Tuesday June 3, 8:30am – 12:30pm PT

Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture, San Francisco and Online

With Title Sponsor

About
The Event

Most of the conversation around leadership and career growth in research is focused on management. Don’t get us wrong, management is great… for some of us.

But, for many of us, that’s not what we’re looking for. We went into research because we love doing research, and nothing excites us more than the most challenging research problems out there.

Fortunately for us, there are career paths that focus on exactly that.

At Great Research, you’ll get stories and learnings from Staff- and Principal-level researchers on how to grow and thrive in these roles, and how to chart your own path towards IC-leadership.

Colette is a Sr. Staff UX Researcher at Google, and previously rose through the ranks at Spotify to lead research on key foresight initiatives.

Today, her research supports Shopping Ads, where her insights drive decisions for product teams and leadership. Colette is passionate about hard research problems, and she regularly mentors researchers on how to level up as an IC.

This is Colette’s third time hosting Great Research, which has reached thousands of researchers worldwide.

Curated and Hosted by Colette Kolenda
Sr. Staff UX Researcher at Google

Event Schedule

All scheduled times are in PT

8:30am – 8:45am

Doors Open, Coffee and Snacks

8:45am – 9am

Welcome

Colette Kolenda
Sr. Staff UX Researcher at Google

9am – 9:30am

Pilots Over Pitches: Carving Your Own Path in a Sr. IC Role

Renato Verdugo
Sr. Staff UX Researcher at YouTube

9:30am – 10am

Stubborn Curiosity: Letting Your Intuition Guide Your Career Journey

Chris Monnier
Founding Staff User Researcher at Woven

10am – 10:30am

Adapting to Leadership and Organizational Changes in Scalable Startups

Bretton Fosbrook
Principal Product Researcher at LaunchDarkly

10:30am – 11am

Break

11am – 11:30am

Me as a Service

Behzod Sirjani

Founder at Yet Another Studio

11:30am – 12pm

Becoming Principal: Paths of IC Growth

Matt Gallivan

Independent Research Leader

Anshu Agarwal

Principal Director, Insights, Shopping at Google

12pm – 12:15pm

Closing Thoughts

Colette Kolenda
Sr. Staff UX Researcher at Google

12:30pm

Doors Close

8:00 am –
9:15 am

Coffee Hour

9:15 am –
9:30 am

Welcome and Host Introduction

Colette Kolenda
Independent Research Leader

9:30 am –
9:55 am

Moneyball UXR

In research, we’re often dealing with criticisms about sample sizes and confidence when it comes to qualitative research. However, if we take a Bayesian approach to our research, you can build a tremendous amount of confidence and certainty even in our findings from smaller sample sizes. In this talk, Joris leverages insights from his days building out the ‘Moneyball’ strategy as part of the Oakland Athletics baseball club to help researchers and their teams build confidence in their results.

Joris Drayer,
Staff UX Researcher, Equities Lead at Robinhood

9:55 am –
10:20 am

The Rise of the UX Research Scientist

As companies develop more advanced products and tackle novel problems, user research can be complemented by specialized domain expertise and a scientific approach. This provides a new opportunity for a UX role that has roots in academic research but is integrated within a product team. To fill this gap, we introduce the UX Research Scientist (UXRS) role that has been actively growing within Meta. As current UX Research Scientists with different research backgrounds, Madeline and Rose will highlight how a UXRS differs from other research roles, talk about the types of skills needed, and provide guidance for employers and researchers who may want to pursue this role.

Madeline Huberth,
UX Research Scientist at Meta

Rose Cooper,
UX Research Scientist at Meta

10:20 am –
10:45 am

Break

Sponsor Announcement

10:45 am –
11:10 am

Leading with Strategic Foresight

It can be challenging for UXRs to drive strategic decisions your organization needs to make. It always seems there’s never enough time to answer the big questions. But it can be done by spending just a few hours a week on the practice of strategic foresight. You can be the one facilitating key conversations, bringing the big insights, and helping set the direction of your team and company. In this talk, Sam walks us through incorporating strategic foresight into your every-day research practice.

Sam Ladner,
Author and Executive Director

11:10 am –
11:35 am

Researching Customer Journeys at Scale

We all know the importance of showing the right thing at the right time for users. But what if we could predict a user’s goal and adapt the experience in real time to meet their needs? In this talk, Jennifer will discuss how to level up your customer journey UX Research, so you can maximize your impact on the user and the business.

Jennifer Siedjak,
Director of UX Research at Tapestry

11:35 am –
12:00 pm

The Discipline of Hope: How to Not Lose Yourself in UXR

During this time together, Vivianne will explore the critical role of hope in UX Research against the backdrop of industry, personal, and societal hurdles and presents a framework for incorporating hope into research practices. This talk highlights how practitioners can foster hope and drive significant transformation by deeply understanding users, questioning current standards, and prioritizing a healthier relationship with self-care. Attendees can expect to leave this session with a rejuvenated dedication to weaving hope into their practice and with the tools to enhance their relationship with work, with others, and, above all, with themselves.

Vivianne Castillo,
Founder and CEO at HmntyCntrd

12:00 pm –
1:30 pm

LUNCH BREAK

Sponsor Announcement

1:30 pm –
1:55 pm

Putting AI to Work for UX Researchers

AI has impacted how we think about our jobs, our roles, and the future of our professional existence. But instead of living in the fear of being replaced, we have a unique opportunity to harness this evolving technology and leverage it to support, enhance, and accelerate the impact of human-centered research to a scale not possible before. In this talk, Christie will share how her research team at Autodesk customized AI models to do exactly just that.

