The Expert Training Series

"I’m learning a lot, especially with the note-taking frameworks/templates and spotting patterns (utilizing different software outside of Excel/Google Sheets). I definitely found a lot of value, especially for the note-taking strategies as I usually try to get everything verbatim during sessions, which isn’t really an efficient use of time. I’m really excited to keep watching and learning."

Ify Obi, FA22 Observer

"I've been waiting for the day I could write this email, I've landed my first full-time research position! I'll be a senior researcher supporting the Data and Analytics domain at Home Depot starting Monday. I can't thank you enough for the knowledge and experience I gained through Curiosity Tank and the 1:1 conversations we've had. I refer to my "Ask Like a Pro" material and experience often!"

Jason Shonk, All-In WI 21

"It’s difficult to pinpoint my biggest takeaway bc everything was so valuable. I’m struck by how practical everything was. And I loved the fact that you kept repeating “What are you looking to learn? and how will it be applied?” Asking the right people, the right questions, and emphasizing stakeholders' involvement. I never knew it was meant to be constant until this. And on recruitment, I never knew it was something it should be taken so seriously. And note-taking. Just learning about different frameworks and ways to take notes was fascinating."

Funmilayo Obasa, FA22 Observer

"It’s a more independent mindset than I thought at the beginning. Being an advisor is more than a staff position. The language aspect, the communication was the biggest thing. Managing expectations, the speech used. The ideas across were the most important part of me. Without the class, I would have struggled more in those aspects. The initial observation of hearing how one should be advocating for the research was vital for me."

Sara Sosa-Garcia, FA22 Observer

"I’m struck by how much more there is to learn with each part of this. I came from a boot camp, and just from the survey screener alone, there is so much more to learn. Having the resources here. I am so much more aware of how much there is to learn."

Caroline (Cara) Craner, FA22 Observer

"Great experience of learning and growing as a UX researcher at Curiosity Tank! It is an incredible feeling of seeing the recommendations from the findings being implemented in product development. Thank you FA22 cohort for this time together and Michele Ronsen for continuous support and guidance in the process."

Olga Parshina Ph.D., WI22 Observer and FA22 All-In

"Doing an evaluative study, usability testing, was really out of my comfort zone. And showing very draft form work and getting feedback, regularly, also felt uncomfortable [but] really pays off… Essentially, you spend the right amount of time on something, get feedback, and iterate on it, instead of wasting time building something that isn't meeting all of the needs."

Aesclinn Donahue, WI22 Observer and FA22 All-In

"The amount of stakeholder engagement and involvement was really lovely [yet] out of my comfort zone. Communicating updates needs getting stronger in having that stance to speak from, and then getting feedback. And not taking offense but knowing that we're sculpting something together. We're saving time by doing that. So that was really great."

Franklin Wagner, WI22 Observer and FA22 All-In

"The feedback in the iterative iterations definitely resonates. Tying that in with “progress over perfection”, and just seeing the value in that and letting something less than perfect be out there and get constructive feedback on it."

David Hill, WI22 Observer and FA22 All-In

"I was coming from Academia. I was very focused on working by myself and not much with a partner or a team. This experience, working closely with a partner, brainstorming ideas…. It's brought me out of my comfort zone and that is also something I learned about myself. I can work with a partner. A lot of ideas came [out of] brainstorming together."

Ankita Ghosh, WI22 OnDemand and FA22 All-In

"The All-Ins did a fantastic job! I loved watching them navigate the entire process and going through the program as an Observer. It helped fill in some of the gaps I had in my UX research education. Fantastic program. You're a fabulous mentor and friend, Michele Ronsen! Looking forward to applying this shared knowledge to better understand my clients' customers."

Jen Havice, FA22 Observer

"I'm grateful for your vision and work in putting this program together - it was an incredibly engaging and educational experience. Thank you for all your support and guidance along the way!"

Jonathan Bryant, WI22 OnDemand and FA22 All-In

"It's been an inspiring journey and a great learning experience, with a plethora of knowledge and resources along the way. Seeing Michele and the All-in participants fully craft from end to end research projects with real clients was insightful. Big shout out to Michele Ronsen who goes the extra mile to create not only an engaging and in-depth learning experience but a community of researchers who can grow and thrive connected in the field of UXR."

Marta Bonilla, FA22 Observer

"I recently completed Curiosity Tank’s Ask Like a Pro, as an All-in -- which was way more than just a boot camp! Michele Ronsen, thank you for creating this experience for us to lead a UX research project end-to-end with your expertise and guidance along every step! Training for a job/career is always valuable, but learning more about my areas of growth and strengths as a UX researcher was invaluable -- and that was because of the empowering space you created for us to dive into this experience! Cori thank you for your continuing support along the way as well!"

