results are pretty down to earth. Storymaking - We have converged upon the key insights and narrative for another project - [20 Oddest Jobs from CareerBuilder.com](https://portigal.com/20-oddest-jobs-from-careerbuildercom/) - Taken from this list 18. Dice Inspector What they do: Inspect dice used in casinos for lopsided angles, misspotting and other blemishes that could cause error when the dice are rolled for gambling purposes. 19. Ethnographer What they do: Research and study single groups of human behavior through fieldwork, observing and questioning participants. 20. Gum - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-600/) - [from steve_portigal] On the Road - Complaints of Poor Attitude in Airport Body Scans [NYTimes.com] - [Why does a change in process and design generate such a dramatic change in behavior?] By far, most readers wrote to complain about screeners who were rude. Helaine Fendelman said she felt as if she were in a cage - [Check out checking out](https://portigal.com/check-out-checking-out/) - Pharmacie-Marseille.com I was thinking about how to describe this mess of a Safeway receipt when I read a post on Niblettes online pharmacy purchase zocor without prescription with best prices today in the USA that mentioned "brand diarrhea." [as I've said, I won't call the person Niblettes, I'll call him John, but I will call - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-803/) - Hollandia Produce Launches Squircle Packaging [The Packer] - I was thrilled to come across the term squircle the other day, in the context of this packaging redesign. Of course, Wikipedia has something to say about it and the name has found its way to content and design firms, too. Hollandia Produce LLC is launching a - [Ordering Algorithm](https://portigal.com/ordering-algorithm/) - The sign readsPlease order by number "only", specifing which listed bread you would like, and specifying which condiment you do not wantA bit too complex. Fortunately, the staff at Norms Market in Pescadero pretty much ignore these ordering rules. - [Needs](https://portigal.com/needs/) - Booking the hotel for our event at the IASummit I found this rough edge on the confirmation screen. Circled in red, about halfway down. "Need copy." Yes, you do still need the copy there. Sad that you launched this with the memo-to-self still intact. It's smart to use a different tool for marking up content, - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-383/) - Overused Food Words (from 2007) - Now we know what's wrong with "crispy" - it should just be "crisp." But here's a more thought-out list of overused terminology. The Seattle Times (from 2006): Say what? A guide to menu-speak - We've blogged this before, but it's fun to revisit. This explains the meaning of some - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-724/) - [from steve_portigal] A Perspective on Observation: Designer vs. Consumer [Pivot Blog] - [Nice take on my OCAD talk from earlier this week in Toronto] I liked Steve’s idea that design research is about getting down and dirty and being in the raw space to experience all the rough edges of what really happens. Because when - [Flow in the interview](https://portigal.com/flow-in-the-interview/) - Earlier this week the San Francisco IxDa hosted a talk by Peter Stahl about The Rhythm of Interaction. As part of his presentation , Peter talked about Mih?°ly Cs??kszentmih?°lyi's notion of Flow - "the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full - [Designing for Unmet Needs, my presentation from Warm Gun](https://portigal.com/designing-for-unmet-needs-my-presentation-from-warm-gun/) - Last week I spoke at the Warm Gun conference, giving a short talk about Designing for Unmet Needs Don’t be surprised if Steve Portigal, author of Interviewing Users, invites himself to your family breakfast or follows hotel maintenance staff to the boiler room. For more than 15 years, he’s led hundreds of interviews that help - [Dollars to Donuts: Behind The Music](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts-behind-the-music/) - My new Dollars to Donuts podcast features a nifty bit of intro and outro music. In the podcast you just hear snippets of the song, written expressly for the podcast by my brother-in-law, Bruce Todd. I've long been an admirer of Bruce's songwriting and playing and overall musical thang, and it was an absolute thrill - [Unfinished Business lecture: Culture, User Research & Design](https://portigal.com/unfinished-business-lecture-culture-user-research-design/) - I was recently in Toronto to speak at OCAD (Yes, we were in this awesome building) as part of the Unfinished Business lecture series. My talk looked at the notion of culture and it's importance for user research, and design. Culture is everywhere we look, and (perhaps more importantly) everywhere we don't look. It informs - [From SXSW - Diving Deep: Best Practices For Interviewing Users](https://portigal.com/from-sxsw-diving-deep-best-practices-for-interviewing-users/) - I spoke at SXSW recently about the interviewing process in user research. As I've been working on a book about this topic the timing was great for me. While we know, from a very young age, how to ask questions, the skill of getting the right information from users is surprisingly complex and nuanced. This - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-623/) - [from steve_portigal] Check-In On Foursquare Without Taking Your Phone Out Of Your Pocket [TechCrunch] - [Solutions tell you a lot about the culture you are looking at because they indirectly - or directly - announce a problem - in this case a real First World Problem] Future Checkin is an app that allows you to - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-441/) - Seen Reading - a "literary voyeruism blog" set mostly (I believe) in Toronto - What is Seen Reading? 1. I see you reading. 2. I remember what page you’re on in the book. 3. I head to the bookstore, and make a note of the text. 4. I let my imagination rip. 5. Readers become - [A user research reading (listening/watching) list](https://portigal.com/a-user-research-reading-listeningwatching-list/) - I'm in Chattanooga today, teaching the students at Center Centre today (and tomorrow) about ethnographic research. In preparation for the class, they asked me to put together a list of readings, so I pulled together a bunch of links that I'd posted in the last few months, some of them on this blog but mostly - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-130/) - Just another manic Monday! I had hoped that I would know about this quick project last Monday but it took til mid-week til we actually were able to move forward. It's a quick-moving project but it's also a lot of chaos. As of last week I was going to New York tomorrow and working with - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-131/) - Greetings from Southern California While a week ago it wasn't clear what would happen, as it turned out I spent most of last week in Southern California, doing field research in and around Los Angeles. Today I begin to dive into the data with my client to see what opportunities we can identify. The fieldwork - [Vote for my SXSW War Stories talk](https://portigal.com/vote-for-my-sxsw-war-stories-talk/) - I've taking the story of the War Stories on the road lately. I spoke at CHIFOO in June and will be talking at UX Australia in few weeks. I've proposed a similar talk for SXSW 2015. Part of their selection process involves commenting and voting from the public. Please comment on and vote for my - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-132/) - I'm taking today off to hang with my family visiting from Vancouver. But here's the story for this week Tomorrow I'm flying up to Seattle. I go from the airport directly to co-host a workshop with Dan Szuc and then share the stage with him for a talk the next night. The workshop is waitlisted - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-133/) - I can see my house from here! I'm en route to Sydney for UX Australia. I'm very excited to be speaking about presence and mindfulness in my workshop The Designer is Present, and War Stories in my talk Epic Fail. The country is lovely, the people are excellent and the breakfasts are superb. I'll be - [Interviewing Users: Link Roundup](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-link-roundup-9/) - Welcome to 2016! The New Year seems a good time to post my occasionally updated roundup of links to various bits connected with Interviewing Users. Of course, if you haven't already, you should buy a copy here! It would be fantastic if you wrote a quick review on Amazon here. The Book Buy from Rosenfeld - [Interviewing Users: Link Roundup (Second Anniversary Edition)](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-link-roundup-second-anniversary-edition/) - Wow. It's been two years since my first book Interviewing Users was released. Here's a roundup of links to various bits connected with the book. If you haven't already, you should buy a copy here! It would be fantastic if you wrote a quick review on Amazon here. The Book Buy from Rosenfeld Media Buy - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-117/) - Happy May! Hope you had a lovely May Day, Star Wars Day, Cinco de Cuatro and Cinco de Mayo! Last week was the first anniversary of Interviewing Users. I posted a summary of links, resources, podcasts and more. While I'm waiting to hear about a number of interesting proposals out there, I'm doing a big - [Let's talk about death, baby](https://portigal.com/lets-talk-about-death-baby/) - Curious to come across Death Cafe. At Death Cafes people come together in a relaxed and safe setting to discuss death, drink tea and eat delicious cake. The objective of Death Cafe is "To increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives". Jon Underwood founded Death - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-179/) - Welcome to the week! Our big focus is on getting ready for the field. Recruiters are starting or about to start finding participants. We've got a homework exercise assembled. I've drafted a field guide that I'm going to share today. And logistics: getting cash to stuff incentive envelopes, booking travel, preparing releases, lining up stakeholders - [My talk about improv from UX New Zealand](https://portigal.com/my-talk-about-improv-from-ux-new-zealand/) - Last year I gave a highly interactive talk at UX New Zealand about improv, creativity and design, entitled Yes, My Tuatara Loves to Cha-Cha. They've just posted the video and I've embedded it and the slides below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-By0ul0rbc http://www.slideshare.net/steveportigal/yes-my-tuatara-loves-to-chacha-improv-creativity-and-design Sketchnotes, from Matthew Magain Pharmacie-Marseille.com and Kim Anderson - [Portigal year in review, 2012](https://portigal.com/portigal-year-in-review-2012/) - Lots of emotions as the year winds down, with another one waiting just around the corner. Here's some of what went down this past year. We welcomed Beth Toland to the team. Yeah!!!!! Steve is closing in on the last of the writing for Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights to be published by - [Video of Steve presenting "Skill Building for Design Innovators" in Melbourne](https://portigal.com/video-of-steve-presenting-skill-building-for-design-innovators-in-melbourne/) - Last month I led a session at Service Design Melbourne about Skill Building for Design Innovators. You can find a lovely writeup of the talk here and the video is here and embedded below. http://vimeo.com/50381923 I'll also be presenting a similar talk this Friday at Carleton University in Ottawa. - [From Dublin, the results of the IxD12 Student Design Challenge](https://portigal.com/from-dublin-the-results-of-the-ixd12-student-design-challenge/) - Just over a week ago, we came together with our four winners for a great two-day masterclass, with guest lectures and critics (thanks to Steve Baty, Martin Colebourne, Dan Lockton and Fiachra Ó Marcaigh). We debated, brainstormed, discussed, and designed. And after class, the students went back to their hotel and worked and worked and - [Reading Ahead: Core77 1-Hour Design Challenge](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-1-hour-design-challenge-with-core77/) - In our engagements with clients, we don't stop with research reports. To help make our work actionable, we typically facilitate a workshop where we help our client teams flesh out opportunity areas into a broad set of product, service, and other concepts. Then they prioritize those based upon some relevant criteria, and move forward into - [Steve's talk from Lift 11: Discover and Act on Insights about People](https://portigal.com/steves-talk-from-lift-11-discover-and-act-on-insights-about-people/) - Yesterday I spoke at Lift 11, giving a 20-minute presentation. Here's all the goodies Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8GfgZmYWiA Slides Graphic recording (click to see larger) online pharmacy xenical no prescription pharmacy More pictures - [Julie's presentation on "Finding the Right People"](https://portigal.com/julies-presentation-on-finding-the-right-people/) - I recently had the privilege of guest-lecturing for an undergraduate class at the Center for Design Research at the University of Kansas taught by Julia Eschman and Tamara Christensen. The topic was the importance of recruiting the right people as participants to drive powerful insights for design research. I addressed the strategic reasons why, as - [Steve interviewed by 33voices](https://portigal.com/steve-interviewed-by-33voices/) - 33 voices has published their interview with me. You can find the full audio of our 30-minute conversation here. Here's a short sample: Also, they did a really nice job of synthesizing our conversation into 10 key points, which they've posted as a slide deck (embedded below). http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/26035347 - [From my Los Angeles presentation on Interviewing Users](https://portigal.com/from-my-los-angeles-presentation-on-interviewing-users/) - I had a wonderful trip to Los Angeles last week so speak at a combined IXDA Los Angeles/LA UX Meetup event. They gave me a really warm welcome (including a pint of cold Ben and Jerry's ice cream all to myself) and the at-capacity room was filled with enthusiastic and thoughtful folks who contributed to - [Slides from yesterday's talk on Improv, Creativity and Design](https://portigal.com/slides-from-yesterdays-talk-on-improv-creativity-and-design/) - Last night I spoke at the ACM Bay Area chapter's monthly event. My talk was Yes, My Iguana Loves to Cha-Cha: Improv, Creativity and Design, another iteration of a talk I've been giving since 2005. For me, the topic continues to evolve and inspire and each time I talk to a group about this, some - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-23/) - Here's the latest on our end Infrastructure? Who needs it! After last week's challenges (resolution still pending) on the water for our kitchen, today PG&E finally made good on their repeated promise to only offer intermittent power throughout the day. So we're in and out, in cafes, and waiting hopefully for full service to return. - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-24/) - Here's what's going on for us this week We made rapid progress through our data last week to produce a final deliverable for our client. Due to some scheduling challenges, we won't actually talk through what this means for them in terms of new opportunities until next week. So this week, the project is in - [Curating Consumption](https://portigal.com/curating-consumption/) - Since Johnny Holland has said farewell, we'll be continuing this series here on All This ChittahChattah. Here's some stories and observations that Beth and Steve have assembled over the past few weeks. Tim Hortons beverage pricing offers a large number of sizes with a tiny, silly price difference. 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The entire episode (listen here Apotheke-Frankfurt.com ) is really good process stuff (creativity, collaboration, finding the story, media firehose, working under pressure) but I want to call out the section about how he - [Designing the Problem, my keynote from ISA14](https://portigal.com/designing-the-problem-my-keynote-from-isa14/) - Although we couldn't make it down to Buenos Aires for Interaction South America, thanks to the magic of Skype I was able to present Designing the Problem at over the weekend. Too often we assume that doing research with users means checking in with them to get feedback on the solution we've already outlined. But - [When your participant repels and scares you](https://portigal.com/when-your-participant-repels-and-scares-you/) - Embedded above is a fantastic and disturbing episode of Love + Radio. Nick van der Kolk and Noah Morrison visit Jay Thunderbolt online pharmacy arimidex for sale no prescription , who upon beginning the interview, aggressively reiterates his demand for payment (not possible for public radio, which Jay knew). Noah ends up going on a - [Back from UX Lisbon](https://portigal.com/back-from-ux-lisbon/) - Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Lisbon and presenting at UX Lx. I gave an updated version of "Well, We've Done All This Research, Now What?" where we did a brief observation of the area around the venue and then developed concepts that spoke to the needs we uncovered. Among the concepts the - [Parody or for-reals? More bad ideas becoming good ones](https://portigal.com/parody-or-for-reals-more-bad-ideas-becoming-good-ones/) - Neil Young has had an amazing career where musically speaking he's done just about everything: doo-wop/rockabilly, electro-synth, experimental feedback noise, rock opera, and more. Rock music (or any media) lends itself to parody, of course. Neil himself has been lovingly lampooned by Jimmy Fallon over the past few years, as Jimmy plays Harvest-era Neil singing - [Take a moment to consider the 1%](https://portigal.com/take-a-moment-to-consider-the-1/) - The image above, accompanying an article online pharmacy https://hearinghealthmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/semaglutide.html with best prices today in the USA about private jets, reveals a privation so unimaginable it may shake you to your very core. Yes, that's the personal UI that the elite are forced to use during their painful time aboard. The ultra-elite no doubt have other - [What we eat and what we trash](https://portigal.com/what-we-eat-and-what-we-trash/) - There's no end of photography projects documenting an ordinary aspect of life, across diverse individuals, with the hope of throwing some light on who we are and how we live now. Or how others live. It's art with the frisson of anthropology. Here's another two in the same vein, each looking at different elements of - [The Shape of Food and Other Things (To Come)](https://portigal.com/the-shape-of-food-and-other-things-to-come/) - A provocative survey article on Edible Geography explores the form that food (specifically Chicken McNuggets and cheese) is presented in. It's a safe bet that McNugget morphology tells us something important about the sensory framework through which we experience the world. Within the constraint of basic economic considerations (shapes that can be made on the - [Interviewing Users: Link Roundup](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-link-roundup-5/) - Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here! It's been six months (whaa???) since Interviewing Users came out! Below is a roundup of links to various bits connected with the book. I'll republish this regularly with accumulated updates. The Book Buy from Rosenfeld Media Buy from Amazon Foreword by Grant McCracken Excerpt from chapter - [Interviewing Users: Link Roundup](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-link-roundup-6/) - Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here! It's been seven months Interviewing Users came out! Below is a roundup of links to various bits connected with the book. I'll republish this regularly with accumulated updates. The Book Buy from Rosenfeld Media Buy from Amazon Foreword by Grant McCracken Excerpt from chapter 2 The - [Interviewing Users: Link Roundup](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-link-roundup-7/) - Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here! Hi! If you've read the book and found it beneficial, it would mean a lot if you would contribute a brief review on Amazon here. It's been eleven months Interviewing Users came out! Below is a roundup of links to various bits connected with the book. - [Happy Birthday to Interviewing Users: Link Roundup](https://portigal.com/happy-birthday-to-interviewing-users-link-roundup/) - It's been one year (wow!) since Interviewing Users came out! Hooray! Below is a roundup of links to various bits connected with the book. I'll republish this occasionally with accumulated updates. If you haven't already, get your copy here! And if you have, you should write a brief review on Amazon here. The Book Buy - [Interviewing Users: Link Roundup](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-link-roundup-8/) - It's been well over a year since Interviewing Users came out. Below is a roundup of links to various bits connected with the book. I'll republish this occasionally with accumulated updates. If you haven't already, get your copy here! And if you have, it would be great if you wrote a brief review on Amazon - [Interviewing Users: Link Roundup](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-link-roundup-4/) - Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here! It's been five months since Interviewing Users came out! Below is a roundup of links to various bits connected with the book. I'll republish this regularly with accumulated updates. The Book Buy from Rosenfeld Media Buy from Amazon Foreword by Grant McCracken Excerpt from chapter 2 - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-118/) - Happy happy Monday! The week has begun well, with news that a client has accepted our proposal to help them with planning a research program to support a wide-ranging strategic initiative. Looks like a trip to Cambridge, MA is coming up soon to kick this off. We posted two great War Stories last week, from - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-119/) - Greetings. I'm hoping to put the wraps on my talk about War Stories (coming up at CHIFOO next month) today and tomorrow. One of the clients I've been coaching is presenting their findings to their executive team on Tuesday and then on Thursday I'm going to lead a workshop where we'll translate their findings into - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-126/) - Hello, summer! We have had great discussions so far with our main client as we've been reviewing and refining their strategic plan for growth and innovation. I'll be working over the next couple of weeks to finalize this. I will be leading a full-day workshop on Immersive Field Techniques at UX-STRAT in Boulder in September. - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-127/) - Good Monday morning to all! I'm waiting on some feedback from my client team and will be working towards the next iteration of our recommendations for them in shifting their organization towards embracing user needs. There will be a good chunk of inward focus this week, trying to look at the business of Portigal Consulting - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-129/) - A top of the week to everyone. Last week I worked with a prospective client to put together an outline for a three-week project. They are meeting this morning to decide who they are going to work with and hopefully finalize the details of the project, which should have begun first thing today (at least - [Overcoming bias and developing empathy](https://portigal.com/overcoming-bias-and-developing-empathy/) - Here are two interesting articles that feed right into the themes of my workshop, The Designer is Present, happening at the end of this month at UX Australia. An Appeal to Our Inner Judge is about how biases - judgements we make quickly about others - are natural but can be overcome. The excerpt below - [Can you engineer empathy (as part of learning to code)?](https://portigal.com/can-you-engineer-empathy-as-part-of-learning-to-code/) - From Engineering Empathy [Re/code] Dev Bootcamp, an intensive nine-week coding program in San Francisco’s South of Market district, offers a unique “Engineering Empathy” curriculum. About 30 students stood in pairs and spoke to their partners simultaneously: You don’t respond to email fast enough. Why are you checking Twitter — nothing important happens there. You’re too - [Steve on Tuesday #TechHour](https://portigal.com/steve-on-tuesday-techhour/) - I was on Kitchener's 570 News technology radio program yesterday, invited by the great folks from Fluxible to speak very briefly about user research. I'm on about 15 minutes in. It starts with a rousing discussion of UX's role, where companies are doing some unpleasant things in the name of "improving the user experience." To - [Ask Steve Anything on Thursday](https://portigal.com/ask-steve-anything-on-thursday/) - Steve did an AMA (Ask Me Anything) in the UX Community on Slack (transcript). - [Steve speaking at 32 Awesomely Practical UX Tips event](https://portigal.com/steve-speaking-at-32-awesomely-practical-ux-tips-event/) - Steve was part of Rosenfeld Media's online event 32 Awesomely Practical UX Tips (tweets online pharmacy buy antabuse no prescription online pharmacy ). - [Alexandra's War Story: When One Door Closes](https://portigal.com/alexandras-war-story-when-one-door-closes/) - Alexandra Wills is an ethnographer working at Fuse by Cardinal Health, an innovation center in Columbus, Ohio. She told this story on stage at Midwest UX 2017. I’ll never forget when I did ethnographic research for a project aimed at helping a car manufacturer learn what Millennials with small children really needed. The project was - [Steve on the Service Design Show](https://portigal.com/steve-on-the-service-design-show/) - Thanks to Marc Fonteijn for having me as a guest on The Service Design Show. The episode, entitled How To Unlock The True Power Of User Research, is online now (Soundcloud, YouTube) and embedded below. By now we all know that storytelling is one of the most powerful tools in the service design toolbox. But - [From Fluxible, The Designer is Present](https://portigal.com/from-fluxible-the-designer-is-present/) - I had an amazing time at Fluxible, and was so happy to have the opportunity to debut a brand new workshop, The Designer is Present. The notion of presence is a critical idea for those of us in user experience. At the risk of sounding like Yoda, presence is tied to self-knowing. During ten years - [Watch Steve on Like/Unlike](https://portigal.com/watch-steve-on-like-unlike/) - Here's a twenty-minute conversation with me buy temovate online https://aha-clinical-review.ascendeventmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/temovate.html no prescription pharmacy online pharmacy purchase clomid online no prescription , for the show Like/Unlike for, in anticipation of Product Camp Poland, coming right up! I talk about three things - something I recently experienced that I liked (our Punk Rock walking tour of the - [Video from User Research London keynote: Learning From User Research War Stories](https://portigal.com/video-from-user-research-london-keynote-learning-from-user-research-war-stories/) - Last summer I went to London to give the opening keynote at User Research London, User Research War Stories. The video is now available and I've embedded it below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwM2ZdVSsIg The talk features bonus war stories from Kristina Lustig (27:24) and Elizabeth Chesters (31:20) - [Elizabeth's War Story: Nail Polish for Insights](https://portigal.com/elizabeths-war-story-nail-polish-for-insights/) - Elizabeth Chesters is a UX consultant based in London, who volunteers for organizations like EmpowerHack and CodeFirst:Girls. She told this story live at User Research London. Update: the video is here. I volunteer for EmpowerHack, an organisation dedicated to building technical solutions for refugees. When I joined in 2016, I was working on a project - [Kristina's War Story: Trampoline Spies](https://portigal.com/kristinas-war-story-trampoline-spies/) - Kristina Lustig is a researcher at Stack Overflow, and is currently based in London. She told this story live at User Research London. Update: the video is here. Last year, I was in Bangkok with eight members of my product team. For our research, we planned to speak with people who we saw taking videos - [Much Better Than The Original](https://portigal.com/much-better-than-the-original/) - Comedian Laurie Kilmartin tweeted Hey aspiring comedy writers, when my brain is foggy or I just need multiple punchlines for the same setup, sometime I consult my transitions list! It’s dumb but it helps It's sort of a low-fidelity methods card approach, where a phrase suggests a particular structure, or triggers the writer to generate - [Amazing Jobs - a young user researcher](https://portigal.com/amazing-jobs-a-young-user-researcher/) - Amazing Jobs is a podcast where a young girl named Lisette interviews people about their jobs (e.g, train conductor) (Some interviews are in French). User research starts young. Also see: Kids Interviewing Bands - [Listen to Steve on the Conversation Factory Podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-conversation-factory-podcast/) - It was great fun to speak with Daniel Stillman about research, collaboration, communication and facilitation. now live on the Conversation Factory site, and embedded below Here's part of how Daniel framed the conversation in his writeup Steve is a User Researcher, heart and soul. And he talks and writes about it, fluently. Facilitation is something - [Listen to Steve on the User Defenders Podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-user-defenders-podcast/) - Artwork by Eli Jorgensen I had a wide-ranging and personal conversation with Jason Ogle for the User Defenders podcast. We talked about my professional trajectory, my disdain for Forrest Gump, rapport-building, listening, disgust, and war stories from fieldwork. Our conversation is now live on the User Defenders site, and embedded below https://userdefenders.com/podcast-download/1203/049-user-research-war-stories-with-steve-portigal.mp3 And yeah, that's - [Snark about Bark](https://portigal.com/snark-about-bark/) - I'm rolling my eyes at this article about successful dog toy company, Bark. Specifically: Bark’s design process begins with research. Packed in every BarkBox sent to 600,000 subscribers is a survey questioning dog parents about their beloved canine’s playing styles. The design team also gets anecdotal data from their Ohio-based customer service team who chat - [Customer Satisfaction at the Push of a Button](https://portigal.com/customer-satisfaction-at-the-push-of-a-button/) - Image from HappyOrNot.com homepage The New Yorker profiles HappyOrNot, the company that makes those kiosks to measure "satisfaction" (you may have seen them in airports or malls, they have a few colored buttons with different happy/unhappy faces). The article explains the history of the company and gives examples of organizations who are using the technology, - [Video from Midwest UX keynote: Learning From User Research War Stories](https://portigal.com/video-from-midwest-ux-keynote-learning-from-user-research-war-stories/) - A few weeks ago I was in Cincinnati to give the opening keynote at MidwestUX, Learning From User Research War Stories. The video is now available and I've embedded it below. Spoiler: there are two new war stories, told live by their authors, at the end of the talk. Enjoy! https://vimeo.com/240163515 - [Listen to Steve on Helping Sells Radio](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-helping-sells-radio/) - I had a really enjoyable conversation with Sarah E. Brown and Bill Cushard for their Helping Sells Radio podcast. The episode is posted here and embedded below https://soundcloud.com/servicerocket/episode-60-steve-portigal-on-using-a-classic-improv-game-to-uncover-more-customer-insights Research is sometimes about not doing anything at all "Sometimes the best thing you can do in user research is to sit on your hands," Portigal said. - [I love all different kinds of produce](https://portigal.com/i-love-all-different-kinds-of-produce/) - Recently I found this message on my voice mail. I have NO IDEA why this person called me. And no, I did not call her back. Hi. My name is Ruth and I'm trying to find out what a ...I guess it's pronounced 'kayote' - it's spelled c h a y o t e s. - [Get up, stand up](https://portigal.com/get-up-stand-up/) - As part of the improv group I was involved in a couple of years ago, we would do the occasional standup night. Standup has very little in common with improv - there is performance and humor, but the fundamental approaches of being in the moment versus being scripted are very much at odds. However, your - [Out and About: Steve in Tampa](https://portigal.com/out-and-about-steve-in-tampa/) - Two weeks ago I was in Tampa to lead a workshop for a client. I had a bit of time to explore the area - here are some of my photos. The ritzier area of St. Petersburg, with huge houses and huge trees. Salt-and-pepper tofu at the Yummy House China Bistro. This place was good - [I'm Your Fortune Teller](https://portigal.com/im-your-fortune-teller/) - I wanted to share a personal career milestone: appearing in a fortune cookie (given out last week at UX New Zealand)! (thanks Andrew Mayfield and Rebecca Klee for these examples) - [Joel's War Story: From Moscow with Love](https://portigal.com/joels-war-story-from-moscow-with-love/) - Joel Kashuba has practiced design for nearly two decades, with a career spanning the practices of architecture, industrial design, branding, UX, and innovation consulting. He currently leads the Innovation & Design functions for Fifth Third Bank located in Cincinnati, Ohio. He told this story on stage at Midwest UX 2017. While working for a major - [Nadav's War Story: Baptism by Tears](https://portigal.com/nadavs-war-story-baptism-by-tears/) - Nadav Zohar is a UX researcher at AEP in Columbus, OH. online pharmacy kamagra-gold no prescription pharmacy My first ever user research project was for a healthcare app. Our users were nurses who work with poor and high-risk patients, often called "the under-served." 