Google Rapid Research 2017-2019

Summary
At Google, I was a UX Researcher on the Rapid Research team. I worked across six different Communications products teams: Android Messages, Google Assistant, Google Photos, Duo, Project Fi, and Business Messages. Rapid Research adapted Agile sprint techniques to complete urgent and high priority research projects that were out of scope for in-product researchers.

What was unique about this role?
This role allowed me to gain experience across many different product areas and methodologies. I had to get ramped up very quickly on many different products and issues, sometimes on a weekly basis. This forced me to trust my instincts and my findings on a deeper level, as I didn't always get the deep historical context for projects. While this could make things challenging, it also allowed for the research (and the researcher) to be unbiased by organizational politics.

Quick stats

Worked with 10 different product teams.
Completed 65 studies.
Utilized ~15 different methodologies.
Mentored 4 Research Assistants.
Completed studies across the United States.

Team Structure

As one of two Lead Researchers, I led projects, mentored new researchers, took on individual research projects, and gave feedback during research reviews.

As a cross-org research team, our team structure was a little different than most in-product researchers. We also hada dedicated Program Manager who helped with logisitics and planning. These extra resources are what enabled the studies to be completed in such a short amount of time.

For more on the logisitics of Rapid Research, see this article by my hiring manager, Google Senior UXR, Heidi Toussaint.

Selected Works