Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Learning Velocity—The Insights Speedometer
Summary
Measuring the success of research efforts is a critical capability in maturing our discipline and increasing our influence. This Advancing Research call is an opportunity to hear about “learning velocity,” how it’s being applied at Fidelity Investments, and what that could mean for you. Fidelity’s Jen Cardello, head of UX Research & Insights, and Jen Otto, head of Research Operations, shares how learning velocity has become a significant outcome that drives both ResearchOps initiatives (e.g., democratization) and the way they conduct and measure the effectiveness of research at Fidelity. Jen and Jen outline what learning velocity is and how it fits into Fidelity’s outcomes-based approach to research strategy.
Key Insights
-
•
Fidelity's UX research team faced huge scale challenges with 600+ product teams and only 35 researchers, making ubiquity impossible.
-
•
Focusing on research quantity, such as more studies faster, is counterproductive and considered poison; instead, learning velocity is the priority.
-
•
The democratization program trained over 200 designers and product partners to independently run unmoderated usability tests, cutting insight turnaround from 14 days to 3 days.
-
•
Quality control in democratization was ensured via a buddy system and approval gating in the testing platform to maintain high research standards.
-
•
Lighthouse centralized all UX research insights with strict standards on metadata and titling to reduce redundancy and make insights easily discoverable.
-
•
Lighthouse integration with collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams encouraged organic sharing and started building insight virality and empathy culture.
-
•
Continuous Discovery and Feedback (CDF) introduced a steady sprint cadence with dedicated researchers per initiative, aligned to living learning agendas prioritizing research questions.
-
•
CDF enabled transparency and cross-team collaboration, letting teams track when questions were posed and answered, speeding prioritization and strategic alignment.
-
•
Rapid recruiting innovations, including app push notifications and online scheduling, transformed a 4-6 week participant recruitment process down to hours or days.
-
•
Cultural acceptance was crucial; designers embraced democratization for autonomy and faster validation, while researchers accepted a shift from execution to facilitation roles.
Notable Quotes
"We cannot be everywhere. So is the goal to conduct more studies faster? And we said no, it’s not. That’s poison."
"The focus is on helping the organization learn faster to make smart, human-centered decisions."
"We had a backlog that made turnaround times at least 14 days; now teams can get answers within three days through democratization."
"Lighthouse reduces time spent searching for insights by having everything in one place."
"Democratization is about letting go of some research and enabling teams to learn from customers directly."
"The buddy system ensures quality by requiring study review and approval before launching."
"Continuous Discovery runs every two to three weeks with dedicated researchers tied to specific product journeys."
"Recruiting used to take 4 to 6 weeks; now, with app push notifications, we can fill interviews within an hour and a half."
"Designers want to learn how to do research because they get autonomy and faster feedback, not just waiting weeks."
"We shifted from an output mindset of how much work we do to an outcome mindset of the impact our work delivers."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Either you need accessibility now or you will need accessibility in the future."
Sheri Byrne-HaberAccessibility at Scale
June 9, 2021
"If you skip iterative testing, you risk building features nobody really wants."
Prayag Narula Hannah HudsonEmpowering Designers to do Good Research
March 11, 2022
"Don't be precious but don't be reckless either when opening research access to others."
Janelle EstesUX Research Trends
January 28, 2021
"Content design is nascent and often misunderstood, but embedding content designers improves product clarity and usability."
Craig Brookes Andreas Huebner Morgan Quinn"Just Make it Look Good" and Other Ways We're Misunderstood
June 11, 2021
"Respondents who feel very connected are twice as likely to say they’re making a significant impact."
Marc Fonteijn Ru ButlerIncrease your confidence, influence, and impact (through a Professional Community)
December 3, 2024
"It’s challenging scaling a team with limited resources to provide comprehensive coverage to a fast-growing research function — Tim Toy, Airbnb."
Kate TowseyThe State of ResearchOps: More Than Just Theory
June 20, 2019
"Creating safety requires specific, behavioral agreements you can observe and practice."
Alla WeinbergDesign Teams Need Psychological Safety: Here’s How to Create It
September 9, 2022
"Reliable access to veterans and other users is fundamental to running quality, inclusive research across many teams and products."
Shawna Hein Kevin HoffmanCreate a Cohesive Civic Design Practice Across Agency, Vendors, and Contracts
November 17, 2022
"Every culture has things to celebrate and improve upon; we should learn from others instead of imposing our own standards."
Tricia WangSCALE: Discussion
June 15, 2018