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It's posted here and embedded below http://traffic.libsyn.com/productsthatcount/Call_2017.05.22_14.04.15.mp3 - [Listen to Steve on the Design Your Thinking podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-design-your-thinking-podcast/) - I had a fantastic conversation with Karthik of the Design Your Thinking podcast, posted in two separate episodes. The first episode is Problem Space vs. Solution Space Listen at that link, or here, or embedded below http://traffic.libsyn.com/kartvee/DYT120.mp3 The second episode is Master The Art Of Listening Listen at that link, or here, or embedded below - [Joe's War Story: Clean Break](https://portigal.com/joes-war-story-clean-break/) - Joe Moran is a product research scientist at Cogito Corporation in Boston, a startup using AI to decode emotion from voice. Working as an applied cognitive scientist, I was in the field at Fort Bragg, NC, embedded with an airborne military unit. 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The goal of this research project - [Categorical Boundaries and Innovation](https://portigal.com/categorial-boundaries-and-innovation/) - Mashup or Mashed Potatoes? A report from the Stanford Graduate School of Business looks at haute cuisine for insights about breaking category boundaries to create innovation. Their observations: culture (i.e., music, food, art) is an area where violating categorical lines can lead to perceptions of inauthenticity but authenticity is about following the rules, while still - [The Turnaround is a great new podcast that interviews interviewers](https://portigal.com/the-turnaround-is-a-great-new-podcast-that-interviews-interviewers/) - The Turnaround is a new podcast where interviewers are interviewed about interviewing. The episode with Audie Cornish is just fantastic. Anyone who is thinking about the interview (the mechanics, the preparation, the rapport, the search for the story, working against constraints) should listen at least to the first 50 minutes or so. I'm looking forward - [Japanese edition of Interviewing Users](https://portigal.com/japanese-edition-of-interviewing-users/) - Interviewing Users is now available in Japanese! - [Wisdom from "The Americans"](https://portigal.com/wisdom-from-the-americans/) - On the season finale of The Americans, there's a bit of a post-mortem (so to speak) on a mission, including this bit of dialog The people back home who aren't in the field, sometimes they get what we do and sometimes they don't. But when you're in the field you have to make split-second decisions. - [Steve's War Story: Details Disconnect](https://portigal.com/steves-war-story-details-disconnect/) - This story was originally published on behalf of The Field Study Handbook. Last year I was working on a project for a financial technology client. Finding participants is often a challenge, but on this project, for small business owners, it was particularly difficult. We had hoped to base this research on previous studies, but it - [Making an Impact with UX Research Insights](https://portigal.com/making-an-impact-with-ux-research-insights/) - I wrote a short piece for UX Mastery buy oseltamivir online https://www.queertheology.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/82.html no prescription about ensuring the results of user interviews have the most impact. I've included an excerpt below, but you should read the whole piece here. In your analysis, how do you decide what’s important? Take time at the beginning of the research - [Hungry Jack Pancakes & Waffle Mix FAQs](https://portigal.com/hungry-jack-pancakes-waffle-mix-faqs/) - I dunno - it just concerned me that this was the first Frequently Asked Question Question I'm used to finding my favorite Hungry Jack Pancake Mix based on the color of the box. I've noticed the boxes are now all red. How can I find my favorite color? Answer We've updated our graphics to unify - [Why you should encourage bad ideas in your organization](https://portigal.com/why-you-should-encourage-bad-ideas-in-your-organization/) - In this article by Jon Strande, he riffs on my Power of Bad Ideas talk and then throws in a bunch of other frameworks and references around creativity and innovation. It's a quick and inspiring read. Why you should encourage bad ideas in your organization One of the things that I’ve been thinking about a - [Museum of Failure](https://portigal.com/museum-of-failure/) - Opening next month in Helsingborg, Sweden. Museum of Failure is a collection of interesting innovation failures. The majority of all innovation projects fail and the museum showcases these failures to provide visitors a fascinating learning experience. The collection consists of over sixty failed products and services from around the world. Every item provides unique insight - [Video and slides from my O'Reilly Design war stories talk](https://portigal.com/video-and-slides-from-my-oreilly-design-war-stories-talk/) - Last month I spoke at the O'Reilly Design Conference about user research war stories. The video is now online and I've also embedded it below. Here are the slides - [Devika's War Story: The Young Men Of Najafgarh](https://portigal.com/devikas-war-story-the-young-men-of-najafgarh/) - Devika Ganapathy is a design researcher and the founder of Anagram Research, a design research and usability consultancy located in Bangalore, India. Last year, I was in Delhi doing fieldwork about a smartphone news app. The primary users for this study were male college students in their early 20s, who regularly read English news on - [Video and slides from my Interaction 17 war stories talk](https://portigal.com/video-and-slides-from-my-interaction-17-war-stories-talk/) - Last month I spoke at Interaction 17 about user research war stories. They've put the video online and I've also embedded it below. Here are the slides and a sketchnote by Chris Noessel The talk features new war stories from special guests Elizabeth Allen and Noël Bankston. Update: Here's the text of my talk, in - [David's War Story: Footloose](https://portigal.com/davids-war-story-footloose/) - Interaction designer David Hoard shares a story where even his best intentions are not sufficient to prevent a perplexing gaffe. online pharmacy bimatoprost for sale no prescription pharmacy Researcher Chinami Inaishi and I were on a 10-day trip to Tokyo to interview kids and young adults about their video game use. It was 1995 and - [Listen to Steve on the Non Breaking Space Show](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-non-breaking-space-show/) - I was interviewed by Christopher Schmitt for the Non Breaking Space Show. We talked about the history of Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries, the benefit of war stories, as well as user research more generally. Check out the podcast on iTunes, or listen on the Non Breaking Space Show site, or listen below. - [From ProductTank, video of The Power of Bad Ideas ](https://portigal.com/from-producttank-video-of-the-power-of-bad-ideas/) - A few months back, I spoke at ProductTank SF about The Power of Bad Ideas. They've put the video online and I've also embdded it below. Steve Portigal challenges product managers to re-think the idea-generation process by inviting in bad ideas. In brain-storming sessions, we frequently see two surges in ideas. The first is where - [Elizabeth's War Story: Ramping Up](https://portigal.com/elizabeths-war-story-ramping-up/) - Elizabeth Allen is a UX Researcher at Shopify, an ecommerce platform based in Canada. She told this story live at the Interaction 17 conference. A few years ago, I was working at Centralis, a UX research and design consulting firm in the Chicago area. One of our clients was a public transportation agency, and our - [DDD: Link Roundup](https://portigal.com/ddd-link-roundup/) - It's been two months since Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries was released. Here's links to presentations, podcasts and more stuff related to the book. The Book Buy from Rosenfeld Media Buy from Amazon Foreword by Allan Chochinov Excerpt from chapter 3 Excerpt from chapter 11 FAQ Testimonials Images Reviews Goodreads Amazon Podcasts UX Podcast Rosenfeld - [Noël's War Story: Truck Stop](https://portigal.com/noels-war-story-truck-stop/) - Noël Bankston is a UX Research Lead and Human Factors Engineer at Zebra Technologies, currently living in Queens, NY. She told this story live at the Interaction 17 conference. “So Jim, what would you like to do for lunch? “My treat!” It was the moment I had been dreading all day, ironic since I am - [A Chat with Steve Portigal by Rosenfeld Media](https://portigal.com/a-chat-with-steve-portigal-by-rosenfeld-media/) - For the latest Rosenfeld Review podcast, I spoke with Lou Rosenfeld about my journey in collecting user research war stories and how that became Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries. (trigger warning: I'm extremely enthusiastic for the first 15 seconds or so) (embedded below, or go here) online pharmacy flagyl no prescription - [Why Stories Matter (to the practice of user research)](https://portigal.com/why-stories-matter-to-the-practice-of-user-research/) - This post by Sasha Dichter articulates so well what drove me to write Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries - why forwarding a culture of storytelling in user research is essentially to continuing to develop the field. Storytelling, then, is not simply narrative. It is an opportunity to communicate values in a way that is resonant - [Five Questions with Steve Portigal](https://portigal.com/five-questions-with-steve-portigal-2/) - Here's "Five Questions" with me about war stories, user research, and the O'Reilly Design Conference. Click for the whole thing; Below is a short excerpt. Why is user research so hard to do well? I talked about this a bit in Interviewing Users—that the assumption we can just use our social defaults because it's just - [Passing the buckskin](https://portigal.com/passing-the-buckskin/) - Lululemon got into trouble last month for selling clothing made from a seaweed-based fabric that supposedly had many unique properties. But independent tests revealed that the material was just cotton, and performed like cotton. Mr. Wilson added that the company probably did not have enough money to test the material back when it started using - [My 2017 UX Research "tips"](https://portigal.com/my-2017-ux-research-tips/) - The LA User Experience meetup group asked me for three tips (more like thoughts than tips, I think) for 2017. You can see all the collected tips here. Research is everywhere. I continue to marvel at the growth of research. Back in the day, people would write to ask me if they knew of any - [Learning from the comic, tragic & astonishing moments in user research (transcript)](https://portigal.com/learning-from-the-comic-tragic-astonishing-moments-in-user-research-transcript/) - Last week I did an online chat with UX Mastery about Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries. See one snippet below, but please check out the entire transcript here. crystal: Do you think that approaching the interview with some small vulnerability of your own allows them to be more vulnerable as well and open up and - [Stories from the field: An interview with Steve Portigal](https://portigal.com/stories-from-the-field-an-interview-with-steve-portigal/) - Gerry Gaffney interviewed me about Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries (which he contributed to) - and user research in general - for his User Experience podcast. Check out the podcast on iTunes. Or listen via Gerry's site (which also features a transcript). Or, listen below. The idea that some of these ideas are metaphors for - [15 Questions with Steve Portigal](https://portigal.com/15-questions-with-steve-portigal/) - Today, as part of the Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries roll-out, Rosenfeld Media has 15 Questions with Steve Portigal. Check 'em all out! 6. What’s the story behind how you got into user research? I was working at a design agency that was tentatively experimenting with a new service offering—insights that were “left of the - [What's New: Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries](https://portigal.com/whats-new-doorbells-danger-and-dead-batteries/) - My new book comes out today and Lou Rosenfeld has an enthusiastic appreciation and a bit of the back story about the book's journey. Read it all here I dipped into about a dozen of the 60+ field research war stories that make up the bulk of the book. The stories do what stories are - [I met Don McKellar](https://portigal.com/8664302/) - Today I got to meet one of my totally fave actors, Don McKellar. He appeared at my local cinema club's screening of waydowntown, a Canadian movie that was applauded by critics there in 2000, but looks like it's coming out in this country at the end of the month. Not too much to report about - [Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries available for pre-order](https://portigal.com/doorbells-danger-and-dead-batteries-available-for-pre-order/) - My new book comes out on December 6! You can pre-order (with a discount) from Rosenfeld Media (or from Amazon). Also coming soon is an audiobook version! Remember, your review on Amazon really helps drive awareness. ------------------------------------- Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries User Research War Stories User research war stories are personal accounts of the - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-804/) - Separating You and Me? 4.74 Degrees - In 2008, Microsoft found the number to be 6.6; it depends on how one defines a connection. Can we infer anything from Facebook having a looser definition than Facebook? Adding a new chapter to the research that cemented the phrase "six degrees of separation" into the language, scientists - [Steve's War Story: It's All Going To Burn](https://portigal.com/steves-war-story-its-all-going-to-burn/) - My colleague and I showed up to learn about our research participant's smart house. In the initial part of the interview, just trying to learn a bit about the family before we learned about the house, the participant (I'll call him Jon) told me they home-schooled their kids. I was young and naive enough that - [Chatting about improv and research with Lou Rosenfeld](https://portigal.com/chatting-about-improv-and-research-with-lou-rosenfeld/) - About a year ago I was in Wellington to give a talk about improv at UX New Zealand. During the conference, the folks at Optimal Workshop gave Lou Rosenfeld and me an opportunity to sit down and chat about some of these topics. You can see the 11 minute video here. - [Jakob Nielsen said "Most people are stupid."](https://portigal.com/jakob-nielsen-said-most-people-are-stupid/) - Last night, Capital One hosted an event at their new San Francisco labs. It was a packed house, with food and drink, discussion, networking, and two presentations. Catherine Courage gave - as always - an exciting and encouraging talk on storytelling. Jakob Nielsen talked about, I guess, testing, though he used the phrase "user research" - [Out and About: Steve in New York](https://portigal.com/out-and-about-steve-in-new-york-2/) - I spent a few days in New York last week for the book launch event, also just taking some time to explore, walk around the streets, take pictures, meet with folks, eat interesting food, go to the museum, and so on. Here's some of my observations from the trip. I posted about this hippo truck - [A User Research FAQ](https://portigal.com/a-user-research-faq/) - In Patterns in design research, Nick Bowmast looks at one of my recent talks and realizes that the Q&A discussion deals with many of the standard questions he often faces. He wrote up a tersely-worded FAQ based on the discussion. Thanks, Nick! Q: One on one’s or Groups? A = One on ones. (Don’t say - [Fieldwork Fundamentals slides and audio (from UX Australia)](https://portigal.com/fieldwork-fundamentals-slides-and-audio-from-ux-australia/) - Last month I spoke at UX Australia about Fieldwork Fundamentals. Below I've embedded slides and audio from the talk. - [Debbie's War Story: Sometimes Ignorance is Bliss](https://portigal.com/debs-war-story-sometimes-ignorance-is-bliss/) - Retired from HP, Debbie Mrazek shares her story about not knowing she she was getting a little too much attention in the field. Many years ago, when international "day in the life" visits were not common in my company, I led a study to better understand technology usage in typical homes. As a US-based team, - [Jen's War Story: Trust your gut, it can save your life!](https://portigal.com/jens-war-story-trust-your-gut-it-can-save-your-life/) - Jen Iudice is a Senior Design Researcher with Teague. Here is her story about the road not taken. Having done ethnographic research for nearly 20 years, I've definitely seen it all in the field. Fortunately, that includes coming across some very interesting and enthusiastic participants. On occasion however, there are times when the recruiter misses - [Dan's War Story: Focus, no matter what!](https://portigal.com/dans-war-story-focus-no-matter-what/) - Design researcher Dan Soltzberg has a brave and touching story about the best of intentions - and their consequences. I was doing fieldwork for a project on at-home computer use, and a client and I were at "Richie's" house--a double-wide in a Mid-Peninsula mobile home park. Richie's small-to-begin-with mobile home was filled with heavy wooden - [Michael's War Story: All About Face (Sichuan Adventures)](https://portigal.com/michaels-war-story-all-about-face-sichuan-adventures/) - Michael. B Griffiths is the Director of Ethnography for Ogilvy & Mather, Greater China. I'm in Sichuan province, at a small town called Anxian. I'm with a US film producer and a Chinese research assistant. We are documenting lower-tier city lifestyles in terms of the human condition as well as how people consume. We've just - [Jen's War Story: Bad news turns to couples therapy](https://portigal.com/jens-war-story-bad-news-turns-to-couples-therapy/) - Jen Ignacz is the UX Research Lead at TOPP, a design consultancy focused on helping clients shape future products and services. online pharmacy with best prices today in the USA online pharmacy rogaine with best prices today in the USA I was conducting in-home contextual interviews about home safety and security behaviours. In the recruitment - [Contextual research from a bygone era](https://portigal.com/contextual-research-from-a-bygone-era/) - While listening to This American Life I learned about Roger Barker, a psych professor who turned the small Kansas town of Oskaloosa into a laboratory in the late 1940s. Barker was one of the most extraordinary — and least known — figures in the history of psychology. Shortly after he became chair of the KU - [Priya's War Story: Taking empathy to a whole new level](https://portigal.com/priyas-war-story-taking-empathy-to-a-whole-new-level/) - Design Researcher Priya Sohoni has a very personal experience in the field and reflects on the challenge in order to find deeper insight about her users. I've never been too comfortable with hospital environments--the smells, sounds, sense of urgency--it makes me nervous. Yet, as an ethnographer should, I've attempted to conquer my queasiness and conduct - [Raffaella's War Story: Learning to deal with expectations](https://portigal.com/raffaellas-war-story-learning-to-deal-with-expectations/) - Raffaella Roviglioni reflects on an earlier part of her career where she learned new interview skills by adapting to a situation on the fly. I'm currently a freelance UX designer based in Rome, Italy but I used to be an agronomist. I like to see my professional shift not as a mutation but rather as - [Greg's War Story: Culture shock](https://portigal.com/gregs-war-story-culture-shock/) - Anthropologist Greg Cabrera spent 17 months in Afghanistan as an embedded academic with the military, supporting social science research and analysis as part of the Human Terrain System. In his third story here, he encounters a challenge to his own moral standards. buy cialis-super-active online cialis-super-active online no prescription One of the first places I - [Apala's War Story: Whose side is the researcher on?](https://portigal.com/apalas-war-story-whose-side-is-the-researcher-on/) - Apala Lahiri Chavan, Chief Oracle and Innovator at HFI relates a tale about her own distress when faced with a difficult household situation. In one of the very early research projects I worked on in India, we learned many best practices that became part of our research guidelines. However, there were parts of the experience - [Fumiko's War Story: Goodbye cruel world](https://portigal.com/fumikos-war-story-goodbye-cruel-world/) - Design researcher Fumiko Ichikawa offers this devastating tale about losing face. In May 2008, I coordinated what I call an inspiration study Farmacia-Sevilla.com concerning healthy eating. What do Japanese people eat and drink? Why? Is there a particular tradition or habit that people have developed around eating? How are the perceptions of eating and health - [Gavin's War Story: It's 4:00 a.m., Do You Know Where Your Ethnographer Is?](https://portigal.com/gavins-war-story-its-400-a-m-in-the-bronx-do-you-know-where-your-ethnographer-is/) - Gavin Johnston, Principal at People Path, LLC has a epic fieldwork adventure that evokes a darker version of those 80s flicks that might have starred one or both of the Coreys. The nature of what you're studying and the importance of context is something one should never forget. This is particularly true when the product - [Lena's War Story: The Researcher and the Banana Thief](https://portigal.com/lenas-war-story-the-researcher-and-the-banana-thief/) - Lena Blackstock (@lenacorinna) recently graduated with a Master's in Design Ethnography from the University of Dundee, Scotland. She is currently a Creative Contextualiser at Point-Blank International in Berlin. While getting my Master of Design Ethnography at the University of Dundee I was able to dive head first into full-on ethnographic research projects with actual clients. - [Kelly's War Story: Pictures are language independent](https://portigal.com/kellys-war-story-pictures-are-language-independent/) - Here's Kelly Braun, Senior Director, User Insights and Analytics at Walmart.com with a story about shooting fieldwork video and inadvertently getting the money shot. At eBay we did a lot of field visits. We were always over-prepared with checklists, allergy meds, extra batteries, and everything else we could think of for the unexpected. For this - [Tamara's War Story: What the Hell? Don't you knock?](https://portigal.com/tamaras-war-story-what-the-hell-dont-you-knock/) - My first trip to New Jersey for fieldwork involved two memorable events: a blizzard and a bathroom blitz. Two days before we departed for New Jersey I received an email request from my client to rent the biggest SUV available. A huge snowstorm was pounding the Northeast and he wanted to feel safe as we - [Greg's War Story: Taking notes, getting detained (sort of)](https://portigal.com/gregs-war-story-taking-notes-getting-detained-sort-of/) - Anthropologist Greg Cabrera spent 17 months in Afghanistan as an embedded academic with the military, supporting social science research and analysis as part of the Human Terrain System. In this story, his best practices bring some unwanted attention. In the summer of 2010, when I first arrived to Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, I was unsure - [Greg's War Story: Biting off more than I can chew](https://portigal.com/gregs-war-story-biting-off-more-than-i-can-chew/) - Anthropologist Greg Cabrera spent 17 months in Afghanistan as an embedded academic with the military, supporting social science research and analysis as part of the Human Terrain System. In his second story here, he gets more than he expected out of meal with a local respondent. In Afghanistan, hosts treat their guests as a gift - [Erik's War Story: (Don’t) Go Toward The Light](https://portigal.com/eriks-war-story-dont-go-toward-the-light/) - Erik Moses is the Director of Research and Insights at Product Development Technologies in Lake Zurich, IL. Not long ago I was on a project where we were tasked with understanding current practices in BioPharma labs. Overall the program was a huge success and we uncovered critical new insights for our client, which is always - [Francoise's War Story: Black glances cast our way](https://portigal.com/francoises-war-story-black-glances-cast-our-way/) - Anthropologist Francoise Brun-Cottan, an ethnographer on the WorkPlace Project team, recounts a story about embedding deeply in an active work environment in comparatively primitive time, both in terms of the recording equipment and the field's sophistication in describing to participants what was happening and why. It was the winter of 1989. Members of Lucy Suchman's - [Marta's War Story: On confronting judgment](https://portigal.com/martas-war-story-on-confronting-judgment/) - Apotek Copenhagen Marta Spurgeon plays the roles of design researcher, innovation capabilities consultant, and sometime photographer at Doblin in Chicago. I was fresh out of the Peace Corps. Somehow, through an educational background in photography and videography and a unique set of personal contacts, I landed myself in a contracting gig at a design strategy - [Improve your Soft Skills at UX Australia](https://portigal.com/improve-your-soft-skills-at-ux-australia/) - I'll be in Melbourne next month as part of UX Australia, leading my Soft Skills Are Hard workshop. I've been iterating this workshop for the past 18 months and have been very impressed with the people who have come and worked hard to assess their own goals and to work together to design processes, tools - [David Isay on selective memory](https://portigal.com/david-isay-on-selective-memory/) - Krista Tippett interviewed David Isay for her show On Being. He talked about interviewing his father and his story highlights the gap between what we remember from an interview and what actually transpired in that interview. DI: I remember that I asked him when we were in the StoryCorps interview, “What are you proudest of - [Ryan's War Story: Enthusiasticus Interruptus](https://portigal.com/ryans-war-story-enthusiasticus-interruptus/) - UX Reseacher Ryan DeGorter relates a familiar uncomfortable scenario, finding himself in the field with a colleague who isn't quite on board with the whole listening thing. Our UX Research team created a program called "Coffee with Customers" where we conducted interview sessions with our customers over a hot brew. It not only allowed us - [Sean's War Story: Pockets full of cash](https://portigal.com/seans-war-story-pockets-full-of-cash/) - Sean Ryan, a corporate ethnographer, reflects on a fieldwork experience where he learned first-hand some crucial lessons when going into another country: pre-recruit participants, and do some basic homework about where you are going. It was back in my early days as an ethnographer. I was still a young pup in the field, doing consulting - [Carol's War Story: Driving Force](https://portigal.com/carols-war-story-driving-force/) - Carol Rossi is the senior director of user experience research at edmunds.com. Since Edmunds.com is an auto website we spend a lot of time hearing about how people shop for cars. A couple of years ago we ran a shop-along study where we conducted in-home interviews to both understand car shopping behavior and simultaneously screen - [The Dirty Jobs](https://portigal.com/the-dirty-jobs/) - Plumber Protects online pharmacy purchase wellbutrin no prescription with best prices today in the USA is an interesting site from American Standard, manufacturer of toilets and other plumbing stuff. They are taking a stand in support of the work of their main customers, plumbers, casting them as heroes with career advice, and swag such as - [Keegan-Michael Key on Improv](https://portigal.com/keegan-michael-key-on-improv/) - When I speak about improv, I point out that despite what you may think, improv is not about chaotically doing WHATEVER BLAH WHOO but rather working with highly-constrained problems, with both axes of freedom and axes of constraint. In this video Keegan-Michael Key talks about this concept in a lovely and evocative way, describing a - [Steve's upcoming SF Bay Area talks](https://portigal.com/steves-upcoming-sf-bay-area-talks/) - I've got a few local talks coming up in the next few weeks How to Interview Users to Uncover Insights (talk) - May 24, Palo Alto User Experience Research - The DOs & DON'Ts of UX (panel) - May 26, San Francisco Designing Products: Research Stories Untold (panel) - June 7, San Francisco I hope - [Raffaella's War Story: A hot day in a bank](https://portigal.com/raffaellas-war-story-a-hot-day-in-a-bank/) - Raffaella Roviglioni is a UX designer at usertest/lab. In this story she experiences, like the title says, a hot day in a bank! I like planning for fieldwork as much as carrying out those plans. But if there's one lesson I learned from my experience it's that no matter how well you think about any - [A "first interview" story](https://portigal.com/a-first-interview-story/) - Jennifer Kim talks about her experience in preparing for (or not) conducting her first interviews. She is honest about her mistakes, and what she's learned. I found myself feeling critical of her general neediness: when a participant doesn't react well to her unprepared interviewing, she is hurt; when a participant gives her feedback and encourages - [My talk about "How