Nina Walker Ph.D., WI22 OnDemand and FA22 All-In

"I re-reviewed the videos. Over and over again, I found your teachings come up in my interviews, guide my UXR philosophy, the ways I navigated interview questions, assessments, and portfolio walkthroughs... They were also consistently impressed with my ability to connect research outputs to business goals and truly move teams into action - which, again, is something I learned from you. These themes solidified my position as a standout candidate. I am thrilled… I accepted an offer for a Sr UX Researcher position. You have made all the difference in my journey."

Michelle Manacha OnDemand FA21

"Part of what I am learning are the words to use/phrasing when I am working with my stakeholders. I am thinking about the role as UXR advocate. Some of the big phrases/descriptive terms that I will probably use in the future are 'not trying to boil the ocean', we 'want to ask the right people, the right questions, in the right way' 'progress over perfection' and 'Your UXR goals must be everyone's goals.'"

Melissa Laurie WI22 All-In, FA21 Observer

"I really enjoyed learning about different note taking strategies because they can help me focus and work with data in a more efficient way. I also loved learning new tools such as Reduct. I also haven't worked with Miro yet and look forward to experimenting with it."

Duygu Yeni Cenebasi  WI22 All-In and OnDemand student

"I learned that UXR is a lot about planning but also a lot about improv, flexibility, and adaptability. One of my favorite sentences I heard throughout this series: Overall goal is to move insight into actions and have an impact."

Nadja Geiger WI22 Observer

"UXR research plan goals have to be everyone's goals, and address the business needs. I always knew that at a high level, and always incorporated any specific metrics that PMs mentioned. However, this was a good reminder that I need to get better at REALLY understanding KPIs, OKRs, and high-level business objectives and reflecting that in my research plans. Also, get feedback on the first draft of the plan, early, and think through the UX of working with me!"

David Hill WI22 Observer 

"Findings vs. insights: this was an interesting distinction to me. Coming from a academia, I never heard this before. Even when I've worked with past qualitative data, we broke it down and coded it so it could be analyzed quantitatively; that way, we could determine whether any differences we observed were statistically significant. Any sort of connections would come from the statistics, or, if the research was only correlational, we might propose a hypothesized relationship in the discussion (for later testing). In any case, this is a very new and interesting way for me to work with and think about data!"

Molly Lobsinger WI22-All-In, FA21 Observer

"I realized how important it was to nail down the fundamentals and principles beforehand. For example, methodology. That’s not going to change. If anything it’s going to boost your strategic thinking. I also learned there are different perspectives when it comes to UXR. That was pretty eye opening. Some of what you're learning is based on preference and what will help people understand your work. But things like the research fundamentals, that's not gonna go away. That's really important to nail down."

Hillary Shar WI22 All-In, FA21 Observer

"The value of the constant communication. I always felt I was a good communicator, but when you go into a new team and you're still trying to learn what your dynamic is, and potentially entry level, you don't wanna come in super strong... I've gone into this new contract with Google more confidently, a little bit more assertive. That’s already helped with my first project here. That's an unexpected learning because I thought that was one of my strengths. I learned how to be stronger in that area, which is super valuable."

Shelly Yichoy WI22 All-In, FA21 Observer

"Learning that more data isn't necessarily better!! Instead, be very targeted about what you are getting from your surveys."

Serena Hu WI22 Observer

"Learning how to set up a reasonable research hypothesis and assumptions with stakeholders. And how to connect the research plan to an impactful goal that can be learned through research."

Faith Eno WI22

"I want to remember to pilot pilot pilot. I found the story arc piece really helpful in terms of thinking how to build the interview guide. And to remember the note taking frameworks."

Aesclinn Donohue WI22 Observer

"One main takeaway is that research is a team sport -- speaks to the importance of stakeholder engagement and project team collaboration. Another is the difference between generative and evaluative research. I've done survey screeners before, but had not applied the level of detail and consideration that it requires. One thing that surprised me is how surveys render differently on desktop vs. mobile. It's certainly something I will keep in mind moving forward."

Erin Greenfield WI22 Observer

"I will be much better prepared to write research plans in the future and/or provide worthwhile comments on plans I'm involved in with my employer."

Susan Trevithick WI22 Observer

"Learning about communicating with stakeholders and getting them involved from the beginning stage. I'm a grad student and most of my works are solo, so this part is important to me."

Chaohong Pan WI22 Observer