Presentations
Talks and conference presentations on product strategy, user experience, organizational design, and applied anthropology.
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Themes in Ethnographic Research
A few days ago, I had the opportunity to meet the design research community of practice at Fjord (the design firm acquired by Accenture) in Chicago. I was asked to speak to them about how anthropologists approach ethnographic research in a way that might be interesting or instructive for design research professionals. ZS competes with… Read More ->
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Humanizing Business Technology
I attended the The Qualitative Report’s Fourth Annual Conference at the end of this week. I enjoyed listening and learning to many of the sessions, and on Saturday morning I presented the Closing Plenary. In addition to sharing a bit about my own personal and professional journey, I also had a chance share my thoughts about the… Read More ->
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Ethnography / PAMA
This week I had the opportunity to present as part of a Lunch and Learn panel entitled Ethnography: Understand and Shape your Brand Experience for the Philadelphia chapter of the American Marketing Association (PAMA). Here is a description of the event from PAMA: The difference between a successful product launch, and one that falls short…or… Read More ->
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Ethnography: Understand and Shape your Brand Experience
Panel Abstract The difference between a successful product launch, and one that falls short … or fails is often an “ah-HA! moment” during its design and packaging. For nearly a decade some of the biggest brands have taken the inside track to market dominance—and that track rolls right through the user’s home, office or worksite.… Read More ->
Podcasts & Press
Podcast appearances and interviews on building product organizations, the anthropologist-as-operator, and what it takes to scale.
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Sharing & Communicating User Research
This blog post is a transcript of a podcast / interview I did earlier this year with Zack Naylor, the CEO of Aurelius. Among other things, we discussed what makes for effective interdisciplinary collaboration, and why it’s so important. Read More ->
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The Path to UX
Last Fall I was elected a Principal and partner at ZS. It was such an honor to be recognized by the firm in that way. During their first year, each newly elected Principal is featured in our internal newsletter. My profile was published last week; I’m sharing a slightly redacted version here. Read More ->
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Think Big Thoughts
In 2006, I was interviewed by Spencer Ante at BusinessWeek for an article they called The Science of Desire. The article focused on the ways ethnographic research was being used to shape an understanding of customers. I was quoted in one of the sidebars (top left box in the image below). At the time, I… Read More ->
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Interview with ‘This Anthro Life’
Today we talked with Natalie about how software is a product of culture, the state of enterprise UX today, and how she goes about selling research in the enterprise space. We also dig into the fact that research might not always be perfect or live up to your expectations or desires. Finally, we touch on… Read More ->
Podcasts & Press
Podcast appearances and interviews on building product organizations, the anthropologist-as-operator, and what it takes to scale.
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An Uneasy Truce
Over the past few decades, much has been written about the ways in which project teams bring technologies to market. In this context, social scientists typically partner with specialized designers to bring their research and new concepts to life in a way that is consumable by a variety of team members, including engineers and data… Read More ->
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Collaboration by Design
In the opening keynote for UX Camp Chicago, I spoke integration and amplification. How do we deepen our focus on interdisciplinary collaboration, in order to deliver better experiences and – ultimately – better business outcomes. Read More ->
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Interview with ‘This Anthro Life’
Today we talked with Natalie about how software is a product of culture, the state of enterprise UX today, and how she goes about selling research in the enterprise space. We also dig into the fact that research might not always be perfect or live up to your expectations or desires. Finally, we touch on… Read More ->
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A New UX Maturity Model
As mentioned in my earlier post, for at least ten years now I have been collecting User Experience (UX) and Customer Experience (CX) Maturity Models. I’ve never really been completely satisfied with the ones I’ve found, and the main reason has been that I felt that the framework and level of detail was not appropriate… Read More ->
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