to Interview Users to Uncover Insights"](https://portigal.com/my-talk-about-how-to-interview-users-to-uncover-insights/) - I recently spoke about How to Interview Users to Uncover Insights the Lean Product Meetup in Silicon Valley. They’ve just posted the video and I’ve embedded it and the slides below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU6boAu_7jU http://www.slideshare.net/steveportigal/how-to-interview-users-to-uncover-insights - [Doug's War Story: Knock-knock! Who’s there?](https://portigal.com/dougs-war-story-knock-knock-whos-there/) - Doug Cooke is founder of Tinder, a research consultancy focused on people-centered innovation. In a recent research and strategy project focused on defining a new global platform for a medical device, our research plan required us to shadow clinicians and others as they used existing devices in the "context of care." With minor issues like - [It's a wrap for Dollars to Donuts, Season 2](https://portigal.com/its-a-wrap-for-dollars-to-donuts-season-2/) - I just wrapped up the second season of Dollars to Donuts, the podcast where I speak with people who lead user research. Check out all the great interviews this season. Links include transcripts and links for each episode. Monal Chokshi of Lyft Kate Lawrence of EBSCO Pree Kolari of eBay Gabe Trionfi of Pinterest Elizabeth - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-785/) - The science behind disgust [Salon.com] - I am fascinated by what our individual disgusts say about us. Disgust is a great reaction to evince during an interview, and reflect on; to unpack it with that person! Culture, physiology, personal history, emotion, instinct...disgust has got it all. Humans are evolved creatures, but we're also spectacularly different - [KSJO's switch to Latin oldies rocks headbangers' world](https://portigal.com/san-jose-ksjos-switch-to-latin-oldies-rocks-headbangers-world/) - San Francisco Chronicle Steve Portigal was on the way to the gym in his Miata, looking for an AC/DC fix on his car radio, when he drove smack into the changing face of California. The dial was tuned to 92.3 FM, but instead of the screaming hard-rock guitars that have blared from KSJO for 36 - [Mary Ann's War Story: Be Prepared](https://portigal.com/mary-anns-war-story-be-prepared/) - Ethnographer Mary Ann Sprague is forced to improvise when one slip changes her plan. I have always taken great care and a certain amount of pride in always being on time and prepared for field sites and interviews. I thank my mentors for instilling this in me early on. I always made sure I had - [Grant McCracken on his interview technique and mindset](https://portigal.com/grant-mccracken-on-his-interview-technique-and-mindset/) - Another fantastic Grant McCracken post. He conducts a short interview (embedded below) and offers a terrifically insightful reflection on his technique as well the meaning of the overall endeavor. A must-watch/read for interviewers. Another thing I liked about the interview was the glimpse it gives of city life. In this case, of the invisible distinctions - [Sign up to get blog posts by email](https://portigal.com/sign-up-to-get-blog-posts-by-email/) - Did you know that you can receive all blog posts by email? Go here to sign up. Yeah, portigal.com has long had this capability, through Feedburner, eventually bought by Google. It's still running but it seems that Google has abandoned it. Feedburner emails look something like this It's not even possible to tell if it's - [How To Tell If Your Participant Is Faking It](https://portigal.com/how-to-tell-if-your-participant-is-faking-it/) - Although How To Tell If Your Participant Is Faking It is mostly about usability testing and unfortunately chooses to frame the participant as "faking" (a nice word for lying) it's nice to see this level of specific detail around the clues to look for in terms of how people express themselves. Your participant reflects in - [FreshMeat #22: License To Shill](https://portigal.com/freshmeat-22-license-to-shill/) - ======================================================== FreshMeat #22 from Steve Portigal ========================================================= (__) (oo) Fresh \/ Meat Can't have any pudding if you don't read FreshMeat! ========================================================= We make no mention of the huge bottle of Yoo-hoo beverage ========================================================= Last month I flew to New York to attend the Licensing International tradeshow. If SpongeBob is going to end up on - [Make sure you're still subscribed to Dollars to Donuts](https://portigal.com/make-sure-youre-still-subscribed-to-dollars-to-donuts/) - When I launched the new portigal.com just over two weeks ago, there were some changes to Dollars to Donuts. Episodes don't appear on the blog, instead they are all now on the dedicated podcast page. There are separate feeds for the blog and the podcast as well. If you subscribe in iTunes ideally the transition - [The Chinese Edition of Interviewing Users](https://portigal.com/the-chinese-edition-of-interviewing-users/) - Interviewing Users is now available in a special Chinese edition! (alternate site) This edition features a new introduction written by Professor Xiangyang Xin. And just for fun, the publisher's page for the book includes these little guys - [Whose Job is User Research?](https://portigal.com/whose-job-is-user-research/) - I was interviewed by Laura Klein and we discussed Whose Job is User Research? Not every research study requires an expert at the helm. Quite a few products would benefit from having somebody on the main product team who could quickly get feedback or answers to simple questions. “Even a newbie researcher should be able - [Ari's War Story: Chicken Run](https://portigal.com/aris-war-story-chicken-run/) - Ari Nave is Principal at The King’s Indian. My very first field research was in the north of Ghana along the Volta River north of Keta Krachi, trying to unpack the usage rights and other factors that enable the sustainable use of a common pool resource (in defiance of the tragedy of the commons). The - [Steve's War Story: Giggling and Grunting](https://portigal.com/steves-war-story-giggling-and-grunting/) - I originally posted this in 2006, and revised it slightly for Interviewing Users. I thought it was time to add it to the War Stories archive and so here's the original version. online pharmacy elavil no prescription As we rang the doorbell, my colleague and I unconsciously straightened, preparing ourselves for that all-important first impression, - [Welcome to the new Portigal website!](https://portigal.com/welcome-to-the-new-portigal-website/) - Today, after about 13 months of work, we launched a brand new website. As always happens, you don't quite know what's working until you get it on its feet. If you usually see posts via an RSS reader, will this post show up? I hope so. But what about podcasts? Well, we've moved those into - [Announcing: War Stories](https://portigal.com/announcing-war-stories/) - We love stories, and in our work as ethnographers, we love war stories about fieldwork. These experiences - the crazy household, the dog that does his business on your shoes, the GPS failure - are inevitable and are often (at least in hindsight) hilarious. Exchanging these stories is a way of socializing our technique and - [Vanessa's War Story: DDoSed in Vegas](https://portigal.com/vanessas-war-story-ddosed-in-vegas/) - UX Researcher Vanessa Pfafflin shares this great story, where she finds success in failure. Warsaw Apteka PL Farmacia-Sevilla.com My colleague and I were visiting Las Vegas for a trade show and decided to tack on some field visits at a couple of our Vegas clients' businesses. We planned to help out at the trade show - [Tom's War Story: Go with the flow](https://portigal.com/toms-war-story-go-with-the-flow/) - Tom Williams, Principal of Point Forward is confronted with his own health concerns, and with some unexpected practices for managing bureaucracy. Our ethnography research team visited a small neighborhood health clinic in Beijing to study its workflow. It was 2009 and concern over H1N1 swine flu was at its peak. There was a special flu - [Leo's War Story: No, We Really Meant the User](https://portigal.com/leos-war-story-no-we-really-meant-the-user/) - Product Design Manager Leo Frishberg underscores the effort required to ensure you're seeing the right user in the right context. Our team was embarking on an ambitious, multi-country Contextual Inquiry effort. We had created our sample cells, identified the right industries, established a great relationship with our sales team and done All The Right Things - [Diane's War Story: Interrupted Interview](https://portigal.com/dianes-war-story-interrupted-interview/) - Diane Loviglio, User Experience Researcher at Mozilla, has a story that reminds us our participants are part of larger systems that we don't have insight into when we're recruiting them. We walk down a nondescript hallway, me and my team's designer and engineer. It's the first time the three of us have been in the - [Susan's War Story: The trust dance](https://portigal.com/susans-war-story-the-trust-dance/) - Ethnographer Susan Wilhite has a jangly impressionistic story about committing, body and soul, to her participant's world. Fieldwork in New York City, this time shadowing a Dominican guy in Queens. Tech-edgy and as proud of his gamer laptop as greasy dudes are about their hotrods. It was early July and I was there to get - [Dan's War Story: Shanghai Surprise](https://portigal.com/dans-war-story-shanghai-surprise/) - Dan Szuc (writing on behalf of the whole Apogee team, including Jo and Hok) relates a familiar experience about equipment failure, highlighting the importance of improvisational problem solving and supportive team dynamics. We were on on the train in Shanghai on our way to visit a person in their home as part of a research - [George's War Story: Skyfall (or A View to A Kill)](https://portigal.com/georges-war-story-skyfall-or-a-view-to-a-kill/) - Design researcher George Ressler navigates gravity and the TSA in order to collect user data in an innovative way. Recently I was on a project that focused on observing customer's shopping behaviors at a retail space in Philadelphia. This was not the typical shop along project because I was asked to observe customers without altering - [Lisa's War Story: When Rapport Goes Too Far](https://portigal.com/lisas-war-story-when-rapport-goes-too-far/) - Lisa Aronson Fitch, a qualitative customer researcher who works in product development, struggles with balancing her personal boundaries with the need to connect with her participant. While working at a product development consultancy several years ago, I went to Southern California to conduct a series of in-home interviews for a consumer product client. As we - [Brandon's War Story - CATastrophe](https://portigal.com/brandons-war-story-catastrophe/) - online pharmacy purchase tenormin online generic Brandon Satanek (Twitter, blog) is a User Experience Designer who lives in Michigan, trying to make everyday products better. He tells a story about a multi-sensory fieldwork experience. I'll never forget the sight of that poor kitten munching on a cockroach. Our mission was relatively simple. Being employed by - [Michael's War Story: The glass is more than half full](https://portigal.com/michaels-war-story-the-glass-is-more-than-half-full/) - This story comes from Michael Powell, Cultural Anthropologist at Shook Kelley. He blogs occasionally here and tweets unoccasionally here. I was on the job at Shook Kelley (a Los Angeles strategy and design firm with roots in architecture) for about one and a half weeks when I was asked to travel to a small town - [Elaine's War Story: I thought my client was going to die](https://portigal.com/elaines-war-story-i-thought-my-client-was-going-to-die/) - Elaine Ann, the CEO of Kaizor Innovation in Hong Kong tells a story about consciousness - both cultural and physical. Apotek Copenhagen Danmark One of my most memorable research experiences was ten years ago in China. My Western client fainted in broad daylight in the middle of our Beijing field trip. We had completed field - [Dennis's War Story: Negotiating between sympathy and empathy](https://portigal.com/denniss-war-story-negotiating-between-sympathy-and-empathy/) - Design researcher Dennis Nordstrom tells a story about his team's own emotional journey as they find themselves face-to-face with someone else's distress. Whenever we conduct design research our aim is to gain empathy for our target audience. Through empathy we enable ourselves to bring together our imagination and creativity as a way to develop a - [Carla's War Story: A dirty diaper sitting in the mud](https://portigal.com/carlas-war-story-a-dirty-diaper-sitting-in-the-mud/) - Consumer insights professional Carla Borsoi encounters the outlier that illustrates a greater truth. There is nothing like home research to challenge your notions of whether or not everyone lives like you. Earlier this year, we were doing research on how people use multiple devices (phones, tablets ad computers) - what they are doing with each, - [Elysa's War Story: Keep The Swiffer On Your Right](https://portigal.com/elysas-war-story-keep-the-swiffer-on-your-right/) - online pharmacy buy vilitra no insurance with best prices today in the USA online pharmacy no prescription Senior strategist Elysa Soffer heads into the field where an adventure in building rapport awaits. She's Caucasian, 75 years old, retired, married with 2 grown kids, lives in Berkeley, and cleans her floors 2 - 4 times a - [Sharon's War Story: Broken Windows Theory](https://portigal.com/sharons-war-story-broken-windows-theory/) - Sharon Cartwright, a consultant with Optimal Experience, shares her story about uncovering context. We were surprised that Anna wasn't at home when we arrived at her house. We could see through the lounge windows that the house was empty of furniture and personal belongings, adding further to the intrigue. We had followed our usual protocol - [David's War Story: Suit yourselves](https://portigal.com/davids-war-story-suit-yourselves/) - David Serrault is an Information Architect and Experience Designer for SNCF, in France. It took a long time and several discussions with the stakeholders from SNCF (the French railways operator) to receive authorisation for a field investigation using old-age simulation suits. We were to focus on Gare Du Nord, the largest railway station in Europe. - [Daria's War Story: Human Thresholds](https://portigal.com/darias-war-story-human-thresholds/) - Here's a story about a very challenging participant, from Daria Loi who works as UX Innovation Manager at Intel. About five years ago a colleague and I traveled to Sweden, Indonesia and PRC for a study of storage practices in homes. We were particularly interested in observing everyday activities related to the "stuff" one owns, - [Valerie's War Story: Rank order](https://portigal.com/valeries-war-story-rank-order/) - This story comes to us courtesy of Valerie Green, Research & Strategy Manager at Teague. I was recently working on an air freshener project. It's important to note at the onset that I live in Seattle, enjoy fresh air most of the year, and don't favor perfumes or fragrances in my home. So it was - [Rachel's War Story: Subject Matter May Be Inappropriate](https://portigal.com/rachels-war-story-subject-matter-may-be-inappropriate/) - Rachel Wong, an independent design researcher and strategist, recalls a particularly revealing study participant. I was working at a design firm, doing a quick photo diary study. The user segment we were studying were young X-Games-types, e.g., risk-takers and thrill-seekers. We were trying to get inspired by their mindset and approach to life. This was - [Whitney's War Story: Stories of War](https://portigal.com/whitneys-war-story-stories-of-war/) - Whitney Hess is the author of Pleasure & Pain, and the founder and principal of Vicarious Partners, an independent consultancy specializing in strategic user experience. She believes empathy builds empires. I interviewed Holocaust survivors. Four words that still send shivers down my spine. Their stories were meant to shape my research; they ended up shaping - [Kavita's War Story: Managing money, oh joy!](https://portigal.com/kavitas-war-story-managing-money-oh-joy/) - Kavita Appachu shares her story about uncovering emotion where she hadn't expected to find it. Finance has never been my thing, and where possible I leave the chore of managing my finances to others. That changed somewhat a few years back when I started working for a company that makes financial software, specifically tax software. - [Tom's War Story: House Rules](https://portigal.com/toms-war-story-house-rules/) - online pharmacy purchase metformin online no prescription online pharmacy order zocor no prescription with best prices today in the USA Tom Wood is one of the partners at Foolproof, an experience design firm based in the UK. online pharmacy buy minocin no prescription About 10 years ago I was trying to understand online poker playing - [Alicia's War Story: Don't hate on a tinkler](https://portigal.com/alicias-war-story-dont-hate-on-a-tinkler/) - Alicia Dornadic is a design researcher in the San Francisco Bay Area. Going to someone's home for the first time to interview them, especially in an unfamiliar culture and language, can be awkward. Showing up with two researchers, a cameraman and a couple clients in tow - all of whom are over-caffeinated and in need - [John's War Story: An Ethnographic Encounter with Occupy Wall Street](https://portigal.com/johns-war-story-an-ethnographic-encounter-with-occupy-wall-street/) - This story (told live at our New York book launch party) comes from John Payne of Moment Design. "Mic Check, Mic Check!" he said with some authority as he jumped up on the planter. "Mic Check, Mic Check!" The crowd quickly repeated. "Security team needed near the information tent," he continued. The crowd again repeated. - [Lindsay’s War Story: Sexism in the City](https://portigal.com/lindsays-war-story-sexism-in-the-city/) - Lindsay Moore is an independent design research and strategy consultant from Colorado. We were in New York City, on day four of a three-week fieldwork trip. We had had some bumpy interviews the first few days, including a participant who clammed up because her husband was in the room, another who wasn’t comfortable showing us - [War Story: Seeing Ourselves As Others May See Us](https://portigal.com/war-story-seeing-ourselves-as-others-may-see-us/) - Here we break with tradition and present a story anonymously, to mitigate against mortification of those involved. online pharmacy https://labs.reidhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/sildalis.html no prescription pharmacy Twenty something and fresh out of my MA program I obtained a little consulting job which I completed from afar. The company mailed me a video camera and interview guide and sent - [Steve's War Story: Finding Mojo “In the Moment"](https://portigal.com/steves-war-story-finding-mojo-in-the-moment/) - Steve Sato is the Principal at Sato+Partners, a customer-centered strategy and stakeholder-centered organization design consultancy. We were three days into our 18-day research trip. The clock was ticking and our progress had been frustratingly slow. We had nary an insight to show for our time spent here so far. It was 9 o’clock in the - [Gerry's War Story: Right to be Wrong](https://portigal.com/gerrys-war-story-right-to-be-wrong/) - online pharmacy champix for sale no prescription Gerry Gaffney runs the UX consultancy Information & Design in Melbourne. He publishes the User Experience podcast and is current director of publications at UXPA. I was researching, with my colleague Patrizia Bordignon, how people thought about and dealt with home renovations. One of the methods was a - [Chauncey's War Story: Secrets, Security and Contextual Inquiry](https://portigal.com/chaunceys-war-story-secrets-security-and-contextual-inquiry/) - UX architect Chauncey Wilson shares a rather scary story about permissions gone missing. In the 1980s, I worked for about 7 years at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) as a usability engineer. My group was led by John Whiteside, who pushed to make usability a serious discipline informed by metrics, fieldwork, and lab studies. The method - [David's War Story: Let it Bleed](https://portigal.com/davids-war-story-let-it-bleed/) - David Hoard is an interaction designer and here he shares his second story. Years ago we were re-designing a device to cool a patient’s blood during open heart surgery. This protects the body during the procedure. The client arranged for us to witness a heart operation, and we were pretty excited about that. My only - [Patricia's War Story: The Hidden Persuader](https://portigal.com/patricias-war-story-the-hidden-persuader/) - Patricia Colley is an experience designer and the Principal of Creative Catalysts in Portland, OR. Apotheke Vienna Austria In 1984, I was 23, and working for a market & social research firm in San Antonio, Texas. They sent me down to McAllen to collect voter opinions on the upcoming national elections. McAllen is a sleepy - [Jenn's War Story: Burns, Bandages, and BBQ](https://portigal.com/jenns-war-story-burns-bandages-and-bbq/) - Jenn Downs is a UX Designer at ShootProof in Atlanta, GA. I was out of town with a colleague for a full-day customer visit. While getting ready for the day I burned my thumb pretty badly on my hair straightening iron. It was the kind of burn you can soothe for about two seconds before it - [Susie’s War Story: A Sigh Is Just A Sigh](https://portigal.com/susies-war-story-a-sigh-is-just-a-sigh/) - Susan Simon Daniels is a Senior Design Insights Analyst at BlackBerry in Waterloo, ON. In September 2012, I was interviewing people who had recently purchased and set up a smartphone. During the interview, I asked the participants to unbox and set up another, new smartphone to see if any usability problems emerged. One of the - [Julia's War Story: For Want Of A Shoe](https://portigal.com/julias-war-story-for-want-of-a-shoe/) - Julia Thompson is a Design Research & Insights Analyst at BlackBerry in Waterloo, Canada. It all started with a simple question from the dispatcher: “Do you want a call when your taxi arrives?” My nonchalant answer: “No thanks, I should be okay.” was the nail in my coffin. This was my first error in a - [Jennifer's War Story: Keeping the Lights on in Vegas](https://portigal.com/jennifers-war-story-keeping-the-lights-on-in-vegas/) - Jennifer Pretti is the Manager of the User Experience Design Team at Christie Digital in Kitchener, Canada. At Christie Digital, we have a very niche population of users. Opportunities to observe them using our projectors are highly coveted by my UX team. In February 2014, we were invited by a good customer of ours, Staging - [Announcing the Omni project!](https://portigal.com/announcing-the-omni-project/) - Look out honey, cuz I'm using technology!* Today I'm thrilled to announce that Portigal Consulting is embarking on a self-funded study about the impact that digital technology is having on our lives. That's certainly ambitious, when put that way, and of course we will be refining our direction, our research question, our business question, etc. - [Give us your examples: How did we do X before Y?](https://portigal.com/give-us-your-examples-how-did-we-do-x-before-y/) - As we begin trying to define the focus and scope of our exploration, we're in our own lives with our eyes and ears open, immersing ourselves in the space. We're capturing sources for secondary research, speaking to each other about what we're reading, and as we always do in in a project, bringing mindfulness and - [How did we do X before Y?](https://portigal.com/how-did-we-do-x-before-y/) - As I posted previously, we're looking for examples of how technology has changed an ordinary task so fundamentally that you can't believe you once did it differently. As I wrote "Even though I was there and did it, it is beyond my power to comprehend now." Thanks to everyone who contributed: Laura Borns: How did - [Tech relationship similes](https://portigal.com/tech-relationship-similes/) - Over the past week or so, I've noticed some of the ways folks in the media frame and express our relationship to entities we interact with on the web. There's something odd about the murkiness of roles and power dynamics. One thing is for sure - it's gone far beyond the consumer-producer relationship. To Daniel - [Adrian Hon: Illustrate a better future](https://portigal.com/adrian-hon-illustrate-a-better-future/) - This interview has been edited, condensed, etc. Adrian Hon is co-founder and CEO at Six to Start, specializing in game-like stories and story-like games. Clients have included Disney Imagineering, the BBC, Channel 4, and Penguin, and Six to Start has won multiple awards including Best of Show at SXSW. He also writes about technology for - [the Omni project welcomes Kristine Ng](https://portigal.com/the-omni-project-welcomes-kristine-ng/) - We're stoked to announce that Kristine Ng, a 2nd year masters student at UC Berkeley's School of Information, has been assimilated into the hive mind online pharmacy buy seroquel online with best prices today in the USA will be helping out with the Omni project. Kristine's studies are concentrating on user experience and HCI, and - [Julian Bleecker: Creating Wily Subversions](https://portigal.com/julian-bleecker-creating-wily-subversions/) - This interview has been edited, condensed, etc. Julian Bleecker is a designer, technologist and researcher in the Advanced Projects studio at Nokia Design in Los Angeles and the Near Future Laboratory where he investigates emerging social practices around new networked interaction rituals. His focus is on hands-on design and prototyping as a way to raise - [Molly Wright Steenson: Shifting time](https://portigal.com/molly-wright-steenson-shifting-time/) - This interview has been edited, condensed, etc. Molly Wright Steenson is an architectural historian, designer, researcher and strategist. She is a Ph.D. candidate at Princeton University's School of Architecture, where her dissertation, "Artificial Intelligence, Architectural Intelligence: Nicholas Negroponte ad the Architecture Machine Group" looks at the intersection of technology and architecture in the 60s and - [Omni Quickies](https://portigal.com/omni-quickies/) - Not Quite Smart Enough [NYT] - Smart appliances are back, yet again! Engineers are crammed atop happily dumb products because, well, because they can. The classic of course is the Smart Fridge, the result of jetpack-denied technologists channeling their rage. We've heard the use cases over and over again, we aren't that interested (are we?) - [Omni Quickies](https://portigal.com/omni-quickies-2/) - Cockroaches equipped as wireless networks [SF Chron] - While this is not "the" technology that Minority Report made famous (that would be the gestural interface), this reminds me strongly of those scurrying mechanical spiders that made their way through the building to chase down Tom Cruise. On its belly, each roach carries a dime-size circuit - [Reading Ahead: Project Launch](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-project-launch/) - We're very excited here at Portigal Consulting to announce the start of a new self-funded project--Reading Ahead. In Reading Ahead, we'll be exploring the evolution of reading and books from a consumer perspective--what it means to be a reader, how artifacts from traditional books to devices like Amazon's Kindle affect the experience, and what the - [Reading Ahead: Figuring out who to talk to](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-figuring-out-who-to-talk-to/) - People always ask us, "how do you find the people for your projects?" Figuring out how to identify appropriate people to interview for a project is all-important. For Reading Ahead, we know we need people who are active readers. What constitutes an "active reader?" We're defining it as people who read books at least three - [Reading Ahead: The Interview Guide](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-the-interview-guide/) - Before we go out in the field we write an interview guide (or field guide), a list of all the topics we want to cover. Interview guides end up being very linear and structured, but the interactions we have in the field are looser and more conversational. We'll let the way we pose our questions - [Reading Ahead: First day of fieldwork](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-first-day-of-fieldwork/) - Here's what my day looks like today--3 interview sessions starting this morning in Soquel, then up to San Francisco, and then over to Vallejo where I'll finish up around 9 pm. I've tried to schedule everything so I'll have time in between each interview to write notes. It's amazing how hectic what seems like an - [Reading Ahead: Fieldwork highlights - Tracy](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-fieldwork-highlights-tracy/) - During the fieldwork cycle, we write quick summaries of each interview session and send these immediately to our clients so they can start to circulate stories. At this point in the process we strive to stay descriptive; our goal is just to get stories about the people we're meeting out to the extended team (us, - [Reading Ahead: Fieldwork highlights - Erica](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-fieldwork-highlights-erica/) - During the fieldwork cycle, we write quick summaries of each interview session and send these immediately to our clients so they can start to circulate stories. At this point in the process we strive to stay descriptive; our goal is just to get stories about the people we're meeting out to the extended team (us, - [Reading Ahead: Fieldwork highlights - Peter](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-fieldwork-highlights-peter/) - During the fieldwork cycle, we write quick summaries of each interview session and send these immediately to our clients so they can start to circulate stories. At this point in the process we strive to stay descriptive; our goal is just to get stories about the people we're meeting out to the extended team (us, - [Reading Ahead: Fieldwork highlights - Chris](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-fieldwork-highlights-chris/) - During the fieldwork cycle, we write quick summaries of each interview session and send these immediately to our clients so they can start to circulate stories. At this point in the process we strive to stay descriptive; our goal is just to get stories about the people we're meeting out to the extended team (us, - [Reading Ahead: Fieldwork highlights - Jeff](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-fieldwork-highlights-jeff/) - During the fieldwork cycle, we write quick summaries of each interview session and send these immediately to our clients so they can start to circulate stories. At this point in the process we strive to stay descriptive; our goal is just to get stories about the people we're meeting out to the extended team (us, - [Reading Ahead: Fieldwork highlights - Julie](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-fieldwork-highlights-julie/) - During the fieldwork cycle, we write quick summaries of each interview session and send these immediately to our clients so they can start to circulate stories. At this point in the process we strive to stay descriptive; our goal is just to get stories about the people we're meeting out to the extended team (us, - [Reading Ahead: Topline Summary](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-topline-summary/) - As soon as possible after concluding fieldwork, we write a Topline Summary, in which we capture our first impressions and the ideas that are top-of-mind from being in the field. We're always careful to be clear about what the Topline is and isn't. There's synthesis that happens from the fieldwork experience itself (which the Topline - [Reading Ahead: Participatory Design](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-participatory-design/) - Tracy and her younger son thinking about possibilities for books and reading devices Our fieldwork sessions often include a piece in which we ask participants to brainstorm and fantasize about the future. In an earlier post, we talked about the simple models we were building for the Reading Ahead interviews. Book and device models for - [Reading Ahead: Photo Diaries](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-photo-diaries/) - In addition to our in-person fieldwork, we often ask research participants to do some kind of task on their own. In past projects, these assignments have included a range of activities, from workbooks and journals with specific daily prompts, to fairly open-ended photo diaries. For Reading Ahead, we asked people to do a short photo - [Reading Ahead: Analysis and Synthesis](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-analysis-and-synthesis/) - Synthesizing field data into well-articulated, data-driven patterns, themes, and opportunities is a big part of our work, but it's an aspect that generally has less visibility than the fieldwork. An essential early step in the synthesis process involves going back over the fieldwork sessions. An hour or two-hour interview creates an incredible amount of information. - [Reading Ahead: Looking for the story](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-looking-for-the-story/) - I started today by typing up all of the Post-it notes you saw in our recent blog post on Synthesis. This activity created a 6-page Word document of bullet points. The next part of the process is something I always find challenging: taking an incredibly detailed list of observations, particpant statements, hypotheses, and ideas; figuring - [Reading Ahead: Managing recruiting](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-managing-recruiting/) - There's always something new in every project. Often we encounter a bit of process that we may not know how to best manage it. So we'll make our best plan and see what happens. We learn as we go and ultimately have a better way for dealing with it next time. In a regular client - [Reading Ahead: Building models](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-building-models/) - We've been hard at work synthesizing the Reading Ahead data. There's a great deal of writing involved in communicating the results, and sometimes it makes sense to develop a visual model that represents a key idea. Here are several partial models evolving through paper and whiteboard sketches, and finally into digital form. 