Christie McAllister,
Director of Experience Research at Autodesk

1:55 pm –
2:20 pm

Insights to Income

User Research goes beyond enhancing experiences—it’s a powerful tool for boosting profitability and widening market share. This talk will show you how to link user insights with financial forecasts, revealing the tangible impact of product features on a company’s bottom line. Michael will draw from diverse case studies, ranging from streaming services to the aviation sector, to demonstrate practical strategies for leveraging User Research to achieve both standout user experiences and solid financial gains.

Michael Lombardo,
Independent Research Leader

2:20 pm –
2:45 pm

Efficiency Through Research Blueprints

In the face of mounting pressure to accomplish more with less, finding the next edge in productivity seems daunting. However, by adopting a bird’s-eye view of workflows and touchpoints, opportunities can be effectively mapped out. In this talk, Nicole will share her approach to gaining valuable strategies for identifying efficiency gaps, maximizing impact, and fostering team success.

Nicole Wright,
Director of Research at HoneyBook

2:45 pm –
3:10 pm

Break

3:10 pm –
3:35 pm

Make It Matter

Why does UX Research exist? In this talk, Marie will explore how to move beyond trying to do the perfect research to doing the most useful research for the situation. Learn how to land the “so what?” to make your insights actionable, deliver difficult findings in a constructive way, and more!

Marie Sbrocca,
UX Research Leader, Gemini at Google

3:35 pm –
4:00 pm

Bootstrapping Trust

The chaos of a low UX maturity organization or team often frustrates researchers who must establish a research practice. Trust in research accelerates when team members view each other as credible contributors. In this talk, Kristen will introduce a model to leverage strengths, outline tactics, and create a consensus-oriented research foundation.

Dr. Kristen Guth,
Senior User Researcher at Snowflake

4:00 pm –
6:00 pm

Happy Hour

11:00 am

Welcome and host introduction

Colette Kolenda
Independent Research Leader

Tickets

Free
In-Person

Join us at the Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture in San Francisco.

Free
Livestream

Watch the event in real time with the entire research community.

Grab your spot

This Event Is
Brought To You By

Title Sponsor

The leading community-centered research platform

The fastest and easiest way to conduct UX research with real users and inform smarter product decisions.

Book a demo

Research Week Sponsors

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The fastest way to recruit quality participants for any kind of research

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The Research Ops Platform

Don’t let Research Operations slow down product decisions. Talk to your users at scale with Rally’s Research Operations Platform.

Make user insights available at the speed of product development

The user research platform that makes products work for people. Maze is trusted by more than 4,000 companies to help them build customer-centric products.

The leading community-centered research platform

The fastest and easiest way to conduct UX research with real users and inform smarter product decisions.

All your UX needs in one place

Count on Ipsos for all your product research needs anywhere in the world, from need assessment and market fit to prototype testing and optimization; we help you make better product decisions.

Qualitative research conducted and analyzed by AI

Listen Labs empowers you to do more research than ever before, with AI powered concept tests, churn interviews, usability testing and more.

The leading community-centered research platform

The fastest and easiest way to conduct UX research with real users and inform smarter product decisions.

All your UX needs in one place

Count on Ipsos for all your product research needs anywhere in the world, from need assessment and market fit to prototype testing and optimization; we help you make better product decisions.

You should sponsor Research Week.

Whether you’re marketing your latest product launch, or hiring new research team members, there’s no better way to reach tens of thousands of researchers than Research Week.

About The Event

Curated and Hosted by Colette Kolenda Sr. Staff UX Researcher at Google

Event Schedule

All scheduled times are in PT

Doors Open, Coffee and Snacks

Welcome

Pilots Over Pitches: Carving Your Own Path in a Sr. IC Role

Stubborn Curiosity: Letting Your Intuition Guide Your Career Journey

Adapting to Leadership and Organizational Changes in Scalable Startups

Break

Me as a Service

Becoming Principal: Paths of IC Growth

Closing Thoughts

Doors Close

Coffee Hour

Welcome and Host Introduction

Moneyball UXR

The Rise of the UX Research Scientist

Break

Sponsor Announcement

Leading with Strategic Foresight

Researching Customer Journeys at Scale

The Discipline of Hope: How to Not Lose Yourself in UXR

LUNCH BREAK

Sponsor Announcement

Sponsor Announcement

Sponsor Announcement

Putting AI to Work for UX Researchers

Insights to Income

Efficiency Through Research Blueprints

Break

Sponsor Announcement

Make It Matter

Bootstrapping Trust

Happy Hour

Welcome and host introduction

Tickets

Free In-Person

FreeLivestream​

This Event Is Brought To You By

Title Sponsor

Research Week Sponsors

The qual research platform you've always wanted

The fastest way to recruit quality participants for any kind of research

The Research Ops Platform

Make user insights available at the speed of product development

The leading community-centered research platform

All your UX needs in one place

Qualitative research conducted and analyzed by AI

The leading community-centered research platform

All your UX needs in one place

You should sponsor Research Week.

Join our mailing list to stay up-to-date on all things Learners.

About
The Event

Curated and Hosted by Colette Kolenda
Sr. Staff UX Researcher at Google

Free
In-Person

Free
Livestream

This Event Is
Brought To You By