User Research
I want to understand the job someone is trying to get done and the workarounds they have built around it. Watching the task often reveals things that a feature request leaves out: the spreadsheet they keep open, the colleague they always ask or the step they repeat because the system makes them.
01 / The practice
How I work.
Watch the work happen
I observe the current workflow and ask people to explain the difficult moments in their own words. The details matter: which information is missing, where someone hesitates and how they recover when the expected path does not work.
Connect individual stories to the wider problem
I compare what people describe with behavioural data and other feedback. That helps distinguish an isolated frustration from a repeated obstacle and gives the team a clearer view of who would benefit from a change.
Test the direction while it is still cheap to change
A lightweight prototype gives people something concrete to react to. I use early feedback to check whether the proposed direction fits the real workflow before committing the team to a larger build. The aim is to learn enough to make the next decision.
02 / Something useful
What comes out of it.
- A picture of the existing journey
- Prioritised needs and recurring obstacles
- Prototype feedback with clear implications
03 / In practice
The work behind the words.
Educational content search
Power-user ride-alongs exposed the effort involved in finding material across nested structures. Pendo helped quantify the problem, and AI-assisted low-fidelity prototypes supported early validation of conversational search.
The workaround behind Clubable
The club's existing operating rhythm shaped a product spanning sessions, payments and communication. Its case study follows that problem through to the planned beta.