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"...a gleaming package stuffed with such goodies as an all-glass staircase. But it's not a real building. It's a 30-foot-high corporate branding concept that could be located anywhere. And it fails the first test of good - [Wal-Mart conference](https://portigal.com/108222000786491544/) - More than 250 sociologists, anthropologists, historians and other scholars who gathered at UC Santa Barbara for a conference on Wal-Mart came looking for more than the company's vital statistics. Like archaeologists who pick over artifacts to understand an ancient society, the scholars here were examining Wal-Mart for insights into the very nature of American capitalist - [3-Day Blinds](https://portigal.com/108225191229965967/) - We just went into 3-Day Blinds and put in an order. Why is it going to take 7 - 10 days??? - [SF dump artist in residence](https://portigal.com/108264581208040410/) - According to this story the SF dump has an artist-in-residence. And has, for a very long time. buy https://www.allcarehealthcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/phenergan.html online https://www.allcarehealthcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/phenergan.html no prescription pharmacy - [A mobile tale of three cities](https://portigal.com/a-mobile-tale-of-three-cities/) - The - [Anonymous Responses Are Useless](https://portigal.com/anonymous-responses-are-useless/) - From Garrick Van Buren's Work Better WeblogOne of my current projects has a major survey component. The survey ends with: If you'd be open to follow up questions, enter your email address below. There's about a 60 / 40 split on responses with emails and those without. 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It was a bit challenging for me to listen to; Genevieve Bell was the only person who (in a very radio-unfriendly fashion) tried to move the sound-bites into a discussion, usually - [User Research Strategies: What Works, What Does Not Work](https://portigal.com/user-research-strategies-what-works/) - User Research Strategies: What Works, What Does Not Work is tonight's BayCHI discussion panel, featuring Sheryl Ehrlich, Adobe; Christian Rohrer, eBay; Klaus Kaasgard, Yahoo!; Kaaren Hanson, Intuit; and Maria Stone, Google. Interesting to read all the bios and see they all have Ph.D.s. I'll be in Palo Alto tonight for the discussion (and I think - [Rambling thoughts on "User Research Strategies: What Works, What Does Not Work"](https://portigal.com/rambling-thoughts-on-user-research/) - Last night's BayCHI event was a good experience. A panel of champions of user research (Director, Manager, Lead, etc.) at key Silicon Valley companies (Google, Yahoo, Adobe, Intuit, and eBay) attracted a large and energetic crowd. The pre-meeting dinner was extremely well-attended. It felt like the discipline is having a good moment in the zeitgeist. - [Love your test participants more than yourself](https://portigal.com/love-your-test-participants-more-than/) - Wonderfully passionate blog entry about making that all-important connection with another person in a user-research setting. This would be great fodder for the workshop I'm leading at EPIC next month. Last week, after a long long time I had a chance to conduct user interviews again. I loved any minute of it. There is nothing - [user centered design - sort of - in NYC subways](https://portigal.com/user-centered-design-sort-of-in-nyc-subways/) - full storyMr. Malave was one of dozens of curious riders who attended an 'open house' sponsored yesterday afternoon by New York City Transit to show off and receive feedback on a five-car test train, a prototype of the R160, the newest generation of subway cars. Riders yesterday, told to focus on the FIND panel, were - [Little lies by focus groupies are costly](https://portigal.com/little-lies-by-focus-groupies-are-costly/) - Nice article about people that lie in order to qualify for market research studiesResearchers call these truth-stretchers focus groupies, a sneaky cadre that adopt multiple identities in order to secure paid seats on the dozens of focus groups that meet every week in the Bay Area. Firms pay $50 to $100 cash for an hour - [Primping for the Cameras in the Name of Research](https://portigal.com/primping-for-cameras-in-name-of/) - Cosmetics companies are striving to understand how their products are used differently in their various emerging markets. Presumably, they are elsewhere looking at differences in meaning buy champix online champix online generic , in addition to simply understanding usage.Crucial to that effort is the search for differences that could help build a brand in critical - [Interviewing and research tips](https://portigal.com/interviewing-and-research-tips/) - Dina has a bunch of great tips for people wanting to be better at user research/interviewing.# reading between the lines -- dont just go with what they 'say' - look for non-verbal cues that really tell you what they 'feel'. Also, try and understand the rationale behind what they say - laddering down to end - [An introduction to ethnographic research](https://portigal.com/introduction-to-ethnographic-research/) - I've written a little An introduction to ethnographic research that has been posted on the new blog for the Core77/BusinessWeek Design Directory. I'd be happy for any feedback. - [Ethnography and new product development](https://portigal.com/ethnography-and-new-product/) - From Innovation Weblog (via The Business Innovation Insider)Simply put, ethnography - as it applies to innovation - is the process of doing observational research, going into the field to watch how customers utilize your products. Often used in consumer new product research, ethnography is an excellent way to uncover new opportunities for product improvement. For - [BW on ethno](https://portigal.com/bw-on-ethno/) - BusinessWeek has a new article about ethnography online pharmacy spiriva over the counter with best prices today in the USA . The author posted a blurb about it on a mailing list I'm on, asking for feedback (I guess some on the list provided input into the piece) and expressing interest continuing the conversation. So - [Design Research: A Conversation with Steve Portigal](https://portigal.com/design-research-a-conversation-with-steve-portigal/) - Over at Functioning Form I'm in conversation with LukeW. To help me work through some recent thoughts I've had about Design Research, I asked Steve Portigal -founder of Portigal Consulting and all around bright guy- to talk about context within digital products and the connection between ethnographic research and design. Part one. Part two will - [Design Research: A Conversation With Steve Portigal (pt. 2)](https://portigal.com/design-research-a-conversation-with-steve-portigal-pt-2/) - Here's part 2 of my conversation with LukeW. Please see Functioning Form for part 1. Luke Wroblewski Let me try to clarify by taking a step back. I see field research as a way to remove some of the tarnish that comes with more "traditional" market research like focus groups and surveys. The common perspective - [NPR : The Art of the Interview, ESPN-Style](https://portigal.com/npr-the-art-of-the-interview-espn-style/) - This NPR story looks at the "interview coach" at ESPN and their attempts to bring a high level of quality to their interviewing. Page links to the NPR program and an exemplary interview and critique.Now, every single editorial employee at ESPN is expected to attend a three-day seminar, where they encounter a lanky, slightly awkward - [My UXWeek Session](https://portigal.com/my-uxweek-session/) - Here is a link to a podcast page for my recent talk at Adaptive Path's UXWeek.Effective user research requires both observation and interviewing. When doing research we strive to get outside our own default expectations and perceptions, in order to better see the details of what we're looking at, in other words, to understand the - [Our readers write](https://portigal.com/our-readers-write/) - Charles Frith emailed a question that he hoped I could address hereIs ethnography more suited to shedding light and depth on peoples relationships with some products or services over others? Are there times when it's completely unnecessary? That's a two-parter! I'll take a shot at this all, but I hope that others will jump in - [Yahoo! 360° away from clear](https://portigal.com/yahoo-360°-away-from-clear/) - I just got this email from Yahoo. Yahoo! Alerts Yahoo! 360° - My Alerts - Edit Alert Yahoo! 360° Steve P, Your Yahoo! Messenger contact wants to add you as a Friend in Yahoo! 360°. As Yahoo! 360° friends, you and can stay in touch through blogs, photos and much more. 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Toyota's chief engineers consider it their responsibility to begin a design (or a redesign) by going out and seeing for themselves - the term within Toyota is genchi - [Wal-Mart dramatically retargets (ahem) based on user research](https://portigal.com/wal-mart-dramatically-retargets-ahem-based-on-user-research/) - In today's New York Times There are "brand aspirationals" (people with low incomes who are obsessed with names like KitchenAid), "price-sensitive affluents" (wealthier shoppers who love deals), and "value-price shoppers" (who like low prices and cannot afford much more). The new categories are significant because for the first time, Wal-Mart thinks it finally understands not - [Global Innovation Research](https://portigal.com/global-innovation-research/) - Recently we were interviewed for two different global studies on global innovation. Both the German Research Foundation or Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs and Centre for Economic and Business Research or FORA separately came through the Bay Area as part of as study of leading innovation/design entities in the - [Tell me how you.. vs. show me how you...](https://portigal.com/tell-me-how-you-vs-show-me-how-you/) - We're doing a bunch of fieldwork these days looking at how people are using their software and hardware to accomplish some tasks. It's interesting to see the difference in the flow between the part where we ask people to describe what they do and how they do it, and the part where we ask them - [Seventeen ways to not suck at research](https://portigal.com/seventeen-ways-to-not-suck-at-research/) - I spoke recently at Shift, the IDSA conference held at RISD. I outlined seventeen ways to not suck at research: 1. Quit worrying about jargon 2. Think more broadly about which people you want to learn about 3. Garbage in, garbage out 4. Give other people the space to tell their stories 5. Follow up, - [Research screening](https://portigal.com/research-screening/) - I was bemused to see that Feast of Love opened last weekend. Our last time at the movies was when The Simpsons Movie opened, and I participated in some intercept-market research at the theater. Part of the lobby had been given over to these groovy looking kiosks, with a couple of guys in attendance, asking - [More on noticing and reflecting](https://portigal.com/more-on-noticing-and-reflecting/) - Recently I wrote about the importance of practicing our noticing and reflecting skills. A few weeks ago I read on MetaFilter about John Stilgoe "a professor at Harvard who teaches his students how to, among other things, - [Peeling The Onion](https://portigal.com/peeling-the-onion/) - From our Design Research Methods class, some observations from an interviewing exercise. The scenario was to conduct interviews in order to uncover opportunities in helping people to manage food, meals, nutrition, etc. The question asked was What are the challenges you face in meal preparation? Of course, that question is flawed because it presumes that - [Experienced pollsters know: people "lie"](https://portigal.com/experienced-pollsters-know-people-lie/) - As I've said before, garbage in, garbage out. From Rob Walker's Consumed online pharmacy solosec online with best prices today in the USA Recently, Stardoll did a study of its own, polling United States users about their brand preferences. Apparently they saw real-world brands on the same plane as the half-dozen or so invented brands - [Please wait here. We'll be right back with some fresh hot insight.](https://portigal.com/please-wait-here-well-be-right-back-with-some-fresh-hot-insight/) - I was interviewed recently for What insight is ethnography delivering? (PDF). It's a pretty clear piece, and I think we show well in it. Lots of tidbits but the closest thing to controversy is this: Portigal accepts that while there needs to be conditions, such as a ban on any logos being worn by the - [Listening vs. Hearing](https://portigal.com/listening-vs-hearing/) - In Fast Company's Green Guru Gone Wrong there's a sobering examination of sustainability architect William McDonough and the work that he's doing. I am sure this type of investigation is highly contentious, especially when icons like McDonough are revealed to be less-than-perfect. But it's interesting to note that some the project failures are tied to - [User Research Friday: Research and Design, Ships In the Night? (Updated)](https://portigal.com/user-research-friday-research-and-design-ships-in-the-night/) - (Updated to include audio, video, and interactions article) Here are my User Research Friday slides, along with audio and video. For me, the discussion at the end (there was a bit of stunned first-talk-of-the-day silence during question period so I turned it around on the audience and asked them to comment on the Escher-esque slide - [Speed of Innovation: Steve Portigal featured in Lunar Design podcast](https://portigal.com/speed-of-innovation-steve-portigal-featured-in-lunar-design-podcast/) - Inspired by my interactions column Hold Your Horses online pharmacy tadalista no prescription , I was interviewed for a Lunar Design podcast. How do speed, creativity and innovation intertwine in the design process? In this Connections episode, Gretchen Anderson and Lisa Leckie talk with Steve Portigal of Portigal Consulting about getting results through design research. - [Great interviewing means feeling the subtext](https://portigal.com/great-interviewing-means-feeling-the-subtext/) - I was inspired when I came across this bit from John le Carré's "A Most Wanted Man" online pharmacy stromectol no prescription with best prices today in the USA And again Bachmann let the observation pass. A halfway-decent interrogator, he liked to preach...doesn't smash the front door down. He rings the front doorbell, then goes - [Breathe their air](https://portigal.com/breathe-their-air-2/) - In Iain M. Banks' "The Algebraist", the protagonist Fassin Taak is a "Slow Seer" who spends years embedded alien cultures (including the complex Dwellers), engaging in conversation and seeking insight, in an activity referred to as "delving." Because he favors traveling to these other planets in person, he is challenged by the establishment who prefer - [Now online: slides and audio from "Well, we did all this research - now what?" at BayCHI](https://portigal.com/now-online-slides-and-audio-from-well-we-did-all-this-research-now-what-at-baychi/) - In addition to the summary posted last week, BayCHI has now posted the presentation from my recent talk, "We did all this research ... now what?" Audio - [5 Keys to Successful Design Research](https://portigal.com/5-keys-to-successful-design-research/) - Our friends at Core77 have launched Hack2Work: Essential Tips for the Design Professional. The feature includes a generous serving of amazing content including pieces by Tim Brown, Alissa Walker, Michael Bierut, and Liz Danzico. My contribution is 5 Keys to Successful Design Research 1. Embrace your participants' world view Great research will help you understand - [Don Norman says design research is great for improvement but useless for innovation](https://portigal.com/don-norman-says-design-research-is-great-for-improvement-but-useless-for-innovation/) - Don Norman, in a sneak preview to an upcoming column in interactions, posts a dramatic and thoughtful critique of the supposed applications for design research I've come to a disconcerting conclusion: design research is great when it comes to improving existing product categories but essentially useless when it comes to new, innovative breakthroughs. I reached - [Mike Tyson and the Power of Holding Your Tongue](https://portigal.com/mike-tyson-and-the-power-of-holding-your-tongue/) - The 2008 documentary Tyson by James Toback is a compelling and revealing work. From a technical perspective, it's a fun watch because Toback experiments with visual fragmenting and layered storytelling styles. In terms of subject matter, one would be hard-pressed to find a juicier, more tabloid-soaked figure to focus on, especially for those of us - [Effective Concept Testing: Getting the Answers You Want to Hear!](https://portigal.com/effective-concept-testing-getting-the-answers-you-want-to-hear/) - We were intrigued to see that Netflix is soliciting customer feedback about a new product concept. It's great to see them incorporating users into the development process, but we figure if they are going to be asking these sorts of questions, they might want to take the next logical step. Check out our re-enactment: online - [Local norms for listening vs. telling](https://portigal.com/local-norms-for-listening-vs-telling/) - Fieldwork transcripts are divvied up among team members Over a few days spent reviewing interview transcripts from the US and China, I was struck by the observations around storytelling vs. listening vs. followup questions in Returning to America from a life in China (abstract only) [I]n the States, I often had trouble responding to personal - [What Shoes Say](https://portigal.com/what-shoes-say/) - While doing a very straightforward image search for "shoes" the other day, I was presented with these two, side by side. They represent extreme cultural points: one of ultra-consumption (high fashion on the red-carpet), one of unconsumption based in necessity (re-purposed PET bottles). Both pair are ergonomically undesirable, one intentionally. The materials are strikingly similar, - [Our latest article: What to Expect When You're Not Expecting It](https://portigal.com/our-latest-article-what-to-expect-when-youre-not-expecting-it/) - Our latest interactions column (written in collaboration with Julie Norvaisas) What to Expect When You're Not Expecting It has just been published. We are inevitably astounded and affected by what exists outside of explicit research project constraints.We indulged in a little reflection on some of the people we've met and how meeting them took us - [Win Your Subjects Over with Genuine Enthusiasm](https://portigal.com/win-your-subjects-over-with-genuine-enthusiasm/) - Parallels to interviewing users crop up all over the place. Just like us, portrait photographers ask their subjects trust them, as they go on a journey that might be uncomfortable at times. I don't want to overwork the comparison, of course. You'll see more differences than similarities in this video, but what struck me was - [Listen to Steve speak with Jared Spool about "Immersive Field Research"](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-speak-with-jared-spool-about-immersive-field-research/) - I was recently interviewed by Jared Spool in anticipation of November's User Interface 16 conference (where I'll be leading a full-day workshop). You can listen to the interview below, and read the transcript here. To download the audio Right-Click and Save As... (Windows) or Ctrl-Click (Mac). There's a great sort of, what I think of - [Steve appears in two podcasts](https://portigal.com/steve-appears-in-two-podcasts/) - Steve was interviewed about interviewing users by Gerry Gaffney for the User Experience podcast (transcript here, audio here) and by Jared Spool for the UIE Spoolcast (transcript here, audio here). - [Tips to Improve Your Interviewing Skills (and a request for more!)](https://portigal.com/tips-to-improve-your-interviewing-skills-and-a-request-for-more/) - I'm working on some of the final chapters of my book about interviewing and am interested in the ways that people have developed their own skills as an interviewer. I'll list a few but this list can only get better with your input.Practice, man, practice. It's how you get to Carnegie Hall and it's how - [Talking to Strangers: Eugenio and Grace](https://portigal.com/talking-to-strangers-eugenio-and-grace/) - Where I see boundaries, you see opportunities. - Steve, to me On Monday Steve and I stumbled into a conversation that surfaced this difference between us in how we think about communicating with people. I've been reflecting on it all week and considering how it affects my interviewing practice. Mostly I have been paying more - [Seventeen types of interviewing questions](https://portigal.com/seventeen-types-of-interviewing-questions/) - I'm cited in Developing Your Interviewing Skills, Part I: Preparing for an Interview, with a set of question types. The article suggests those question types are helpful in preparing an interview guide. 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In this short and gently comedic film, Birbiglia pokes - [Our latest article: Never Eat Anything Raw](https://portigal.com/our-latest-article-never-eat-anything-raw/) - Our latest interactions column (written by Steve Portigal and Julie Norvaisas) Never Eat Anything Raw: Fieldwork Lessons from the Pros has just been published. Interviewing is based on asking questions. As children we all learned to ask questions (perhaps more than the adults around us were ready for!), but it takes work to become a - [I'll tell you something I think you'll understand](https://portigal.com/ill-tell-you-something-i-think-youll-understand/) - Losing All Hope Was Freedom (or LAHWF) is a project (with an associated YouTube channel) devoted to breaching experiments ("an experiment that seeks to examine people's reactions to violations of commonly accepted social rules or norm"). It takes a certain bravery to engage in these experiments, say going into an elevator and facing the back - [Dark Patterns for Interviewing](https://portigal.com/dark-patterns-for-interviewing/) - How to Win at Conversation is a humorous New Yorker article that frames conversation as a competition and offers up strategies (including Seed of Doubt, Barrage of Interruptions, Intentional Mishearing and Unfulfilled Intimations of Actual Gossip) for winning. You'll likely recognize when you've been on the receiving end, or maybe when you've done it yourself. - [Rapport building](https://portigal.com/rapport-building/) - Friend-of-a-friend Elizabeth Rubenstein took this awesome picture at our local Safeway. I'm always amazed to see the backstage on display where those of us who are frontstage can see it (see another Safeway example here). In this example we've got two separate Rapport Topics Of The Day: How do you like todays (sic) weather? How - [Henry Thomas and the Power of Silence](https://portigal.com/henry-thomas-and-the-power-of-silence/) - Henry Thomas's audition for E.T. is making the rounds in the blogosphere this week. It's a pretty incredible bit of emoting, improvising, acting. I'd like to highlight one thing that struck me: as the scene begins, the offstage actor sets up the conflict with his first line, and then turns it over to Henry (aka - [Interruption or Interjection?](https://portigal.com/interruption-or-interjection/) - Deborah Tannen writes in the New York Times about interruptions. She's riffing on this week's presidential debate but I thought this part was relevant to interviewing: You might think it's obvious that an interruption is when a second person starts talking before another has stopped. But how long a pause means "I'm done" rather than - [People Like Us](https://portigal.com/people-like-us/) - People Like Us was a mockumentary that ran on BBC radio in the late 90s before becoming a TV show. The radio shows are hilarious and a great illustration of what can and does go wrong in fieldwork. Each episode is essentially a total War Story. The shows follow a hapless reporter, Roy Mallard, investigating - [Video from UX Lisbon: Discover and act on insights about people](https://portigal.com/video-from-ux-lisbon-discover-and-act-on-insights-about-people/) - The lovely folks at UXLx have just posted the video from my talk earlier this year, Discover and act on insights about people. Some of the most effective ways of understanding what customers want or need - going out and talking to them - are surprisingly indirect. Insights produced by these methods impact two facets - [Loss of Context III](https://portigal.com/loss-of-context-iii/) - From New York Times Corrections for April 7, 2013 comes another demonstration of a) the importance of context in understanding what interview respondents are saying and b) the necessity of an actual recording of what was said. An accompanying feature transcribed incorrectly a comment from Callie Khouri, creator of the television drama "Nashville," about what - [Interviewing without questions, eye contact or rapport](https://portigal.com/interviewing-without-questions-eye-contact-or-rapport/) - Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here! Here's a really interesting project about How People Talk to Themselves in Their Heads. He would ask them to wear a microphone headset attached to a digital recorder and speak aloud their thoughts as he followed closely behind with a camera. He would not be able - [Interview with Steve posted on Ethnography Matters](https://portigal.com/interview-with-steve-posted-on-ethnography-matters/) - Here's an interview with me at Ethnography Matters. We talked about the book, the writing process and other aspects of how interviewing users is playing out in the corporate world. EM: How much heterogeneity is there between companies / clients? Are there any broad typological characterizations of companies and their attitude towards user research? Does - [Steve interviewed by Denise Lee Yohn about Interviewing Users](https://portigal.com/steve-interviewed-by-denise-lee-yohn-about-interviewing-users/) - I was interviewed by Denise Lee Yohn - we chatted about interviewing, insights, innovation, iPods and probably some other words that start with the letter i. Listen at the link or through the widget below. To download the audio Right-Click and Save As... (Windows) or Ctrl-Click (Mac). - [Marc Maron on listening](https://portigal.com/marc-maron-on-listening/) - Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here! About a year ago, Marc Maron (comedian, host of the WTF podcast, and an example in Interviewing Users) was on Chris Hardwick's Nerdist Podcast. They got into a discussion of interviewing, touching on listening-builds-empathy, the pressure on the interviewer to keep talking and choosing to interrupt. - [Empathy begets empathy](https://portigal.com/empathy-begets-empathy/) - Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here! In Chapter 1, I argue that in addition to gaining valuable information through interviewing, the process also builds empathy which in turn increases our overall capacity for empathy. Marc Maron (describing his journey with the WTF podcast), in this Rolling Stone interview, says the same thing - [Harry Dean Stanton and Silence](https://portigal.com/harry-dean-stanton-and-silence/) - Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here! At SXSW this year we saw Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction, a moody and elliptical portrait of the actor. Despite the filmmaker being a long-time friend of his, Stanton is evasive and mercurial, seeming more earnest when performing music for the camera than in answering questions - [Pattern-recognition is crucial for sense-making](https://portigal.com/pattern-recognition-is-crucial-for-sense-making/) - Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here! Excerpting from a great post...The Art of Observation and How to Master the Crucial Difference Between Observation and Intuition [Brain Pickings] - Highlights from a 1957 book by Cambridge University professor W. I. B. Beveridge come from the era of the scientific method but are broadly - [Rethinking Everything About What You Do For Customers](https://portigal.com/rethinking-everything-about-what-you-do-for-customers/) - Rebecca Mead's New Yorker feature The Sense of an Ending describes some really dramatic (and successful) reframes in care for dementia patients. There's a number of profound shifts in how the caregivers describe their role and in the kind of experience they seek to deliver for the patient (and their family). The whole article (linked - [I, For One, Welcome Our New Robot Interviewer Overlords](https://portigal.com/i-for-one-welcome-our-new-robot-interviewer-overlords/) - From Wired, comes These Adorable Robots Are Making a Documentary About Humans. Really. Created by artist and roboticist Alex Reben for his master's thesis at MIT, the BlabDroids are tiny, adorable robotic cinematographers who will be filming interviews at this week's Tribeca Film Festival in New York as part of the the film festival's transmedia - [On Huffington Post - An Interview with Steve Portigal](https://portigal.com/on-huffington-post-an-interview-with-steve-portigal/) - Check out An Interview with Steve Portigal Q. What's the difference between this type of research and something like focus groups? A: When interviewing people we arrange to meet with them in their own context: at home, at work, at the park, in the car; wherever the thing we're interested