Designing the Future of HR with IBM Design Research
In the summer of 2016, I participated in IBM Design's premier UX Design and Research internship program.
Due to an NDA agreement, I can't discuss the product or research in detail. I can, though, talk about my experience, and what I learned along the way.
My Team
I worked on a team of five fantastic designers, developers, and researchers from all over the country to develop an innovative product for IBM HR.
My Role
I worked to synthesize insights gained from stakeholder workshops, user interviews, user testing experiments, literature review, and market analyses in order to create research briefs to drive design decisions.
Over the course of the summer, I conducted both generative and evaluative user research to guide product development and strategic iteration.
Researching Users
All Around the World
Because the product we were working on was geared towards a global market, we interviewed and tested our designs with users from all around the world.
I lead interviews and remote user testing experiments with 25+ users from 7 different countries.
Close Collaboration with Users and Stakeholders
We worked closely with our users and stakeholders throughout the development of our product - ensuring that our designs worked to produce real value for users all around the world.
Strong Design Outcome
My teammates and I then presented our work to the whole IBM Design studio. Our work was later displayed as a model of a successful design research process for incoming IBM design professionals.
Presenting UX Research Process Globally
I also received a grant to travel to China to present the work to the IBM Design Studio in Shanghai.
Through the trip I gained a deeper appreciation for the complexity of working in a massive global corporation, and a stronger understanding for the power of design thinking to unify teams that may be working across vast cultural divides.