in is happening. We'll be - [The art of the interview](https://portigal.com/the-art-of-the-interview/) - Here are two insightful takes on the art of interviewing, from two different sources. First, Ira Glass is interviewed by Jacob Weisberg (the short video is embedded below). Glass explains how he helps people feel comfortable sharing with him by bringing himself into the conversation (a technique I'm not so keen on for user research, - [User research self-reporting in the YouTube era](https://portigal.com/user-research-self-reporting-in-the-youtube-era/) - Pizza in JAPAN (embedded below) is a charming video by some Canadian students living in Japan. It's the type of self-reporting I would love to see more of when I do researcher with users. In the easygoing video they walk through the whole experience from ordering online to the tasting. The young women offer pretty - [Steve on Business 901 Podcast](https://portigal.com/steve-on-business-901-podcast/) - I was interviewed by Joe Dager for his Business 901 podcast. We talked about the process of interviewing users (yes, there is a process), about documenting your interviews, and a lot more, in about 25 minutes. You can listen to the interview below, or at Business 901. To download the audio Right-Click and Save As... - [Interviewing the Interviewer - Steve Portigal talks with Maish Nichani](https://portigal.com/interviewing-the-interviewer-steve-portigal-talks-with-maish-nichani/) - UX Booth has published a two-part conversation I had with Maish Nichani of Pebble Road. In Part 1, Maish interviews me (excerpt below). We explore a few aspects of the research process, including how a project plan is negotiated. MN: What is an appropriate response to give clients who insist on specifying aspects of your - [Steve interviewed in UX Matters](https://portigal.com/steve-interviewed-in-ux-matters/) - UXmatters has just published their interview with me. Here's a snippet; please see the whole thing here. Jeff: Someone reading the unassuming title Interviewing Users might at first think that you've written an impersonal reference book. While there are sample documents and practical tips aplenty, there are also what are almost philosophical passages that refer - [Interviewing Users reviewed in QRCA Views Magazine](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-reviewed-in-qrca-views-magazine/) - Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here! George Sloan has reviewed Interviewing Users in QRCA (Qualitative Research Consultants Association) Views Magazine. You can see the entire issue of the magazine here or read the review as a PDF here. From an experienced researcher's point of view, Interviewing Users is confirmation of the skills - [Steve interviewed for UIE Book Corner](https://portigal.com/steve-interviewed-for-uie-book-corner/) - Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here! I spoke about Interviewing Users with Adam Churchill for UIE Book Corner. Listen at the link, or below. The transcript is here. Adam: What do you think people are going to do differently after reading this book? Steve: I think the book sets people up-it sounds - [That's one way to get research participants](https://portigal.com/thats-one-way-to-get-research-participants/) - Seen along highway 92 in Half Moon Bay. Subsequent screens indicate it's an online survey about commuting. Still, really? - [What Data Can't Do](https://portigal.com/what-data-cant-do/) - Heads, Oakland's First Friday, June 2013 I do love this NYT Op-Ed (What Data Can't Do) from David Brooks, especially Data struggles with context. Human decisions are not discrete events. They are embedded in sequences and contexts. The human brain has evolved to account for this reality. People are really good at telling stories that - [Steve interviewed for UX Magazine](https://portigal.com/steve-interviewed-for-ux-magazine/) - When I spoke recently in Los Angeles I was interviewed by Luke Swenson of Media Contour. The interview has been published on UX Magazine. When should our clients invest in user research? There are two things that you should watch for that can indicate it’s time. One is when you realize that you don’t know - [Stories fuel listening](https://portigal.com/stories-fuel-listening/) - StoryCorps is "an independent nonprofit whose mission is to provide people of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives." And they've just turned 10. Founder Dave Isay reflects It was about a year into this thing when I began to, I think, fully understand the - [The dangerous power held by the interviewer](https://portigal.com/the-dangerous-power-held-by-the-interviewer/) - A recent episode of This American Life tells a fascinating and horrifying story of a murder confession gone wrong. The story is a reflection from the retired detective who seems to have sincerely believed the woman in question to be guilty. He realizes in his reflection that he was open to hearing what fit his - [Grant McCracken's brilliant "Ethnography, a brief description"](https://portigal.com/grant-mccrackens-brilliant-ethnography-a-brief-description/) - Eloquent awesomeness by Grant McCracken The object of ethnography is to determine how the consumer sees the product, the service, the innovation. Often, this is obscure to us. We can’t see into the consumer’s (customer’s, viewer’s, user’s) head and heart because we are, in a sense, captive of our own heads and hearts. We have - [Steve quoted in "Digital Products Flunking User Test"](https://portigal.com/steve-quoted-in-digital-products-flunking-user-test/) - I was interviewed by CruxialCIO about how companies can design and redesign digital and mobile products that engage rather than frustrate. The article (Digital Products Flunking User Test) is broken across three tabs (Situation - Solutions - Takeaways) and the quotes from me appear on the second two tabs. FYI, the pages are a bit - [Steve interviewed about Best Practices For Interviewing Your Audience](https://portigal.com/steve-interviewed-about-best-practices-for-interviewing-your-audience/) - Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here! I spoke about Interviewing Users with Connie Malamed for the eLearning Coach podcast. Listen at the link, or below. WE DISCUSS: The impact that interviewing has on the product and the designer The places in a design/development cycle where user input is needed Skills needed to - [Steve's 5-minute talk on The Power of Silence](https://portigal.com/steves-5-minute-talk-on-the-power-of-silence/) - Thanks to the folks from Fluxible who posted my 5-minute talk from last fall's event. I talk about the power of silence in user research - and show just how hard it is to keep quiet when asking questions. - [One way to recruit in-home research participants](https://portigal.com/one-way-to-recruit-in-home-research-participants/) - Credit card issuer Capital One isn't shy about getting into customers' faces. The company recently sent a contract update to cardholders that makes clear it can drop by any time it pleases. The update specifies that "we may contact you in any manner we choose" and that such contacts can include calls, emails, texts, faxes - [Listen to Steve on Wise Talk](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-wise-talk/) - online pharmacy https://www.archtis.com/wp-content/uploads/1606/80/12.html with best prices today in the USA I was interviewed by Sue Bethanis for Mariposa Leadership's Wise Talk show. In an episode titled The Art of Interviewing Users we talked about how to see and notice in a different way, being aware of our own filters and biases, and constantly rediscovering what - [The personal commitment required for truly immersive research](https://portigal.com/the-personal-commitment-required-for-truly-immersive-research/) - Alice Goffman’s ‘On the Run’ Studies Policing in a Poor Urban Neighborhood [NYT] describes a sociologist who commits deeply to truly immersive fieldwork. At one level this simply reminds us of the differences between academic and industry work, but beyond that it surfaces just how personally demanding it is to deeply engage in a culture, - [Young students do "fieldwork" to learn about others](https://portigal.com/young-students-do-fieldwork-to-learn-about-others/) - In For Lessons About Class, a Field Trip Takes Students Home very young children are exposed to the homes and possessions of others. The thrust seems to be about class, but to me it seems like establishing an early model for empathy Apotheke Frankfurt Deutschland as well. The notion that other people are different from - [Facing Your Fears: Approaching People For Research](https://portigal.com/facing-your-fears-approaching-people-for-research/) - I've always found intercepts - where researchers stop people on the street and ask them to participate in a quick study - to be challenging. (I also prefer to have longer interactions with people and even have them prepare for those research conversations, but that is a bit outside the point here). In Facing Your - [Keeping the Humanity in our Technology Work](https://portigal.com/keeping-the-humanity-in-our-technology-work/) - A few articles about the practice of medicine echo each other in significant ways, but I share them here as a reminder that all of our work that increasingly relies on technology (e.g., developing digital products) will suffer terribly if we fail to engage the human who thinks, talks, listens and tells stories. With Electronic - [Building Rapport With Users Is Building Rapport With People](https://portigal.com/building-rapport-with-users-is-building-rapport-with-people/) - We use specific techniques to build rapport in user research, but of course those techniques work to build rapport in other situations. Here's two great examples of rapport in relationships that map quite closely to rapport in fieldwork. Caution: Stuffed Shirts Ahead [NYT] Instead, miss no opportunity to chat congenially with your new colleagues — - [The Advantages of Remote Interviewing](https://portigal.com/the-advantages-of-remote-interviewing/) - This NYT Magazine profile of author Laura Hillenbrand explores her writing process and considers the ways it has been impacted by her illness. One section of this excellent article had resonance for me around conducting remote interviews, something I'm frequently asked about. One hallmark of literary nonfiction is its emphasis on personal observation. But Hillenbrand - [Video from Interviewing Users talk at HOW Interactive](https://portigal.com/video-from-interviewing-users-talk-at-how-interactive/) - I was finally able to get my hands on the video from November's talk (Interviewing Users: Uncovering Compelling Insights) at the HOW Interactive Design conference. Below is the video both on YouTube and Vimeo (in case you have a preference?). Also below are the slides. - [Steve in online chat about insights and innovation](https://portigal.com/steve-in-online-chat-about-insights-and-innovation/) - Steve answered questions about insights and innovation in Ask the UXpert (transcript). - [An inflection point for user research: scandal](https://portigal.com/an-inflection-point-for-user-research-scandal/) - A user researcher is front and center in a Silicon Valley competitor-workers legal snarl. One now-former employee, Ana Rosario, was hired by Fitbit as a user experience researcher around April 16 but did not disclose that she planned to leave Jawbone until April 22, the complaint said. On April 20, according to the complaint, Ms. - [Steve presenting "Yes, My Iguana Loves to Cha-Cha" at Schwab's "Brain Circus"](https://portigal.com/steve-presenting-yes-my-iguana-loves-to-cha-cha-at-schwabs-brain-circus/) - Steve presented Yes, My Iguana Loves to Cha-Cha: Improv, Creativity and Collaboration at Schwab's Brain Circus on September 21. online pharmacy clomid for sale no prescription - [Steve presenting "Championing Contextual Research" at WebVisions Chicago](https://portigal.com/steve-presenting-championing-contextual-research-at-webvisions-chicago/) - Steve presented Championing Contextual Research in Your Organization (slides Farmacia-Sevilla.com ) at WebVisions in Chicago. - [Steve speaking about early-stage user research at General Assembly San Francisco](https://portigal.com/steve-speaking-about-early-stage-user-research-at-general-assembly-san-francisco/) - Steve spoke about early-stage user research at General Assembly's User Experience Design class in San Francisco (slides here). - [Steve speaking to University of Wisconsin, Madison "Design Thinking for Business" class](https://portigal.com/steve-speaking-to-university-of-wisconsin-madison-design-thinking-for-business-class/) - Steve spoke about best practices for user research to the University of Wisconsin, Madison "Design Thinking for Business" class. - [Steve presenting "Yes, My Iguana Loves to Cha-Cha" and "Muscles not Methods: Skill Building for Designers and Innovators" at Carleton University](https://portigal.com/steve-presenting-yes-my-iguana-loves-to-cha-cha-and-muscles-not-methods-skill-building-for-designers-and-innovators-at-carleton-university/) - Steve presented Yes, My Iguana Loves to Cha-Cha and Muscles not Methods: Skill Building for Designers and Innovators at Carleton University in Ottawa. - [Steve speaking at AAU](https://portigal.com/steve-speaking-at-aau/) - Steve spoke at San Francisco's Academy of Art University about best practices for design research. - [Steve Portigal: An Interactive Talk on Improv, Creativity and Design](https://portigal.com/steve-portigal-an-interactive-talk-on-improv-creativity-and-design/) - Steve presented Yes, My Iguana Loves to Cha-Cha: Improv, Creativity and Design hosted by IDSA Silicon Valley (writeup here). - [Steve to lead a session on Interviewing Users at Catapult Labs 2013](https://portigal.com/steve-to-lead-a-session-on-interviewing-users-at-catapult-labs-2013/) - Steve led a session on Interviewing Users at Catapult Labs 2013. - [Steve to speak at IDEO Design Research speaker series](https://portigal.com/steve-to-speak-at-ideo-design-research-speaker-series/) - Steve spoke about Interviewing Users at IDEO's Design Research speaker series. - [Steve speaking at IxDA Silicon Valley at Yahoo! on The Power of Bad Ideas](https://portigal.com/steve-speaking-at-ixda-silicon-valley-at-yahoo-on-the-power-of-bad-ideas/) - Steve presented The Power of Bad Ideas at IxDA Silicon Valley at Yahoo (slides). - [Steve on panel about Design-led Innovation](https://portigal.com/steve-on-panel-about-design-led-innovation/) - Steve was part of a panel entitled Design-led Innovation: Key to building successful products at TiE Silicon Valley. - [Design Research Fireside Chat with Steve Portigal](https://portigal.com/design-research-fireside-chat-with-steve-portigal/) - Steve was the guest a Design Research Fireside Chat at Yammer. - [Interviewing Users included in 10 Notable Design Books for July](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-included-in-10-notable-design-books-for-july/) - Designers and Books reviewed Interviewing Users as one of their Notable Books for July. - [Steve doing a Fireside Chat with Twitter design](https://portigal.com/steve-doing-a-fireside-chat-with-twitter-design/) - Steve spoke at a design/research Fireside Chat at Twitter. - [Steve giving Interviewing Users workshop at UX Week](https://portigal.com/steve-giving-interviewing-users-workshop-at-ux-week/) - Steve taught Interviewing Users: How To Uncover Compelling Insights at UX Week 2013 (PDF slides). - [Steve Portigal speaking in LA on 9/19](https://portigal.com/steve-portigal-speaking-in-la-on-919/) - Steve spoke about Interviewing Users at the The Los Angeles User Experience Meetup online pharmacy estrace for sale with best prices today in the USA (slides, video, alternate video, tweetstream) - [Steve leading workshop at Wolters Kluwer](https://portigal.com/steve-leading-workshop-at-wolters-kluwer/) - Steve taught a full-day workshop on user research at Wolters Kluwer in Tampa. - [Steve doing free O'Reilly webcast on Interviewing Users](https://portigal.com/steve-doing-free-oreilly-webcast-on-interviewing-users/) - Steve presented an O'Reilly webcast Interviewing Users (slides/recording at the link; Twitter summaries here online pharmacy buy celexa without prescription with best prices today in the USA and here). - [Steve speaking at IxDA NYC](https://portigal.com/steve-speaking-at-ixda-nyc/) - Steve spoke about Interviewing Users at IxDA NYC. - [Steve at School of Visual Arts in NYC](https://portigal.com/steve-at-school-of-visual-arts-in-nyc/) - Steve visited SVA and spoke about The Power of Bad Ideas at the Products of Design program and guested at the Interaction Design program in their Research Methods class. - [Steve a guest on Mariposa Leadership's "Wise Talk"](https://portigal.com/steve-a-guest-on-mariposa-leaderships-wise-talk/) - Steve was a guest on Mariposa Leadership's Wise Talk, discussing Interviewing Users (recording). - [Steve presented "Epic FAIL: Takeaways from the War Stories project" at CHIFOO](https://portigal.com/steve-presenting-epic-fail-takeways-from-the-war-stories-project-at-chifoo/) - Steve presented Epic FAIL: Takeaways from the War Stories project at CHIFOO in Portland (tweets, summary). - [Steve led workshop on "Soft Skills for Design and Innovation"](https://portigal.com/steve-leading-discussion-on-soft-skills-for-design-and-innovation/) - Steve led Soft Skills for Design and Innovation Pharmacie Marseille Française Apotheke Vienna at BrooklynUX (slides) - [Steve led a workshop in Grand Rapids: Soft Skills are Hard](https://portigal.com/steve-leading-a-workshop-in-grand-rapids-soft-skills-are-hard/) - Steve led Soft Skills are Hard at IxDA Grand Rapids (slides, video [starts around 30:00], photos) - [Steve teaching "Well We've Done All This Research, Now What?" at EuroIA](https://portigal.com/steve-teaching-well-weve-done-all-this-research-now-what-at-euroia/) - Steve taught Well We've Done All This Research, Now What? at EuroIA in Brussels [slides]. - [Steve Portigal speaking at ISA 2014 in Buenos Aires](https://portigal.com/steve-portigal-speaking-at-isa-2014-in-buenos-aires/) - Steve gave a keynote presentation, Designing the Problem, at Interaction South America Lekharna Prague ?esko in Buenos Aires [video, slides/audio/sketchnotes] - [Steve speaking to the Denver UX Book Club](https://portigal.com/steve-speaking-to-the-denver-ux-book-club/) - Steve spoke to the Denver UX Book Club (video). - [Steve speaking at Warm Gun conference](https://portigal.com/steve-speaking-at-warm-gun-conference/) - Steve presented Designing for Unmet Needs at Warm Gun. [slides/audio/sketchnote] Pharmacy-Montreal.com - [Steve speaking at the HOW Interactive Design Conference](https://portigal.com/steve-speaking-at-the-how-interactive-design-conference/) - Steve spoke about user research at the HOW Interactive Design Conference [slides, Vimeo, YouTube]. - [Steve led "Insight" track and taught Soft Skills working at EnterpriseUX](https://portigal.com/steve-leading-insight-track-and-teaching-soft-skills-working-at-enterpriseux/) - At EnterpriseUX held in San Antonio in May, Steve was a "theme leader" for the Insight at Scale track (videos, slides) and led a workshop on developing soft skills. - [Steve spoke about Listening at "People Skills for UX" virtual conference](https://portigal.com/steve-speaking-about-listening-at-people-skills-for-ux-virtual-conference/) - Steve spoke about listening at the People Skills for UX virtual conference. - [Steve giving webinar about Interviewing Users](https://portigal.com/steve-giving-webinar-about-interviewing-users/) - Steve presented a webinar about Interviewing Users for the Association of Registered Graphic Designers. - [Steve presenting Epic FAIL: Takeaways from the War Stories Project at Fluxible 2015](https://portigal.com/steve-presenting-epic-fail-takeaways-from-the-war-stories-project-at-fluxible-2015/) - Steve will be presenting Epic FAIL: Takeaways from the War Stories Project at Fluxible on September 26 in Kitchener, Ontario. - [Steve delivering keynote and running workshop at Interact 15](https://portigal.com/steve-delivering-keynote-and-running-workshop-at-interact-15/) - Steve will be presenting The Designer is Present as a keynote and teaching Soft Skills Are Hard as a workshop at Interact 15 on October 19-21 in London. - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-3/) - We all survived Friday the 13th last week and are ready to take on another week that certainly promises to end less ominously... So, what's happening this week at Portigal? Quite a bit... We are up to our ears in interesting opportunities that require some creative thinking about participant engagement. Our research gears are turning! - [Listen to Steve on the UX Podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-ux-podcast/) - I was interviewed by James Royal-Lawson and Per Axbom for the User Experience podcast, in advance of today's keynote The Designer is Present. You can listen to our short conversation below. To download the audio Right-Click and Save As... (Windows) or Ctrl-Click (Mac). - [Coming in 2016, a new book about War Stories](https://portigal.com/coming-in-2016-a-new-book-about-war-stories/) - I'm working on another book! It's Epic Fail: Design Research War Stories, and is based on the War Stories that I've been gathering since 2012. As design researchers, we love stories. At its simplest, our job is to gather stories and to retell them. War stories are accounts of contextual user research (research out in - [Support the War Stories for SXSW and more!](https://portigal.com/support-the-war-stories-for-sxsw-and-more/) - Watch this space for a big announcement about the War Stories coming up after Labor Day. In the meantime, I've applied to speak about War Stories in design research at SXSW. You can help here (whether or not you are planning to attend SXSW) by creating an account, voting thumbs up for the proposed talk - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-183/) - I'm in sweltering DC this week doing fieldwork; we started this am with a wonderful interview and I hope the rest of them are as inspiring and insightful! I really hope you can take just a minute to sign up or sign into the SXSW website in order to vote for my proposal to speak - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-182/) - I know it's Thursday, but I've been on vacation all week, so here's what's going on for the remainder of this week On Sunday I head to DC for another round of fieldwork so I'll be catching up on schedules and logistics and equipment as well as digging into the transcripts we've already received from - [Rhetoric over gunshot](https://portigal.com/rhetoric-over-gunshot/) - A big news story today deals with the Crawford, TX guy who fired a shotgun in the air, presumably in protest over the Sheehan gathering near both his and GWB's place. I was surprised by the rhetoric used by the SF Chronicle to describe the incident (story not available online).Larry Mattlage hopped into his pickup - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-181/) - Happy August! I'm in Denver doing fieldwork. We've already done half of the interviews (fascinating, as always!) and will be finishing up over the next two days. Then I'm back home, doing as much post-fieldwork wrap-up as I can before heading out on vacation, after which I'll be doing the second phase of fieldwork in - [Herbeau Creations Dagobert Throne Toilet](https://portigal.com/herbeau-creations-dagobert-throne-toilet/) - Step into a world of luxury with the Herbeau Creations Dagobert Throne Toilet. Take your bathroom back a few years with this pull chain antique style toilet that perfectly accents a clawfoot bathtub in your vintage bathroom. The toilet comes with an ashtray, candle holder, and hand painted toilet bowl and plaque. PRODUCT FEATURES - - [I Love My Chair](https://portigal.com/i-love-my-chair/) - Michael Surtees blogs I Love My Chair, a coffee table book-to-be with individually submitted images of people's chairs and stories of those chairs. It's a project by user research firm Sense Worldwide who like to create artifacts or events that reflect the culture they are detecting (see NoWax, their take on iPod-DJing). - [White Chairs Everywhere](https://portigal.com/white-chairs-everywhere/) - Functionalfate is a blog tied to a research project/museum exhibition about the ubiquitous white plastic chair. Discussion and other good links on MeFi; Seen in ThingsMagazine. Yet another example of "Yes, but is it art?" - [Catch that Kid](https://portigal.com/catch-that-kid/) - BusinessWeek describes a curious design research initiative. A UK home builder has a family living in a sensor-filled concept house, where the people are all RFID-tagged. They'll collect usage data for six months and then use the resulting who/where/when/how-long data to improve the home's design. Just like using weblogs to redesign a website - you - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-180/) - Howdy, all.... The travel is booked. The incentive envelopes are stuffed. The field guide is revised. Now we're just waiting for the recruiter to fill the slots this weekend and next week. I know it always works out but it's nerve-wracking having everything but participants. While I wait for fieldwork to kick off, I'm doing - [Fourth Amendment Could Be Your Bag](https://portigal.com/fourth-amendment-could-be-your-bag/) - Via BoingBoing Regardless of your perspective on the NYC subway bag searches, one must admit that this is genius. Use tools that put the customization (if not the direct creation) of products into everyone's hands and use the icon of the product itself to comment on the event. It's more than a slogan-on-a-t-shirt/button/placard, it's product - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-178/) - A hearty welcome to the week! We're finalizing a few reports this weeks: discussions with client stakeholders, a review of our client's existing research and secondary reports, and finally our own secondary reserach. In addition to giving us a lot of big questions to chew on, it's also informing who we want to talk to - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-177/) - Ugh. The Monday after a long weekend is dislocating. The fact that I stayed up until 2:00 am restoring an errant PC is probably not helping. I'm moving forward with a large project, working through the articles we've gathered to try and establish an initial hypothesis as well as parameters for screening the most helpful - [Attack of the $1 DVDs](https://portigal.com/attack-of-the-1-dvds/) - The New York Times writes about $1 DVDs, which are not bootlegs but simply films which have lapsed into the public domain for one reason or another.Digiview actually paid for the rights to 'American Vampire,' a kind of 'Beach Blanket Beowulf' starring Carmen Electra of 'Baywatch.' Whether anyone will pay for the DVD is unclear. - [Exchange Evolution](https://portigal.com/exchange-evolution/) - The photo is definitely quaint but still matches our iconic image of how trading (whatever that is; most of us have little understanding of the mechanics of markets or the activity of trading). Maybe we picture men in jackets with numbers on 'em, holding phones and throwing pieces of paper and yelling and yelling. But - [He can see the writing on the wall](https://portigal.com/he-can-see-writing-on-wall/) - If you attended the 2002 IDSA conference, you may have seen architect Bruce Tomb talk about his experience with his others in his community graffiti-ing or removing graffiti from his building, and how he essentially turned it into an ongoing art project. I wrote about it here (six boxes down, in blue) and today the - [Pearls Before Swine](https://portigal.com/pearls-before-swine/) - Jeez! Maybe I'm being uptight or something, but wow - that's just not so funny, it's kinda dark. - [Make any image a "Polaroid"](https://portigal.com/make-any-image-a-polaroid/) - This is pretty crazy - you can take any online image and turn it into a Polaroid. Now of course, a Polaroid has many attributes - in the taking, the developing, the texture, the quality, oh and the little spot to write on. This doesn't really offer all of this, but it still someone qualifies - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-176/) - It's officially summer! This week I'm digging into the two projects I kicked off last week. There's a lot of notes from meetings with teams and stakeholders to be sorted through, typed up, organized, action items determined, and so on. We've received a trove of secondary research and reports from past studies so that's something - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-175/) - Monday, Monday, Monday. I'm heading to the airport soon for a multi-city week of meetings. Tomorrow I'm in Las Vegas (107°) to kick off a new project, then I fly to Washington DC (90° and stormy) to kick off another project. It'll be a week of travel, meeting teams, establishing collaboration practices, learning about what - [Potato Farmers Loathe 'Couch Potato' Term](https://portigal.com/potato-farmers-loathe-couch-potato-term/) - I've excerpted the best bits, but feel free to read the full story British potato farmers demonstrated outside Parliament on Monday to publicize their bid to remove the term 'couch potato' from the Oxford English Dictionary, arguing that the description of slothful TV addicts harms the vegetable's image. The group of about 30 farmers carried - ["Organizational Empathy, from Top to Bottom" published in Appliance](https://portigal.com/organizational-empathy-from-top-to-bottom published in-appliance/) - My article Organizational Empathy, from Top to Bottom has been published by Appliance magazine. I consider my experience as an HMO "customer" as a way to look how organizations instill and act on empathy at all levels. I went online to make a medical appointment recently, and I was surprised that there was no place - [Meary: Design with Personality](https://portigal.com/78829818/) - Core77 has just published my article about an interesting Japanese product called Meary. - [The Cultures of Design](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-424/) - I've published a new column in DMI Connect - The Cultures of Design - In our engagements with different organizations we see a large range of cultures-of-design. I use that term to capture the aspect of an organization’s culture that drives how they determine what to make for their customers. I’ll outline a few prominent - [A new article about what I learned while doodling](https://portigal.com/a-new-article-about-what-i-learned-while-doodling/) - I've just published What I Learned From 100 Doodles in 100 Days, my first article in a long time. Here's an excerpt, but check out the whole thing on Medium. Last November I sat in the audience at the HOW Interactive Design Conference as Jim Krause spoke about “Habitual Creativity.” He talked about breaking out - [Don't know what you've got til it's gone](https://portigal.com/dont-know-what-youve-got-til-its-gone/) - The New York Times reports on a grassroots taxi redesign effort: A nonprofit group called the Design Trust for Public Space plans to 'define the ideal taxi and taxi system of the future.' At a workshop on May 24, designers, architects, city officials and representatives of taxi owners and drivers sketched out an array of - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-172/) - Happy June! I'm in town this week for the first time in a while. I'll be working on planning another set of workshops for our Boston folks next week. Yep, I thought I was rolling off that project, but they very graciously invited me to continue so I'll be back next week. I'll look for - [Boing Boing: Penn Jillette's daughter is named "Moxie CrimeFighter"](https://portigal.com/boing-boing-penn-jillettes-daughter-is-named-moxie-crimefighter/) - From Boing Boing "Penn and Teller's Penn Jillette has named his new baby daughter 'Moxie CrimeFighter.' With an incap on the 'F' in CrimeFighter. This man is my hero" Hero? Cory needs to get some perspective. Isn't it slightly less cool/leet/w00t when this sort of thing is inflicted upon a child? Sheesh. - [Out and About: Steve in Cambridge](https://portigal.com/out-and-about-steve-in-cambridge/) - I've been at Cambridge a couple of times in the past couple of months (and may be going back next week). Here's some of the pictures from my visits. Please do not throw coins in the water. It will negatively affect the fish. Book sale in Harvard Square, using a Bitcoin-powered honor system for payment. - [Out and About: Steve in Houston](https://portigal.com/out-and-about-steve-in-houston/) - I was in Houston a few weeks back to teach a user research workshop at a client's site. I did get some time to take photos and here's a few. Welcome hackers Spec's liquor Donut GUNS - [Out and About: Steve in San Antonio](https://portigal.com/out-and-about-steve-in-san-antonio/) - A couple of weeks ago I was in San Antonio, where I was one of the presenters and workshop leaders at the Enterprise UX conference. Here are some of my pictures. Out the hotel window, before the sun comes up. Welcome to the party. This toilet was flirting with me. Roasted? Iced? Local language norms - [Disciplinarity and Rigour? My keynote from Design Research Society conference](https://portigal.com/disciplinarity-and-rigour-my-keynote-from-design-research-society-conference/) - I was recently in the UK to give the opening keynote at the Design Research Society's Undisciplined conference. I detail some of my academic and professional history and talk about the concerns of a practitioner, perhaps an alternate take on what many in the audience (designers from academic settings) are thinking about themselves. Here are - [Learn the art of asking questions in Steve Portigal's UIE Virtual Seminar](https://portigal.com/learn-the-art-of-asking-questions-in-steve-portigals-uie-virtual-seminar/) - On January 28, I'll be presenting a UIE Virtual Seminar entitled Deep Dive Interviewing Secrets. Steve Portigal will show your team the art of asking the question. You might visit the user in their office or home, have them come to you for a usability test, or even have a chance encounter at a trade - [Culture: You're Soaking In It (from UPA2010)](https://portigal.com/culture-youre-soaking-in-it-from-upa2010/) - At UPA2010 in Munich last month, I presented Culture: You're Soaking In It Culture is everywhere we look, and (perhaps more importantly) everywhere we don't look. It informs our work, our purchases, our usage, our expectations, our comfort, and our communications (indeed, if you aren't familiar with a specific geographic and historical set of experiences, - [Sign up for Steve's upcoming webinar on User Research Analysis Techniques](https://portigal.com/sign-up-for-steves-upcoming-webinar-on-user-research-analysis-techniques/) - On April 7, I'll be presenting a UIE Virtual Seminar called User Research Analysis Techniques: You've Done All This Research, Now What?. Sign up here! Steve will explain synthesis, or how you turn field data into insights. Simply put, Synthesis is an iterative approach to sense-making. Steve will show you that it's about both the - [Next week - Steve's webinar on synthesizing user research data](https://portigal.com/next-week-steves-webinar-on-synthesizing-user-research-data/) - I'll be presenting my webinar User Research Analysis: You've Done All This Research, Now What on Thursday, April 7. This webinar is based on a workshop that I've led in Savannah, Atlanta, Hong Kong, Portland, Vancouver, and San Francisco, among other many other places. I'm always hearing from people who are interested but who aren't - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-170/) - Hello, Monday! I'm flying back today from a long weekend in Austin, taking a little break after the Enterprise UX conference. Tomorrow I'll be leading an improv session at RE:DESIGN/UXD. Following up on the work I did in Boston a few weeks back, next Monday I'm headed back there to share initial themes and run - [Architect calls for boycott on prison design](https://portigal.com/architect-calls-for-boycott-on-prison-design/) - SF Chron story about an architect calling for a boycott on designing prisons So the 31-year-old San Francisco architect changed course -- and issued a call to action to the drafting crowd that has made national waves. Sperry wants architects -- and their brethren engineers, designers and planners -- to refuse to design prisons. He - [Wired 13.05: Seoul Machine](https://portigal.com/wired-1305-seoul-machine/) - Wired has a nice history of SamsungIn his 1996 New Year's address, Lee proclaimed the Year of Design Revolution. He was referring to design in the broadest sense - not just styling but consumer research and marketing as well. Engineers had once defined new products and decided what features to give them; now specialists in - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-169/) - Greetings to all. Tomorrow I head back to Texas for the Enterprise UX conference. On Wednesday I will be leading the Insight at Scale session and on Friday I'll be teaching Soft Skills Are Hard. There are still a few more spaces in the workshop; use PORTIGAL15 for a discount. Next week I'll be leading - [I survive a violent assault](https://portigal.com/i-survive-a-violent-assault/) - I survive a violent assault Forty-five minutes ago I was fortunate to survive a violent, deliberate attempt to cause me harm. I took the dog for a walk, and just around the corner - less than 3 minutes from our house, on foot - a man in a pickup truck drove directly at me. There - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-168/) - Happy May! I'm on a plane to Texas today where I'll spend the next two days onsite with a client, leading an intensive user research training. Next week I go back to Texas to teach my Soft Skills workshop (and lead the Insight at Scale discussion at Enterprise UX). There are still a few more - [Who's Your Daddy?](https://portigal.com/whos-your-daddy/) - Game controller family tree via Waxy - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-167/) - And a welcome back to the work week to all. I'm onsite with a client all day today, running a workshop with ten leaders from around the world to dig into how they can better leverage their UX capability in product development. I've been interviewing these folks over the past few weeks and I'll be - [Design without Reach](https://portigal.com/design-without-reach/) - In a world of Make and ReadyMade comes Design without Reach. Let's see how long the site stays up, but we can hope that the folks at the original are tolerant of this clever homage/parody/tribute/rip by Thwart. - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-166/) - It sure is starting to feel like spring! I'm back from an exhausting and exhilarating week of interviews in Boston. 21 people in 4 days is a more intense schedule than I'd normally plan for but it's just how things worked out. Back a few days and already the transcripts are pouring in! This week - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-165/) - Well, happy Monday to all! Use discount PORTIGAL15 to save when you register for my workshop about Soft Skills coming up in San Antonio in mid-May. This week is mostly fieldwork in Boston, learning about how people search for information. I've got one more stakeholder conversation for an internal workshop, then a bunch on next - [Meet The New Authenticity](https://portigal.com/meet-the-new-authenticity/) - I'm a believer in the power of authenticity (as well as the greater power of inauthenticity). Fake blogs (aka flogs) were a bit of a scandal recently. Predictions for 2007 are focusing on this as well. Companies not acting in an authentic and honest way will be subject to the wrath of the newfound consumer - [George Carlin is a Modern Man](https://portigal.com/george-carlin-is-a-modern-man/) - George Carlin made his reputation as a comedian with a dirty mouth. But beyond being willing to say things that others aren't, he's also an oblique commentator on our society (sometimes, very direct, of course), and a master of words online pharmacy purchase clomid no prescription with best prices today in the USA . This - [Unconsumption - Pecha Kucha](https://portigal.com/unconsumption-pecha-kucha/) - Last night was San Francisco's Pecha Kucha night. I showed 20 slides, at 20 seconds per slide, on Unconsumption. The slides are below. And this widget will play the audio. There were some problems with the projection at the beginning so it's not immediately obvious where we go from slide 1 to slide 2, but - [You will meet a tall dark schnauzer](https://portigal.com/you-will-meet-a-tall-dark-schnauzer/) - Snausages Fortune Snookies™ are dog treats with canine-centric fortunes printed on 'em. It doesn't matter that dogs can't read, I guess. We're taking the whole projection/pets-as-family thing really really far; I'm sure it'll go further, but this is awfully silly. - [Fractured Prune, Coming Soon](https://portigal.com/fractured-prune-coming-soon/) - Strange sign seen near the UXWeek hotel in D.C. Fractured Prune is a strange name for a donut shop (I mean shoppe). Their website explains how they named the chain after Prunella Shriek, a female athlete (sometimes injured) and landowner from the 1800s. But more interesting (as if the story of Prunella isn't jaw-dropping in - [What am I in for?](https://portigal.com/what-am-i-in-for/) - I'm feeling eagerness and trepidation over the upcoming Applied Improv Conference. Eagerness because I find improv has enormous potential for creativity and collaboration (and even connections to ethnography) and discussions of improv can be provocative and intellectually invigorating. And trepidation over whether this event will be filled with earnest, clowny, extroverted, unprofessional flakes where I've - [Affordance Control](https://portigal.com/affordance-control/) - Affordances for hanging clothes suggested by the fire prevention sprinklers in this Iowa City hotel led to the creation and posting of "no hanging" signs. Nicolas Nova discussed similar tensions between designed intentions and serendipitous affordances in a recent post on design exhibits. The need to discourage some uses while encouraging others adds an interesting - [Dear Valued Lenovo Purchasing Unit 29 Stroke J](https://portigal.com/dear-valued-lenovo-purchasing-unit-29-stroke-j/) - A month ago I ordered a new laptop computer from Lenovo. It was supposed to ship 3 weeks after I ordered it, but by the time the shipping date arrived, the online status no longer showed a shipping date. I called for info about my order and was promised they would check into it and - [Huzzah! Free money!](https://portigal.com/huzzah-free-money/) - The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) recently agreed to reduce their Registrar Transaction Fee from $.25 to $.22. What does this mean for you? Good news. You have been credited $.03/yr for each domain name you registered or renewed dating back to July 1, 2006* -- $.03 has been placed into your - [Technology evolves with use](https://portigal.com/technology-evolves-with-use/) - I love blog convergence. The discussion on this post fits well with this article in the the New Yorker that I read yesterday. It's ostensibly a book review, but also a stimulating essay on adoption, evolution, and social construction of technology/innovation. I've pulled my favorite pieces out here (it's not a long article, but the - [Brand Meanings: The Alternative Health Hummer](https://portigal.com/brand-meanings-the-alternative-health-hummer/) - An alternative health center with its own Hummer, asking "How do you want to live your life?" - [Semiotics of subcultures](https://portigal.com/semiotics-of-subcultures/) - Recent political scandals have much to teach us. ...Officers wrote that they knew from their training and work experience that the foot-tapping was a signal used by people looking for sex. ... After a man in the adjacent stall left, Craig entered it and put his luggage against the front of the stall door, "which - [London Calling](https://portigal.com/london-calling/) - Looks like I'll be in London for the first half of September; my first trip there in 17 years. I'll be mostly focused on the work I'm doing but do hope to meet up with readers of this blog/folks I know. Drop me a line and let's see if we can set it up. Steve - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-142/) - The CANADIAN DESIGN RESOURCE - Coles Notes I grew up knowing about (but not using) Coles Notes; in the US I encountered the more powerful meme of CliffsNotes. According to this entry, Cliffs were originally repackaged Coles. - [You are how you eat](https://portigal.com/you-are-how-you-eat/) - The Dutch university of Wageningen has opened a restaurant of the future online pharmacy amoxil buy with best prices today in the USA that doubles as a research lab. Cameras and other data monitoring devices will help the Center for Innovative Consumer Studies "find out what influences people: colors, taste, personnel. We try to focus - [Telecommunication and etiquette norms](https://portigal.com/telecommunication-and-etiquette-norms/) - Like the digital equivalent of an IZOD gator, email programs insert small branded tags in the ".signature" portion of the message. Free webmail services like hotmail, yahoo, and MSN have their ads _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself with MSN Messenger 6.0 -- download now! http://www.msnmessenger-download.com/tracking/reach_general and -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't pick lemons. See all the new 2007 cars at - [Free as in coffee](https://portigal.com/free-as-in-coffee/) - Now Bay Area Starbucks shops offer free iTunes access Apotheke Frankfurt Germany ... The new service lets customers shop for music wirelessly through iTunes at Starbucks for free. ... The iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store operates on the new iPod Touch, iPhone and Wi-Fi-enabled PCs and Macs using one of the latest versions of iTunes. Users - [What symbols stand for](https://portigal.com/what-symbols-stand-for/) - In Suketu Mehta's stunning Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found is the following passage I ask him about the rituals of the renunciation. He gives me a parable. A long time ago, a man was conducting a wedding. A cat was running around the marriage hall, disturbing things. So he tied it to a pillar. - [Folding the Land](https://portigal.com/folding-the-land/) - Years ago, back in Boston, I had a housemate named Bitali, from Papua New Guinea. Over root beers in the kitchen one night, he described to me how when PNGers had a long journey to undertake, they would "fold the land," to decrease the distance between their departure point and their destination. They would fold - [Dissuasive Design](https://portigal.com/dissuasive-design/) - As Stephen Colbert would say, "A wag of the finger" to LimeWire for their somewhat misguided attempt to persuade me, within their software interface, to upgrade to LimeWire pro. There are examples all over the web of the use of Persuasive Design to guide user actions toward preferred outcomes like purchasing, joining and contributing. Designer - [Social adaptation overrides technology affordances](https://portigal.com/social-adaptation-overrides-technology-affordances/) - I received an email last week that stated, in part My boss is away for the next week or two but I will forward her your e-mail when she returns. This gave me pause. Of course, you could forward the email any time you want, and it'll just be held the boss's inbox until she - [A spiciness that is hard to describe](https://portigal.com/a-spiciness-that-is-hard-to-describe/) - Sites like Canada Only demonstrate the emotional draw of food from home. I'd love some Shreddies, butter tarts, or Aero bars. But if you're African, maybe you're hungering for bushmeat Apotheke Vienna Österreich online pharmacy female-cialis no prescription (the "meat of African wild game...in this case, pieces of baboon, green monkey and warthog"). Prosecutors, meanwhile, - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-164/) - It's April, everyone. My workshop about Soft Skills sold out at Interaction 15. I'll be teaching it again in May in San Antonio. It's part of the Enterprise UX conference but you can register separately. Use discount PORTIGAL15 to save big! This week I'm finalizing the logistics for a few days in the field in - [Understatement](https://portigal.com/understatement/) - Description of a BitTorrent download The Truth Behind The Gates of Auschwitz Documentary. mpg. 60 mins. English. This controversial documentary centers around Revisionist's theories concerning the accuracy of the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. WARNING: Filmmaker/Narrator has an extremely annoying voice. - [If you don't drink Bud, you hate America](https://portigal.com/if-you-dont-drink-bud-you-hate-america/) - A full page ad is running in daily newspapers today, incredibly pretentious and self-righteous. I can reproduce the text (below) but it will definitely be missing something without the blurry ALL CAPS type. I missed the whole Superbowl ad and other promotions they have done along the lines of "here's to the heroes" but somehow - [The DOG](https://portigal.com/the-dog-club-doggy-news/) - buy azithromycin online azithromycin online no prescription I've finally found the website for THE DOG - the iconic fisheye-lens big-nosed pooch brand that is Big In Japan. It's the kind of thing that is damn hard to find in Google when the name is "The Dog" - believe me, I've tried. Blogging it here so - [The Rake - Twenty-Five Years of Post-it Notes](https://portigal.com/the-rake-twenty-five-years-of-post-it-notes/) - Twenty-Five Years of Post-it Notes is a fantastic essay covering the innovation, technology, inspiration, invention, manufacturing, marketing and ultimately the cultural impact of the little, yellow, and different semi-sticky pages. Post-it Notes, on the other hand, were dynamic, customizable, business casual. They inspired spontaneity, rapid ideation, free association. You could link one seemingly unrelated idea - [You sure do smell a lot like flowers](https://portigal.com/you-sure-do-smell-a-lot-like-flowers/) - Excellent piece from 37signals about features, innovation, and connecting with the customer in meaningful (more than functional) ways The salesman made a big deal about a feature I'd heard a lot about already: the bud vase mounted in the middle of the dashboard. That, I thought at the time, has got to be the stupidest - [Seven Habits of Highly Effective Nappers](https://portigal.com/seven-habits-of-highly-effective-nappers/) - Seven Habits of Highly Effective Nappers via 1. Announce your nap to yourself and if possible to your family, friends or colleagues. For many people this has been the key step to guilt free, productive napping. In order to feel comfortable psychologically when napping, you have to know that by napping you are doing yourself - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-163/) - Howdy Monday! I'm off for most of today, coming home from a long weekend in wine country in time to get on a conference call with the Enterprise UX Insight at Scale speakers to go over the draft presentations. Speaking of the Enterprise UX conference, you can use the discount code PORTIGAL15 to save some - [RJ Mobile.com - Mans New Best Friend](https://portigal.com/rj-mobilecom-mans-new-best-friend/) - I don't know about the business model or likelihood of success behind Ron Jeremy's mobile phone service, but you've gotta love the logo. - [Robot Redux](https://portigal.com/robot-redux/) - Given my recent post about robots, I thought it worth a mention that today is the birthday of Karel Capek, the Czech writer who first introduced the term "Robot" to the world in his 1921 play R.U.R. (Although Karel is widely credited as the inventor of the word, it was actually his brother Josef who - [Die Hard 4.0: Die Hard Goes Global](https://portigal.com/die-hard-40-die-hard-goes-global/) - online pharmacy diflucan no prescription with best prices today in the USA Die Hard 4.0 poster, Taipei It's not news that movies are released with different titles in other markets. Still, it was curious to see a familiar product under a slightly different brand. Live Free or Die is an American slogan, and so outside - [Trying to find out things we didn't even know to ask about](https://portigal.com/trying-to-find-out-things-we-didn’t-even-know-to-ask-about/) - Great article about Disney theme parks and the design - prototype - test - iterate - build process for a new ride, Toy Story Mania "It is much easier and less expensive to do this before the concrete has been poured," he added. "As rides become more complicated, your ability to tweak in the field - [Consolidated](https://portigal.com/consolidated/) - I've been looking at smartphone options, and was reminded of an exchange between Jon Stewart and John Hodgman I heard last summer on the Daily Show: Jon Stewart and John Hodgeman Discussing Ultimate Fighting Apotheke Vienna AT Jon: Why combine all these sports? John: Why combine a cell phone and a camera? Jon: That's my - [Benchmark, Mockup, and Prototype](https://portigal.com/benchmark-mockup-and-prototype/) - Fast Company describes how Alaska Airlines has been redesigning their check-in environment. Some nice bits of process to note White assembled a team of employees from across the company to design a better system. It visited theme parks, hospitals, and retailers to see what it could learn. It found less confusion and shorter waits at - [You Say You Want a Revolution . . .](https://portigal.com/you-say-you-want-a-revolution/) - Alan Cooper spoke earlier this week at a meeting of the San Francisco Interaction Design Association chapter. Cooper talked about programming as a craft, and Interaction Designers as potential facilitators of that craft within the business world. Cooper is advocating what he calls an "insurgency of quality," which he describes as being about how software - [Parody as Time Capsule](https://portigal.com/parody-as-time-capsule/) - Here are two cartoon shorts that reveal powerful and dated perspectives on consumer culture and the automotive industry. Dated isn't bad; in these cases it tells us a lot about what the concerns of the time were. From 1974, a pilot for a MAD television special. It's the credits and the first segment, a cynical - [Party time (excellent!) like it's 2009](https://portigal.com/party-time-excellent-like-its-2009/) - At the dawn of the new year, Business Week's Bruce Nussbaum announced that Innovation was dead and that Transformation is the new buzzword. I can't help but think of a classic Wayne's World sketch, where Bruce Willis plays Rick, the cool kid at school. Wayne: Excellent! Excellent! Well, if you don't mean my being so - [Keeping the World Safe for Data](https://portigal.com/keeping-the-world-safe-for-data/) - Wired describes a supersized server farm (a network/IT facility) in Las Vegas. This caught my eye: Consider the comic book he penned about his staff, Switchblades: The Dark Ethereals have hacked into Earth's ionosphere with a plan to destroy the Net! Luckily, Roy, er, Core and his band of super-employees are here to save the - [Understanding the fan community](https://portigal.com/understanding-the-fan-community/) - Ben Ratliff writes an interesting piece about Grateful Dead fandom (not the tie-dye, need-a-miracle twirling, but the tape trading/DAT-head/live show collecting aspect). The article offers a couple of provocative perspectives: 1. The hierarchy of fan expertise At the basic level, people know about published material, beyond that fans differentiate between the different eras, then choosing - [Increase Your Effectiveness In Meetings by 10%](https://portigal.com/increase-your-effectiveness-in-meetings-by-10/) - (This post originally appeared on Core77) There's a strong fascination cum infatuation with semi-secret rules that explain why we do what we do. Even In Treatment uses Gladwell (the form's biggest popularizer) to forward a common misconception about therapy while creating dramatic tension. In a recent counter-intuitive example, a study indicates that people ordering from - [Station to Station](https://portigal.com/station-to-station/) - Today about 15 minutes apart I posted, "Digging in to a day of reading transcripts for one project and laying out findings for another" on Facebook and, "Wondering how many things I can do simultaneously before my head explodes" on my Twitter account. Seems like a contradiction: one describes a deep dive and the other - [To Tweet or not to Tweet](https://portigal.com/to-tweet-or-not-to-tweet/) - I just got back from a medical leave, and while I was off work, I had to face an interesting new dilemma. I usually post at least a couple of tweets a day on Twitter; it's part of my work and how I stay in touch with people, events, and general whassup. Because our work - [Designed for smuggling](https://portigal.com/designed-for-smuggling/) - (originally posted at Core77) From a recent Fresh Air is a profile of the Tobacco Underground, an investigation by The Center for Public Integrity about how money from cigarette smuggling is sometimes used to fund terrorism. Of note is Jin Ling, a smuggled-only brand "virtually unknown to the authorities three years ago, [it] has grown - [Reading Ahead: Secondary Research (part 1)](https://portigal.com/reading-ahead-secondary-research-part-1/) - Starting any project means we inevitably come across any number of articles that pertain to the topic or the themes that emerge from the research and synthesis. Sometimes we'll dedicate some time at the beginning to collect articles and summarize 'em, but more often we'll just do a quick scan and opportunistically look for issues - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-447/) - Sleep Dealer - Alex Rivera's 2008 film turns his Why Cybraceros? political-commentary 5-minute short into a feature film about an immigrant labor solution where impoverished Mexican workers use implants to remotely control robots in other countries, performing crappy dangerous jobs no one one in those countries wants to do. But they stay in Mexico to - [If the eyes are the windows to the soul, what are the lips?](https://portigal.com/if-the-eyes-are-the-windows-to-the-soul-what-are-the-lips/) - Although it took her 30 years to act on her idea, nurse Jeanne Hahne is developing ClearVision, which despite the cliched name, is an accurate label for a medical face mask with a window so patients can see the mouth (and thus the smile) of their cheerful healthcare professional. Although intended to "ease patient anxiety", - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-162/) - Happy Spring! It's one of those weeks where we wrap up a project. I'm not taking the lead on this, but am dipping into the process constantly to see where the presentation is at, giving feedback and other edits, and checking in with the client to see if we're tracking on their goals. Phew! It's - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-161/) - My agency client is working diligently to get a draft presentation together. I'm helping to shape the insights and implications and to ensure they are well-articulated. We're in the home stretch. I'm kicking off two projects this week. In one I'll be guiding a client team as they plan for, conduct, and analyze ethnographic research. - [I Need You to Need Me](https://portigal.com/i-need-you-to-need-me/) - The need statement ("People need... blah blah") is a cornerstone of user research. Observations, patterns and insights (all our hard work!) distilled into succinct statements neatly pointing to the problem that we are empowered to solve through design. I have long been pondering the use of (and occasional over-reliance on) the need statement ("It's not - [With a name like Murder, it's got to be good...](https://portigal.com/with-a-name-like-murder-its-got-to-be-good/) - Business strategist Nilofer Merchant presented her branded "MurderBoarding" process at the IxDA SF monthly meeting last night. While brainstorming generates lots of ideas, you still have to discern the right choices to win. AND you have to get a group of people to believe that IT is the right solution. The opposite of whiteboarding, the - [Constriction to force ourselves to create](https://portigal.com/constriction-to-force-ourselves-to-create/) - Jack White speaks about choosing constraints over efficiency in order to drive creativity and create a better result. Taken from the documentary The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights. Ten years later, just working in the same box you think "God!" One part of my brain says I'm tired of trying to come up - [Beyond visual communication](https://portigal.com/beyond-visual-communication/) - A couple of great examples of alternative ways of communicating information... Australian financial-advisory firm BT using art installations to explain stock investing (full story at Fast Company ) And going back in time a bit, Ben Cohen (of Ben and Jerry's ice cream) representing the apportioning of the Federal Discretionary Budget with stacks of Oreo - [Harley-Davidson Invites Cognitive Dissonance](https://portigal.com/harley-davidson-invites-cognitive-dissonance/) - Harley-Davidson is probably close on the heels of Apple as one of the brands most cited as an admirably authentic brand, with people who aren't merely customers purchasing product, but rather fans buy desyrel online desyrel no prescription evangelizing and incorporating/reflecting the brand into every aspect of their being... ...and employees/executives who walk the walk - [Sexy Ergonomics](https://portigal.com/sexy-ergonomics/) - I was shopping for laptops recently, and was shocked by how difficult it was to find a reasonably priced model with a comfortable keyboard and trackpad, and a front edge that was wrist-friendly. The experience made me wonder why so little attention seemed to be being paid to such a fundamental aspect of the product. - [Now the box is an octagon](https://portigal.com/now-the-box-is-an-octagon/) - Pop-braggadocio-as-innovation-reframe, from Rolling Stone, 9/30/10. "The record is finished," says Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am..."Now I have to unfinish it...Everybody's thinking outside of the box. We're going to stay in the box, kick the f@#$ing sides out, and now the box is an octagon." See previously: Jack White Warsaw Apteka Poland - [Because you *want* the words to rhyme](https://portigal.com/because-you-want-the-words-to-rhyme/) - Eminem, interviewed recently in Rolling Stone magazine, reveals just a bit of his creative process, linked to a childhood impulse. While his "compulsion" isn't one we all share, it evokes other behaviors from that time in our lives. Nice that Marshall has managed to use his to inform, if not define, his art. How do - [How a gut feeling becomes a hunch](https://portigal.com/how-a-gut-feeling-becomes-a-hunch/) - A bit of inspiration from a recent New Yorker - Tree Line, Kansas, 1934, a story by David Means. That afternoon, as he crawled back to Barnes, the gut feeling worked its way up his throat and struggled into his head. Note: A gut feeling finally becomes a hunch when it is transmuted into the - [The role of a story](https://portigal.com/the-role-of-a-story/) - Evocative example of stories and flow as elements of problem solving from Town of Cats, a Haruki Murakami story in the New Yorker. Note: emphasis mine. He had been regarded as a math prodigy from early childhood, and he could solve high-school math problems by the time he was in third grade. Math was, for - [Innovation for Introverts](https://portigal.com/innovation-for-introverts/) - We here at Portigal are diverse practitioners, particularly when it comes to the polarizing spectrum of introversion and extroversion. Many a delicious dinner have been sprinkled with questions about how our preferences impact our practice. Steve, who identifies as more of an introvert, was interviewed by Gerry Gaffney for his User Experience podcast late last - [Curating Consumption: Scenes from the frontlines](https://portigal.com/curating-consumption-scenes-from-the-frontlines/) - I've been collecting evidence of my own experiences as a consumer and offer some here as evidence of missed opportunities to transform messy interactions into meaningful moments. Warsaw-Apteka.com Hasboro is now using SmartLink Technology to make electronic versions of Scrabble, and a few other traditionally analog board games like Upwords and Boggle. I initially - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-2/) - Monday, Monday... We here at Portigal are off to a bustling start of the week (contrary to the wispy, relaxing vibe that tune implies). We spent the morning ideating approaches and tools for upcoming ethnographic interviews. Imagine three dedicated research geeks in a room surrounded by whiteboards, post-it notes, laptops, and lots of markers. In - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-816/) - Why You're Doing Customer Research All Wrong [Inc.] - It comes as no surprise that many innovative ideas hit the cutting room floor before ever seeing the light of day in consumer testing. The author suggests that too many great ideas don't get chosen for testing and this is where the problem lies. While I - [Creativity, Sex, & the Karate Kid](https://portigal.com/creativity-sex-the-karate-kid/) - One of my favorite tools to inspire radical new thinking is a technique I call forced connections. It is, fundamentally, a cognitive math problem: x + y = ? (assuming, of course, that x and y are seemingly unrelated things). This concept, also described as combinatorial creativity, is amazing because human brains are wired for - [This week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-15/) - It's another busy week here at Portigal as we are aflurry with a webinar, a kickoff, and a retreat: Steve will be giving his virtual seminar Championing Contextual Research in Your Organization tomorrow! We are kicking off a new project with a compressed timeline so we are ready to hit the ground running. Tamara will - [Boost your creativity: Booze, barf and boredom](https://portigal.com/boost-your-creativity-booze-barf-and-boredom/) - I am always on the lookout for ideas to boost creativity. Below are a few recent insightful readings... Alcohol Benefits the Creative Process [Psychology Today] - Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago set out to determine if being intoxicated actually helped people think more creatively. They recruited people ages 21-30 and gave half - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-19/) - The Portigal team is on the road and in the air this week. We have lots happening on the home front, stateside and abroad! Steve is already in Lisbon and gearing up for his sold-out workshop (as well as a short talk) for User Experience Lisbon. Tamara is digging into the results of a co-analysis - [Curating Consumption #2](https://portigal.com/curating-consumption-2/) - We're back with another round of some curious, provocative, amusing, and frightening observations that come from our daily experiences as researchers and as consumers. Our second guest post of Curating Consumption came out last week over at Johnny Holland. In case you missed it over there, you can sit back and relax and enjoy it - [My car, my coalmine](https://portigal.com/my-car-my-coalmine/) - I have unintentionally discovered a new way to test my comfort level with what I am consuming. In three separate events, aggressive olfactory triggers suggest that what I am putting into my car (and my home and my life) may be more toxic than I realize. #1 the guest bed I went to IKEA a - [Out and About: Tamara in Phoenix](https://portigal.com/out-and-about-tamara-in-phoenix/) - I spent some hot days in the 106 degree heat of Phoenix last week facilitating for social good at the Phoenix Design Summit. Even though we were crazy busy, I still found some time to capture the local flavor and ponder my surroundings. The side of this truck reads "Tree Frog Treks" and has a - [Creativity is a practice (not a perfect)](https://portigal.com/creativity-is-a-practice-not-a-perfect/) - Being creative ain't always pretty and it's rarely easy. Creativity is a practice that brings out the best and worst of us. The articles below have me pondering the shadow side of creative pursuit, how to stay motivated through the highs and lows, and which of these creative calisthenics I should try first. How Creativity - [People Watching 3.0](https://portigal.com/people-watching-3-0/) - In a previous post I wrote about Losing All Hope Was Freedom, a series of social experiments on video, where the "performer" takes the hands of strangers. Now comes Surveillance Camera Man, who does nothing more than take video in places where you don't expect to be recorded. Perhaps part of his point is that - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-160/) - I'm sitting in on a handful of remote interviews today and tomorrow, following up on some diary studies and getting in our last questions as the data collection phase of this project wraps up. I'm advising the team as they work through an outline of what we'll be delivering; looking for that shift from an - [What the Bieb Means, or Embrace Pop Culture](https://portigal.com/what-the-bieb-means-or-embrace-pop-culture/) - Earlier this year I gave a talk entitled Skill Building for Design Innovators. One of the "muscles" I encouraged people to develop was embracing pop culture. This led to a fascinating discussion when one person dissented and others jumped in with their own perspective. And of course, Justin Bieber was our placeholder example of pop - [Changing lives in the developing world](https://portigal.com/changing-lives-in-the-developing-world/) - From this article WIRED: What innovation do you think is changing the most lives in the developing world? MELINDA GATES: Human-centered design. Meeting people where they are and really taking their needs and feedback into account. When you let people participate in the design process, you find that they often have ingenious ideas about what - [It's the sharing economy all the way down](https://portigal.com/its-the-sharing-economy-all-the-way-down/) - When things start getting really silly online pharmacy https://glenmarkpharma-us.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/tenormin.html with best prices today in the USA , you know you are in a bubble. A San Francisco startup called Breeze is renting brand-new Toyota Priuses to people who want to drive for Uber and Lyft. There is huge demand from people who don't own cars - [Insights into Internet-era blue- and white-collar work](https://portigal.com/insights-into-internet-era-blue-and-white-collar-work/) - Here are two amazing pieces that expose a great amount of detail about very different types of jobs that are specific to the Internet era. We learn about who is doing the work, what the work is like and what the culture is. There's so much rich detail in both that I am not summarizing - [Ugly Yet Yummy](https://portigal.com/ugly-yet-yummy/) - From the New York Times comes this story about Fruta Feia, or Ugly Fruit, a cooperative in Lisbon that has found opportunity through a combination of economic pressure and reframing conventional norms for food appearance. There is a market for fruits and vegetables deemed too ugly by government bureaucrats, supermarkets and other retailers to sell - [The veneer of empathy](https://portigal.com/the-veneer-of-empathy/) - From this article about newsroom practices at USA Today For Social Media Tuesdays, the staff must act as if there is no other way to get their articles except through sites likes Facebook and Reddit. That means USA Today’s journalists diligently place each of their famously punchy, graphic-rich stories onto various social media platforms. The - [Trying the Iguana Cha-Cha: Thoughts on Steve Portigal's Improv Talk](https://portigal.com/trying-the-iguana-cha-cha-thoughts-on-steve-portigals-improv-talk/) - Alicia Dornadic online pharmacy order tobradex no prescription with best prices today in the USA has a great writeup of last week's talk on improv, creativity and design. Overcoming one's fears to do improv in front of a group of strangers must feel so empowering, but watching it can be excruciating. Some people are deer - [The Scrumpy User Guide](https://portigal.com/the-scrumpy-user-guide/) - What is Scrumpy? - [5 year of Portigal @ Core](https://portigal.com/5-year-of-portigal-core/) - Last week's IDSA conference was personally significant as it marked five years since a random chat in the IDSA02 gallery turned into a productive relationship with the fine folks at Core77. I wrote up my thoughts on that conference, and then a piece about Meary, a quintessentially Japanese product that is stickers to turn ordinary - [Interview with Debbie Millman](https://portigal.com/interview-with-debbie-millman/) - My latest podcast/broadcast is up at Core77, a conversation with Debbie Millman of Sterling Brands buy voltaren online voltaren no prescription and the Design Matters radio talk show. We talk about strategy, cultural anthropology, consulting, synthesis, and some other stuff as well. Check it out. - [Shopping for Innovation hits BW](https://portigal.com/shopping-for-innovation-hits-bw/) - Shopping for Innovation (by Niti and myself) just got posted to BusinessWeekOnline, several months after its original appearance on Core77. - [Shopping for Innovation: What you need to know before hiring a design firm](https://portigal.com/core77-shopping-for-innovation-what/) - Our Core77 article Shopping for Innovation: What you need to know before hiring a design firm is finally up - and nicely blogged by Bruce Nussbaum at BusinessWeek.com (among others). - [Horizon effect](https://portigal.com/horizon-effect/) - When we were in Hong Kong last year, we took the tram up to Victoria Peak. The experience is quite dramatic, crawling up an incredibly steep incline. Since it's on a cable, at each stop along the way you feel the sway up and down until the doors open, and of course all the blood - [Dictator Kitsch](https://portigal.com/dictator-kitsch/) - John comments (I'm sorry - I can't call you Niblettes and keep a straight face) about the Hitler restaurant and refers to "dictator kitsch" citing Che and Mao. Very good point. Here's a booth selling caricatures that we saw earlier this year in Hong Kong. It's Osama, and Hitler. Also in Hong Kong, we visited - [Core77 Show+Tell video: Steve investigates the bathroom](https://portigal.com/core77-showtell-video-steve-investigates-the-bathroom/) - Yes, more bathroom blogging! Core77 has just posted a quick video I made In this video for Core77, Steve Portigal takes us into his company bathroom, uncovering examples of bad design and its consequences. From signage to artifact and back, people are forever mistaking their cues for how to behave, how to use products and - [FreshMeat #23: Total Recall](https://portigal.com/freshmeat-23-total-recall/) - ======================================================== FreshMeat #23 from Steve Portigal (__) (oo) Fresh \/ Meat FreshMeat is kicking it old school. Don't you think? ========================================================= We can remember it for you, wholesale ========================================================= It's a common exercise in December to reflect back on the about-to-expire year, but it can be particularly challenging to identify the highlights in any category. - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-120/) - Hello to a short week. This week is all about the planning. Talks in Portland (CHIFOO is next week), Brooklyn (announcement imminent) and Grand Rapids (ditto). Also working on new plans and schemes for talks and workshops in Denver, London (hopefully), and Buenos Aires. I've also kicked off a short project to build a longer-range - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-104/) - It's a short week here as we're off on vacation by the last half of the week. I'll update here upon our return, but it'll be quiet for a couple of Mondays. In the few days for the week we're running through contracts and statements-of-work to try to get a new project officially launched and - [Susan Dray on War Stories](https://portigal.com/susan-dray-on-war-stories/) - In Lessons from the Front Line, Susan Dray reflects on the impact the War Stories have on her as a researcher. These war stories are at times inspiring, at times comical, but always interesting. As I have followed them, I have increasingly been figuring out ways I might be able to use them with teams, - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-70/) - Howdy Monday and Monday-accessories: You can find two interviews about Interviewing Users now online. A readable interview at Ethnography Matters and a listenable interview with Denise Lee Yohn. Grant McCracken posted his awesome foreword to Interviewing Users. Coming up in a few weeks is the Interviewing Users launch party, June 3 in San Francisco. Stay - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-825/) - Mice as Stand-Ins in the Fight Against Disease [New York Times] - Looks like this has been happening in some measure for a while, but some new methods are increasing the usage. The most science-fiction thing you'll read all week. In what could be the ultimate in personalized medicine, animals bearing your disease, or part - [Big, disgusting and delicious](https://portigal.com/big-disgusting-and-delicious/) - PimpThatSnack is an insane website, documenting in reasonable detail some ambitious projects to look at a familiar snack and cook up really really large versions. I wrote recently about rediscovering the vanilla slice on a trip to Toronto. Here they produce a very very large vanilla slice, shown here next to a regular-sized treat. That - [Power To The People](https://portigal.com/power-to-the-people/) - The trailer mashup may have hit its peak a couple of years ago (hey, there's at least one blog devoted solely to examples of the genre) with my favorites Shining and Toy Story Requiem. I've written before about how technology increasingly makes producer work available to consumers and so I was struck by the latest - [Wired News: Fans Forge Future IPods](https://portigal.com/wired-news-fans-forge-future-ipods/) - Wired News Apotheke Vienna Austria delves into the phenom of designers creating their own fantasy iPod products. I can't imagine where they got the idea online pharmacy keflex for sale no prescription pharmacy for that story! - [Just a song that I used to know](https://portigal.com/just-a-song-that-i-used-to-know/) - Back in 2005, I wrote The More The Merrier for Core77, exploring how consumer and producer continued to blur. Of course, that trend has continued, and even accelerated. Meanwhile, for my next interactions article (coming out in November) I'm thinking about the creativity that can emerge from the massive libraries of data we now can - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-811/) - Who Arted? Framing a Curatorial Intervention [Core77] - Steve and I talked about how great it is when street artists build on each others' work in our Interactions article, Kilroy was Here. The "Who Arted" group has really formalized this idea in parts of Brooklyn, serially framing, thereby curating street art. But what are we - [Dwelling on One Day for Design](https://portigal.com/dwelling-on-one-day-for-design/) - April 13th was the one day for One Day for Design (1D4D), an event conceived of by AIGA to "bring together a global community of designers and design enthusiasts to exchange ideas, challenge viewpoints and push boundaries in a real-time, online global debate" about the future of design, led by an impressive line-up of moderators. - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-700/) - [from steve_portigal] Removing "Add to DVD Queue" from Streaming Devices [Netflix] - [This is quite the PR challenge - reframe the removal of features as something that's of benefit to the customers. There are hundreds of comments from unhappy users indicating how this change will impact their particular use cases.] An update for members who - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-657/) - [from steve_portigal] UX Hong Kong 2011: Q&A with Daniel Szuc [Core77] - UX Hong Kong 2011 will be held at the Innocenter in Kowloon Tong (Hong Kong) on Friday 18 Feb 2011. The program has been deliberately designed to be intimate and give attendees plenty of opportunity to talk with other people and get one - [Steve interviewed for "Innovative Solutions" book](https://portigal.com/steve-interviewed-for-innovative-solutions-book/) - My thoughts on understanding and designing in emerging countries has just been published in Apala Lahiri's Innovative Solutions: What Designers Need to Know for Today's Emerging Markets. Q: When traveling through and experiencing emerging countries, do you feel that designing for users in these countries needs to be done with any different methods than those - [Lunapads or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Discomfort](https://portigal.com/lunapads-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-discomfort/) - My second column for Core77, Lunapads or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Discomfort is up. Here's a potentially knee-jerk-reaction-inducing excerpt, so I recommend clicking through to see the whole piece. There are so many signals here that buck the mainstream norm for "feminine hygiene." Where current imagery might feature billowing swathes - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-624/) - [from steve_portigal] No E-Books Allowed in This Establishment [NYTimes.com] - [In which the blogger goes to a cafe with a No Computers rule and tries to use his e-Reader, then gets into a debate about whether an e-Reader is really a computer or not. A bit of a tempest in a teapot; looking to connect - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-612/) - [from Dan_Soltzberg] The clever furniture designs of OOOMS [Core77] - Some wonderfully playful furniture by Dutch firm OOMS. The "Low-Res Chair" at the bottom of the page is sheer genius. [from julienorvaisas] The art of slow reading [www.guardian.co.uk] - [Will unplugging from technology really help us read more attentively, as the article suggests?] First we - [Homer Simpson's Duff Beer: Barley, Hops and Cultural Stories?](https://portigal.com/homer-simpsons-duff-beer-barley-hops-and-cultural-stories/) - My first column for Core77, Homer Simpson's Duff Beer: Barley, Hops and Cultural Stories? is up. Here's an excerpt (but click through to see the whole piece): We were in Rome a few weeks ago - essentially the bonus portion of my trip to Munich to speak about culture at the UPA conference. Turns out - [Core77 Wiretap: Portigal Consulting talk about the Analog Human and The Digital Machine](https://portigal.com/core77-wiretap-portigal-consulting-talk-about-the-analog-human-and-the-digital-machine/) - Check out Core77 Wiretap: Portigal Consulting talk about the Analog Human and The Digital Machine. Here's a teaser Wonder what the conversation is like at someone else's shop? Ever wanted to go backstage at a design firm? We asked Steve Portigal, Julie Norvaisas, and Dan Soltzberg of Portigal Consulting to sit down and share what - [Excerpt from Interviewing Users on Core77](https://portigal.com/excerpt-from-interviewing-users-on-core77/) - Core77 has posted an excerpt from Interviewing Users. From my introduction to the excerpt: I've talked to a lot of practitioners about their own experiences in doing fieldwork and often they try to address challenges when they experience the symptoms, but that's usually not the right time. Consider this analogy: if you have insomnia, the - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-69/) - Voila les deets: Interviewing Users is out! Huzzah! There's been lots of enthusiasm and already some good feedback! Core77 has posted an excerpt here. I'm doing a few interviews for the book. Look for them to start showing up online in the next couple of weeks. You're invited to the Interviewing Users launch party, June - [Interviewing Users: Link Roundup](https://portigal.com/interviewing-users-link-roundup-3/) - Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here! It's been (just over) fours months since Interviewing Users came out! Below is a roundup of links to various bits connected with the book. I'll republish this regularly with accumulated updates. The Book Buy from Rosenfeld Media Buy from Amazon Foreword by Grant McCracken Excerpt from - [Ideas so Bad, They're Good](https://portigal.com/ideas-so-bad-theyre-good/) - In Appsurd: In Silicon Valley, It's Hard to Make a Joke, bad ideas become successes. When Mr. Cornell crafted Jotly as a joke, he says, he tried well-known start-up tricks to make it convincing, like using the color blue and giving it a name ending in "ly." Other important elements, he says, included assuming everybody - [Vote for Steve's SXSW proposal: "The Power of Bad Ideas"](https://portigal.com/vote-for-steves-sxsw-proposal-the-power-of-bad-ideas/) - I've got a proposal in for next year's SXSW conference. The talk I'm planning to do is entitled "The Power of Bad Ideas" In business and in life, we pursue the good stuff and champion people who are known for their good ideas. But when we place too strong an emphasis on just the good, - [Bad Idea: Let's Eat At McDonald's](https://portigal.com/bad-idea-lets-eat-at-mcdonalds/) - Great stuff about bad ideas in this post from Jon Bell. First, an everyday application ...when we're trying to decide where to eat for lunch and no one has any ideas. I recommend McDonald's. An interesting thing happens. Everyone unanimously agrees that we can't possibly go to McDonald's, and better lunch suggestions emerge. It's as - [Steve's "The Power of Bad Ideas" published on Core77](https://portigal.com/steves-the-power-of-bad-ideas-published-on-core77/) - Core77 has published my latest column, The Power of Bad Ideas Bad ideas are not boring, meh proposals. Bad is not the absence of good. These ideas should go beyond provoking "That's stupid!" to eliciting a much stronger response. Bad ideas might be immoral, dangerous to the user or bad for the business itself. In - [Soul Shine Magazine : Alanis Morissette Reworks 'Jagged Little Pill'](https://portigal.com/soul-shine-magazine-alanis-morissette-reworks-jagged-little-pill/) - Alanis Morissette Reworks 'Jagged Little Pill' It'ss been 10 years since Alanis Morissette kick started the angry-female-with-guitar movement with her "Jagged Little Pill" album, and the songstress is going to celebrate the event in a very logical way; dropping the angry and upping the guitars. Along with original Jagged producer/songwriter Glen Ballard, Morissette has been - [Global Practical Joke](https://portigal.com/global-practical-joke/) - This WMV link is a funny and ironic what-if about the "strangeness" of foreign customs. What if they were just having us on? Apotek-Copenhagen.com - [A horrific Comcast tale; resolved](https://portigal.com/a-horrific-comcast-tale-resolved/) - A horrific Comcast tale; resolved An interesting thread about bad customer service on BrandShift. The parts contributed by me are excerpted with edits below: I had Comcast billing me for someone else's cable service (it's complex - it involves me moving and the old account not being properly closed out), and blowing off my first - [Bowling balls come in different scents](https://portigal.com/bowling-balls-come-in-different-scents/) - The first scented bowling balls from Storm Products - green apple and citrus - came out in the spring of 2000. Since then, the company has produced about 40 scents. The current scents are black cherry, chocolate, lemonade, plum, blueberry, grape, banana, cinnamon, orange, amaretto and cherry. - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-158/) - I'm at home this week after a fun but frigid trip to DC last week. I spoke at 18F about The Power of Bad Ideas. The video is here although I understand a properly captioned video is coming soon. I also led a workshop at World IA Day DC. It was a fun and interactive - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-157/) - It's a holiday in the U.S., but I'm using this as a work day to try and get caught up. Last week, with the Interaction conference (and my Soft Skills workshop) and my talk at the Design Writing summit, put me behind. I'm headed to DC this Thursday. On Friday I'll be speaking about The - [My Collections](https://portigal.com/my-collections/) - The thrust of this emerging meme seems to be Wow look at all this guy's crap, but my reaction is Wow look at how he's got his home set up. - [ChittahChattah Quickies](https://portigal.com/chittahchattah-quickies-831/) - It's been a while since I posted short snippets around links I've found fascinating, and while that means these stories don't come out of this week's news, I think they are all are provocative and worth being aware of. Marketers change pronunciation in ads to attract shoppers [CBC] - The value of the Z as - [M-LAW's Wacky Warning Labels](https://portigal.com/m-laws-wacky-warning-labels/) - A flushable toilet brush that warns users, "Do not use for personal hygiene" has been identified as the nation's wackiest warning label in an annual contest sponsored by a consumer watchdog group. Other winners include a label on a popular scooter for children that warns: "This product moves when used."; a warning on a digital - [STARBUCKING TEASER TRAILER](https://portigal.com/starbucking-teaser-trailer/) - STARBUCKING is what we have to look forward to in a post-Super Size Me world. Lots of "interesting" docs about people and their interests/obsessions/consumption of a branded product. Sigh. - [What would you look like if...](https://portigal.com/what-would-you-look-like-if/) - This page is totally cool - upload a picture of yourself and transform it to a male/female/old/young/racial/manga style. The "save" feature is problematic or I'd be attaching a sample right here! - [Vending Machine Industry Aims at Obesity](https://portigal.com/ap-wire-01132005-vending-machine-industry-aims-at-obesity/) - The vending machine trade association is launching an anti-obesity campaign to encourage healthful food choices, hoping to fend off efforts to remove machines from schools and improve the industry's image as concerns grow about the fattening of America. The program, 'Balanced for Life,' is being unveiled Thursday at an event featuring pro football Hall of - [Steve Speaking About The Writing Process At The Design Writing Summit](https://portigal.com/steve-speaking-about-the-writing-process-at-the-design-writing-summit/) - Steve will be leading a session about the writing process at The Design Writing Summit on February 12 in San Francisco. - [Portigal Consulting year in review, 2010](https://portigal.com/portigal-consulting-year-in-review-2010/) - 2010 has been an amazing year for us. While we can't talk about many of the incredible experiences we had doing fieldwork and working with clients, below are some of the highlights that we can share: New faces! Our team is ably enhanced by Julie Norvaisas and Wyatt Starosta (also see a conversation with Julie - [Julie, in conversation](https://portigal.com/julie-in-conversation/) - Dan Soltzberg: Welcome! Talk a little about what drew you to Portigal Consulting.. Julie Norvaisas: I have been really impressed by the way Steve has built his business over the years, with a lot of integrity, and his own very active brand. so when I saw that there was an opening, it was really exciting. - [FreshMeat #9: Got Zeitgeist?](https://portigal.com/freshmeat-9-got-zeitgeist/) - ======================================================== FreshMeat #9 from Steve Portigal (__) (oo) Fresh \/ Meat ========================================================= Cultural stories of the day -- more than meets the eye ========================================================= Just the other day a colleague asked me what I thought about the near-term effects of the Current Situation on advertising and marketing messages. I replied that I had observed a - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-152/) - I've just launched a new podcast, called Dollars to Donuts, where I speak with people who lead user research in their organization. You can find it on the Portigal Consulting site, on iTunes, and on Twitter. Our first episode, an interview with Gregg Bernstein of MailChimp, is getting a great response so far. Soft Skills - [Shaping Things](https://portigal.com/shaping-things/) - Tons has been written about Bruce Sterling's Shaping Things. He's an active speaker, with material from the book informing many of his talks. One must give him highest credit for reusing his ideas but not reusing his material. In other words, when he spoke at CCA recently, he didn't even mention spimes (an important term - [I love all different kinds of produce](https://portigal.com/i-love-all-different-kinds-of-produce-2/) - I blogged this before, back in 2004, but ah, technology. Actually a $5 cable is all I needed to be able to pull audio from a microcassette into my PC, and onto Odeo, so that I can blog it here. I received this voice mail a couple of years ago. It's obviously misdirected, perhaps because - [Bruce Sterling at CCA](https://portigal.com/bruce-sterling-at-cca/) - Bruce Sterling gave a talk at CCA last Tuesday. Part of the talk came from Shaping Things (although he didn't mention SPIMES directly), but much of it was fresh, presumably influenced by his visit that same afternoon to the scenario planners and futurists at the Global Business Network. I've since finished reading Shaping Things and - [The package is the brand. Now what?](https://portigal.com/the-package-is-the-brand-now-what/) - Method soap in here, Virgin America, June, 2010 On a recent Virgin America flight, I saw they were featuring Method hand soap in the bathroom. But (as they have obviously realized) Method's brand is more recognizable via the uniquely designed dispenser than the name, so the identifying sticker shows a picture of that shape. You - [Features vs. Innovation](https://portigal.com/features-vs-innovation/) - Although the principal conceit of Apple's latest Mac vs. PC ad is, as always, "PCs suck," the ad does a nice job pointing to the difference between innovative thinking and the mere creation of features. While the cupholder suit that appears at the ad's end is presented as a joke, many companies do have an - [Stockstock Entries](https://portigal.com/stockstock-entries/) - Another winning entry from last summer's StockStock festival is posted here, another is here, a third can be seen from here, and a fourth is here. Someday I'll figure out how to get ours down to a 9M file or something so we can post it somewhere. Hmm.... - [Listen to Steve on the User Experience podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-user-experience-podcast/) - I was interviewed by Gerry Gaffney for his User Experience podcast. The topic of the interview was, recursively, interviewing. You can listen to the interview below, and read the transcript here. To download the audio Right-Click and Save As... (Windows) or Ctrl-Click (Mac). Steve: Yeah there's something about interviewing. It is such an individual and - [Listen to Steve on the UX Discovery Session podcast](https://portigal.com/listen-to-steve-on-the-ux-discovery-session-podcast/) - I was interviewed by Gerard Dolan for the UX Discovery Session podcast. In 30 minutes we spoke about my twisted educational career path, the Interviewing Users book, some products and services I'm struck by and my fantasy of putting on a UX conference devoted to soft skills. You can listen to the interview below, or - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-151/) - Happy New Year! It's been 2015 for a few days, but this is back-to-work day here and for many of you as well, so I think the greeting still stands. Here's what's up as we get things back into gear. The semi-stealth project I've been working on will launch this week. More to come but - [Pulling the plugs](https://portigal.com/pulling-plugs/) - Virginia Postrel in the NYT buy suhagra online https://osteoporosis.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/suhagra.html no prescription pharmacy online pharmacy buy wegovy without prescription with best prices today in the USA on the promise of wireless technology, selling the story of wireless, and the glum reality of a tethered techno life: That, of course, is also the promise of wireless technology - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-150/) - I got back yesterday from a fantastic client workshop in Austin and am looking ahead to this holiday week. I'm going to try and gear down over the next few days (which paradoxically means I feel like I have a lot to get done) and hopefully take a step back for the end of the - [Company makes clothes for women who prefer masculine style](https://portigal.com/oakland-new-label-throws-fashion-a-curve-company-makes-clothes-for-women-who-prefer-masculine-style/) - full story For women who prefer minimalist men's clothing styles over stereotypically feminine, frilly garb, the pickings are slim. Women's clothing departments leave them cold. The men's clothes they tend to buy rarely fit properly. Clothes shopping is often torture. This barren sartorial landscape was brightened last week when Aisha Pew and Breonna Cole of - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-147/) - Happy December! I turned over the keys to our second office space. It was a lovely space with good meeting areas and lots of light, but it was just not being used. I feel like it should have been a sad moment, but it was really just a small moment of transition. Meanwhile, our main - [CHI2005 Workshop - Making Sense of Sensemaking](https://portigal.com/chi2005-workshop-making-sense-of-sensemaking/) - This workshop - Making Sense of Sensemaking - sounds pretty fascinating. Making sense of the world is a common activity - it happens whenever people confront a new, complex problem. Sensemaking can be a core professional task in itself, as it is for researchers, designers, or intelligence analysts. It often begins with a process of - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-146/) - It's a short week this week, getting as much done as I can before Thanksgiving. If we can work out the paperwork today, I'll be spending tomorrow working with a new client to explore their very immediate design and business challenges and seeing what we can get done before the year wraps up. Last week - [Today we are thirteen](https://portigal.com/today-we-are-thirteen/) - Today is the thirteen anniversary of All This ChittahChattah. And since it just about overlaps with Thanksgiving, I’ll once again give thanks for all the enthusiasm and engagement from readers and friends over the years. - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-145/) - This week, I'm at the HOW Interactive Design Conference. Today I'm giving a talk about user research. I was unable to travel to Argentina for Interaction South American but this Saturday I'll be giving my keynote presentation about Designing the Problem remotely. Ten years gone: From November 2004 - Unbalance is the celebrity restaurant owned - [This Week @ Portigal](https://portigal.com/this-week-portigal-144/) - We moved all the furniture from our secondary office back into our main one and it's a bit of a massive pile. Some furniture is being thrown out, some is being freecycled, some will be repurposed at home. The stuff we accumulate at work is as overwhelming as the stuff we accumulate at home but - ["Real" Experiences?](https://portigal.com/corante-total-experience-real-experiences/) - My latest post to Total Experience is about rock and roll, improv, and robot cats. Check it out! - [TV AD MUSIC.CO.UK - songs and tunes from television adverts and commercials](https://portigal.com/tv-ad-musiccouk-songs-and-tunes-from-television-adverts-and-commercials/) - TV AD MUSIC.CO.UK is a British site (duh) that features songs from current television (Brit) commercials, including a top 20 list. It's not clear if they've actually got the music, but they've got a listing of the top 20. Perhaps something like that is available for the US or elsewhere, but I happened to find - [Fresh Air: The Groundlings](https://portigal.com/fresh-air-the-groundlings/) - Terry Gross interviews Gary Austin, founder of the Groundlings, and Cheryl Hines. Having done improv, and even given a recent presentation about it, it was gratifying to hear some folks at the top of this game express some of the same points that I had learned and passed along myself. - [Name is destiny, or not?](https://portigal.com/name-is-destiny-or-not/) - Composer John Balance, co-founder of Coil and member of seminal industrial music groups Psychic TV, 23 Skidoo, and Current 93 died on Saturday. Under the influence of alcohol at home, Balance fell from his first floor landing. He was rushed to the hospital and passed away soon after. link Ironic, non? - [eBay and "The Power of All of Us"](https://portigal.com/ebay-the-power-of-all-of-us/) - eBay is running this nauseating new ad campaign called The Power of All of Us (read more here). They are pointing, somehow, towards the trust and community building that eBay has definitely created, but somehow equating their "trading platform" with more familiar good deeds (picking up trash, waving hello, bringing meals to the home-bound, moving - [I Want My Wedding at Dunkin' Donuts](https://portigal.com/httpwwwiwantmyweddingatdunkindonutscom/) - http://www.iwantmyweddingatdunkindonuts.com/ - perhaps a response to the fad for Krispy Kreme wedding cakes ## Pages - [Landing Page](https://portigal.com/) - Steve Portigal helps companies think and act strategically when innovating with user insights. - [Speaking](https://portigal.com/speaking/) - Great User Research For Non-Researchers Boosting User Research Impact User Research War Stories Improv, Creativity, and Design The Power of Bad Ideas Designing the Problem - [Podcast](https://portigal.com/dollars-to-donuts/) - [About](https://portigal.com/about/) - Steve Portigal is a consultant who helps organizations to build more mature user research practices. Over the past 25 years, he has interviewed hundreds of people, including families eating breakfast, film production accountants, hotel maintenance staff, architects, radiologists, home-automation enthusiasts, credit-default swap traders, and rock musicians. He has informed the development of commercial lighting controls, - [Services](https://portigal.com/services/) - Work with Steve User Research Do you have nuanced or complex questions about your users? Perhaps high levels of pressure or internal politics are preventing you from making progress. Or maybe it’s the difficulty of the problem you’re trying to solve itself. In any of these cases, the consequence is the same: You’re not gaining - [Blog](https://portigal.com/blog/) - All this ChittahChattah - [Books](https://portigal.com/books/) ## Podcast - [Announcing "Off the Path with Sam and Steve"](https://portigal.com/podcast/announcing-off-the-path-with-sam-and-steve/) - Sam Ladner and I have a new podcast, called Off the Path with Sam and Steve. It's a limited series, where we talk about what a research career looks like, even when it goes "off the path." Our first three episodes are live. Show Links Off the Path with Sam and Steve on Apple Podcasts - [53. Remembering Tomer Sharon](https://portigal.com/podcast/53-remembering-tomer-sharon/) - Tomer Sharon passed away last week. I'm reposting his appearance on Dollars to Donuts from 2019. Show Links Episode transcript Episode (and show links) from 2019 From LinkedIn, announcement of Tomer's passing - [Interviewing Users anniversary and new audiobook!](https://portigal.com/podcast/interviewing-users-anniversary-and-new-audiobook/) - It's the first anniversary of the second edition of Interviewing Users, and it's now available as an audiobook. Listen to this episode for a sample. Show Links - [51. Tamara Hale of Splunk](https://portigal.com/podcast/51-tamara-hale-of-splunk/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features my conversation with Tamara Hale, the Director of Product Experience - Research & Insights at Splunk. We talk about the long tail of impact, being an anthropologist of work, and having a creative practice. The ‘doing the research’ bit is only about a quarter of your job. The - [52. Emily Sun of Hipcamp](https://portigal.com/podcast/52-emily-sun-of-hipcamp/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts, I talk with Emily Sun, the head of Design and Research at Hipcamp. We discuss staying engaged in work, designers doing their own research, and research at a small, growing company. There’s actually a big opportunity with smaller companies. At small startups, you are much closer to the - [50. Vanessa Arango Garcia of Delivery Hero](https://portigal.com/podcast/50-vanessa-arango-garcia-of-delivery-hero/) - In this latest episode of Dollars to Donuts, I talk with Vanessa Arango Garcia, Director UX Research & Research Operations at Delivery Hero. We discuss creating an engaged research community across a global organization, being accountable for impact, and how today's challenges provide an opportunity for the research progression to grow. We care a lot - [42. Celeste Ridlen of Robinhood](https://portigal.com/podcast/42-celeste-ridlen-of-robinhood/) - For this episode of Dollars to Donuts I had a wonderful conversation with Celeste Ridlen, the Head of Research at Robinhood This is a fundamental leadership-y thing where no two people are going to do that same leadership role the same way. You're never going to do them the same way as somebody else. And - [43. Leanne Waldal returns](https://portigal.com/podcast/43-leanne-waldal-returns/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts I catch up with Leanne Waldal, five years after she first appeared on the podcast. She's now a Principal in User Experience at ADP. A couple of years ago, I realized I know things. We all know things, but sometimes we go through life thinking there's always something - [44. Reggie Murphy of Zendesk (part 1)](https://portigal.com/podcast/44-reggie-murphy-of-zendesk-part-1/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features part 1 of my two-part conversation with Reggie Murphy of Zendesk. We talk about aligning the work of the research team with stakeholder OKRs and empowering non-researchers to do user research. The researcher would go into these meetings and say we're going to do a "I Wish I - [45. Reggie Murphy of Zendesk (part 2)](https://portigal.com/podcast/45-reggie-murphy-of-zendesk-part-2/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features part 2 of my two-part conversation with Reggie Murphy of Zendesk. We talk about psychological safety at work, Reggie's career journey, and online career resources for UX researchers. That helps the team be better researchers when they feel like they have a space where, man, I don't have - [46. Daniel Escher of Remitly](https://portigal.com/podcast/46-daniel-escher-of-remitly/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts I speak with Daniel Escher, Director of UX and Research at Remitly. We talk about more ways for researchers to add value, business questions over research questions, and the things that researchers worry about. Where I think collective identity can be limiting is when someone thinks of themselves - [47. Akshay Verma of Duolingo](https://portigal.com/podcast/47-akshay-verma-of-duolingo/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features my interview with Akshay Verma, the head of User Research at Duolingo. We talk about being qualitative focused in an experimentation-driven organization, research team structures, team rituals, and sharing knowledge between researchers. I don't actually want to bemoan or belabor this concept of a room that we're invited - [48. Jamika Burge of Capital One](https://portigal.com/podcast/48-jamika-burge-of-capital-one/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts I speak with Jamika Burge, the head of research for Data and AI at Capital One. We talk about her journey through academia, discovering user research, and intersectionality. Doing good – for me, as a researcher, and as someone who wants to do good in the world, it - [49. Sarah Gregory of Coinbase](https://portigal.com/podcast/49-sarah-gregory-of-coinbase/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features my conversation with Sarah Gregory, Director of User Research for Consumer at Coinbase. We talk about research comms, archiving user research, and doing research that no one is yet asking for. Our email is designed for one very specific leadership stakeholder, and it is tailored to how that - [4. Nancy Frishberg of Financial Engines](https://portigal.com/podcast/4-nancy-frishberg-of-financial-engines/) - My guest today is Nancy Frishberg, the manager of user research at Financial Engines. We discuss recruiting participants in an enterprise setting (where users are customers of your customers), finding the generative in the evaluative and how to think about collaborative workspace as entirely separate from reporting structure. - [3. Frances Karandy of Citrix](https://portigal.com/podcast/3-frances-karandy-of-citrix/) - Today’s guest is Frances Karandy, a senior manager within the Customer Experience Group at Citrix. We discuss doing product-focused research in a company with a large number of products, what to look for when hiring researchers, and how to select projects that not only support the business but also help team members to develop. - [2. Alex Wright of Etsy](https://portigal.com/podcast/2-alex-wright-of-etsy/) - Today’s guest is Alex Wright, who is the director of research at Etsy. We discuss the partnership between qualitative and quantitative research at Etsy and how his background in journalism helps him with the storytelling aspects of managing the research function. - [1. Gregg Bernstein of MailChimp](https://portigal.com/podcast/1-gregg-bernstein-of-mailchimp/) - Welcome to the debut episode of Dollars to Donuts. Today's guest is Gregg Bernstein, who manages customer research at MailChimp. We discuss how MailChimp uses research to uncover new product opportunities, how the right research artifacts can best provide value to different internal audiences and how humility is an essential soft skill for successful researchers. - [10. Elizabeth Kell of Comcast](https://portigal.com/podcast/10-elizabeth-kell-of-comcast/) - In this episode I chat with Elizabeth Kell, the Senior Director of User Research at Comcast. We talk about the growth of Comcast's user research practice, essential soft skills for research candidates, and putting a human face on the people that use your products. - [41. Carol Rossi returns](https://portigal.com/podcast/41-carol-rossi-returns/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts Carol Rossi returns to update us on the last 9 years. She's now a consultant who focuses on user research leadership. I'm happy making the contributions that I'm making, even though it's hard to directly measure impact. I'm hearing from people that they're finding value from the work - [40. Gregg Bernstein returns](https://portigal.com/podcast/40-gregg-bernstein-returns/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts I welcome Gregg Bernstein back for a follow-up episode. He's now Director of User Research at Hearst Magazines. The thing that I always come back to is that there is no one way to do research. And I also think there's no one way to do research leadership. - [39. Mani Pande of Cisco Meraki](https://portigal.com/podcast/39-mani-pande-of-cisco-meraki/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features my interview with Mani Pande, Director and Head of Research at Cisco Meraki. We used to do these immersion events where we would bring everybody who worked on, who was our stakeholder, to come and listen and talk to our customers. And we would do these focus groups, - [38. Vanessa Whatley of Twilio](https://portigal.com/podcast/38-vanessa-whatley-of-twilio/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features my interview with Vanessa Whatley, UX Director - Research & Documentation at Twilio. For many years, I had anxiety and regret around not starting my career in the field that I’m in sooner because I felt very very lost stumbling through all of the different fields and roles, - [37. Nizar Saqqar of Snowflake](https://portigal.com/podcast/37-nizar-saqqar-of-snowflake/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features my interview with Nizar Saqqar, the Head of User Research at Snowflake. For a domain that takes a lot of pride and empathy and how we can represent the end user, there's a component that sometimes gets overshadowed, which is the empathy with cross-functional partners. With every domain, - [36. Noam Segal returns](https://portigal.com/podcast/36-noam-segal-returns/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features a return visit from Noam Segal, now a Senior Research Manager at Upwork. AI will help us see opportunities for research that we haven't seen. It will help us settle a bunch of debates that maybe we've struggled to settle before. It will help us to connect with - [31. Noam Segal of Wealthfront](https://portigal.com/podcast/31-noam-segal-of-wealthfront/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features my interview with Noam Segal, the Director of Research at Wealthfront. Everyone from PMs to designers, researchers, obviously, engineers, data scientists, marketing, we're all trying to to understand our clients, we're all taking part in that process in some way, shape or form. And so I view my - [New episodes! New book!](https://portigal.com/podcast/new-episodes-new-book/) - Today we've got a quick program note about new episodes of Dollars to Donuts, an announcement about my new book, and an interview with Steve Portigal. Show Links Interviewing Users (2nd Edition) Steve on The Rosenfeld Review Podcast “How-to with John Wilson” on HBO Introduction Steve Portigal: Hi, everyone, it’s Steve Portigal. The podcast has - [15. Leanne Waldal of New Relic](https://portigal.com/podcast/15-leanne-waldal-of-new-relic/) - Welcome back to Dollars to Donuts. This episode features Leanne Waldal, Senior Director of Product Research at New Relic. We talk about establishing research in an organization for the first time, building up a diverse set of research collaborators, and the pleasure of taking on certain types of challenges. I’ve seen hopeful examples in startups - [35. Danielle Smith of Express Scripts](https://portigal.com/podcast/35-danielle-smith-of-express-scripts/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features my interview with Danielle Smith, the Senior Director of Experience Research & Accessibility at Express Scripts. Something that I've really changed the way I thought about since I've been at Express Scripts -- we are in the healthcare ecosystem. So the experiences we deliver, if they are not - [34. Amber Lindholm of Duo Security](https://portigal.com/podcast/34-amber-lindholm-of-duo-security/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features my interview with Amber Lindholm, the Head of User Research at Duo Security. That’s the sign of a really good researcher – it can never be just about research for research’s sake, like this is a cool project, this is a neat thing, I really wanna go in-depth - [33. Julia Nelson of MOO](https://portigal.com/podcast/33-julia-nelson-of-moo/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features my interview with Julia Nelson, the Director Of Research at MOO. All researchers say to some degree that they don’t necessarily have a traditional background when they come into the research field. But I think there’s a lot of strength in welcoming people with different perspectives onto your - [32. Chris Kovel of First Abu Dhabi Bank](https://portigal.com/podcast/32-chris-kovel-of-first-abu-dhabi-bank/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features my interview with Chris Kovel, the Head Of Research at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB). I look at needs as proximate needs and ultimate needs. An ultimate need is why the product exists in the first place. And then the proximate need is the experience of using that - [30. Laith Ulaby of Udemy](https://portigal.com/podcast/30-laith-ulaby-of-udemy/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts I speak with Laith Ullaby, the Head of Research at Udemy. I'm really into the idea of questioning what we do. That can be the methods and that conversation about getting out of our comfort zone. It can be thinking about our relationships with stakeholders and trying to - [29. Kathryn Campbell of Ticketmaster](https://portigal.com/podcast/29-kathryn-campbell-of-ticketmaster/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts I speak with Kathryn Campbell, the Director of Research & Insights at Ticketmaster. Whenever there is availability of somebody that might normally work on the marketplace side, they might tag team on an account manager project and that helps to inform them about that product. It gives them - [28. Laura Faulkner of Rackspace](https://portigal.com/podcast/28-laura-faulkner-of-rackspace/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts I speak with Laura Faulkner, the Head of Research at Rackspace. I've never just sat and done just what I was asked to do. I'm always looking for something new, something else. It's probably just part of how I'm built but it's also a conscious choice of, of - [14. Monal Chokshi of Lyft](https://portigal.com/podcast/14-monal-chokshi-of-lyft/) - In the final episode of the season I speak with Monal Chokshi, Head of User Experience Research at Lyft. We discuss traditional paths to a user research career, creating routines for meeting different types of users, and the emergence of leadership roles in user research. - [18. Kathleen Asjes of Schibsted Media](https://portigal.com/podcast/18-kathleen-asjes-of-schibsted-media/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features Kathleen Asjes of Schibsted Media. In our conversation, we talk about what happens when research need exceeds resources, the importance of keeping the knowledge inside the organization, and the benefit of diversity in a research team. It’s not so much about which university do I go to and - [8. Aviva Rosenstein of DocuSign](https://portigal.com/podcast/8-aviva-rosenstein-of-docusign/) - In today's episode I speak with Aviva Rosenstein, the Senior Manager of User Experience Research at DocuSign. We explore how to make all types of research actionable, the benefit of doing your own recruiting, and the evolution from building a usability lab to having an in-house research capability. - [6. Carol Rossi of Edmunds.com](https://portigal.com/podcast/6-carol-rossi-of-edmunds-com/) - Today's guest is Carol Rossi. She's the Senior Director of UX Research at Edmunds.com. In our conversation, we discuss her small-but-mighty team, Edmund.com's collaborative workplace culture, and the personal driver of "doing good." - [20. Leisa Reichelt of Atlassian (Part 2)](https://portigal.com/podcast/20-leisa-reichelt-of-atlassian-part-2/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts is part 2 of my conversation with Leisa Reichelt of Atlassian. If you haven't listened to part 1 yet, you can find it here. We talk about corporate versus government work, scaling research, and changing organizational DNA. I love research, I love the way that we learn things and - [22. Vicki Tollemache of Grubhub](https://portigal.com/podcast/22-vicki-tollemache-of-grubhub/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts I speak with Vicki Tollemache, the Director of UX Research at Grubhub. We discuss how to manage incoming research requests, running a weekly research session for testing designs, and why candidates should come into job interviews with a point of view about the company's product. To me, researchers - [23. Michele Marut of CBRE Build](https://portigal.com/podcast/23-michele-marut-of-cbre-build/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts I speak with Michele Marut who leads user experience research at CBRE Build. We discuss the curation of research repositories, using research to go beyond fixing things, and building processes and tools that can be used by researchers and people who do research. The philosophy is that the - [27. Colin MacArthur of the Canadian Digital Service](https://portigal.com/podcast/27-colin-macarthur-of-the-canadian-digital-service/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts I chat with Colin MacArthur, the Head of Design Research at the Canadian Digital Service. We talk about bureaucracy hacking, spreading the gospel of research throughout government, and embedding researchers in complex domains. Often the idiosyncrasies in people’s research and the sort of surprises that don’t fit within - [26. Jesse Zolna of ADP](https://portigal.com/podcast/26-jesse-zolna-of-adp/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts I talk to Jesse Zolna, who leads the User Experience Research Team at ADP’s Innovation Lab. We talk about driving change as an experiment, exposing the organization to how customers solve problems, and engineering psychology. One of the challenges we face is getting “credit” for the work that - [25. Juliette Melton of The New York Times](https://portigal.com/podcast/25-juliette-melton-of-the-new-york-times/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts I speak with Juliette Melton, Director of User Insight and Strategy at The New York Times. We talk about updating the old "design research" label, user research in a journalism culture, and the role of coaching. I think that researchers can bring a kind of brightness into a - [24. Ashley Graham of IBM](https://portigal.com/podcast/24-ashley-graham-of-ibm/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features my conversation with Ashley Graham, a design research leader at IBM. We discuss synthesis as a collaborative, co-located activity, being mission-driven, and building a process that addresses complexity. When I look at the wonderful research community, I don’t see a ton of people that look like me and - [19. Leisa Reichelt of Atlassian (Part 1)](https://portigal.com/podcast/19-leisa-reichelt-of-atlassian-part-1/) - This episode of Dollars to Donuts features part 1 of my two-part conversation with Leisa Reichelt of Atlassian. We talk about educating the organization to do user research better, the limitations of horizontal products, and the tension between "good" and "bad" research. If you’re working on a product that has got some more foundational issues - [21. Ruth Ellison of Digital Transformation Agency](https://portigal.com/podcast/21-ruth-ellison-of-digital-transformation-agency/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts I speak with Ruth Ellison, Head of User Research at DTA, the Digital Transformation Agency in Australia. We discuss the challenges of user research - and digital product development - in government, embedding researchers into product teams but maintaining a guild model to connect them, and how research - [17. Tomer Sharon of Goldman Sachs](https://portigal.com/podcast/17-tomer-sharon-of-goldman-sachs/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts, I talk with Tomer Sharon, the Head of User Research and Metrics at Goldman Sachs. We talk about how to assess potential hires for user research positions, infrastructure for capturing and searching a body of data, and developing a practice inside a willing, yet large, organization. Some parts - [16. Marianne Berkovich of Glooko](https://portigal.com/podcast/16-marianne-berkovich-of-glooko/) - In this episode of Dollars to Donuts, I speak with Marianne Berkovich, Head of User Research & Consumer Insights at Glooko. We talk about doing research through leadership changes, setting up opportunities for self-critique, and how to build empathy, especially in health technology, by experiencing some aspect of the condition and treatment yourself. It really - [13. Kate Lawrence of EBSCO](https://portigal.com/podcast/13-kate-lawrence-of-ebsco/) - In this episode I speak with Kate Lawrence, Vice President of User Research at EBSCO Information Services. Our conversation covers where to place user research in the organization, emotions in fieldwork, and empowering others to advocate for information literacy. - [5. Kerry McAleer-Forte of Sears Holdings](https://portigal.com/podcast/5-kerry-mcaleer-forte-of-sears-holdings/) - Today's guest is Kerry McAleer-Forte, the Director of User Experience Research for Sears Holdings. We discuss how researchers need to think like storytellers, getting at the underlying need behind a research request, and the risk of using research to make recommendations. - [7. Judd Antin of Airbnb](https://portigal.com/podcast/7-judd-antin-of-airbnb/) - We kick off the second season with Judd Antin, the Director of Experience Research at Airbnb. Judd and I speak about their model for embedding talented generalists with product teams, skill-sharing among researchers, and just what exactly makes research "sexy." - [9. Kavita Appachu of Kelley Blue Book](https://portigal.com/podcast/9-kavita-appachu-of-kelley-blue-book/) - Today I chat with Kavita Appachu, the Senior Manager of User Experience Research at Kelley Blue Book. She describes the different roles she's had in different organizations, moving from design to research, and explains the change effort underway at Kelley Blue Book. - [11. Gabe Trionfi of Pinterest](https://portigal.com/podcast/11-gabe-trionfi-of-pinterest/) - This episode features Gabe Trionfi, the Manager of Research at Pinterest. We discuss the evolution of user research, collaboration between disciplines and the journey versus the destination. - [12. Pree Kolari of eBay](https://portigal.com/podcast/12-pree-kolari-of-ebay/) - This episode features Pree Kolari, the Senior Director of Design Strategy and Research at eBay. ## Books - [Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries: User Research War Stories](https://portigal.com/Books/user-research-war-stories/) - User research war stories are personal accounts of the challenges researchers encounter out in the field, where mishaps are inevitable yet incredibly instructive. Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries is a diverse compilation of war stories that range from comically bizarre to astonishingly tragic, tied together with valuable lessons from expert user researcher Steve Portigal. Contents - [Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights (2nd edition)](https://portigal.com/Books/interviewing-users-2/) - Interviewing people is a skill that most professionals who do research assume they already possess. But not everyone knows how to ask questions well. Expert researcher Steve Portigal updates his classic Interviewing Users to provide fresh guidance on interviewing techniques, as well as new content. This edition includes a new foreword by Jamika D. Burge ## Categories - [Blog](https://portigal.com/category/blog/) - All this chittah-chattah. The fascinating minutiae of life. Indeed. - [User Research Interviewing](https://portigal.com/category/user-research-interviewing/) - Posts by Steve only, to be syndicated to the Rosenfeld Media site. - [interviewing users](https://portigal.com/category/interviewing-users/) - [Series](https://portigal.com/category/series/) - [War Stories](https://portigal.com/category/series/warstories/) - [Reading Ahead](https://portigal.com/category/series/readingahead/) - [What's Your Story](https://portigal.com/category/whatsyourstory/) - [The Omni Project](https://portigal.com/category/series/theomniproject/) - [Dollars to Donuts](https://portigal.com/category/dollars-to-donuts/) ## Tags - [scam](https://portigal.com/tag/scam/) - [archive](https://portigal.com/tag/archive/) - [data](https://portigal.com/tag/data/) - [google](https://portigal.com/tag/google/) - [history](https://portigal.com/tag/history/) - [bestiality](https://portigal.com/tag/bestiality/) - [email](https://portigal.com/tag/email/) - [spam](https://portigal.com/tag/spam/) - 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