The User Experience Researcher

The user experience researcher has the broadest job of all. Every aspect of the user experience places different demands and constraints on those who are trying to create a good product. They all have different needs, different vocabularies, different constraints, and are often operating on different schedules. But they share similar and interrelated needs for information, often without realizing it. The job of the user experience researcher is to provide insight into the product's users, their perspectives, and their abilities to the right people at the right time. The researcher is in the unique position to draw all this information—and all these information needs—together and have it make sense, making the entire development process more streamlined and effective.

Bringing all those people together and combining each of the facets of the development process into a single coherent development culture is the subject of the next chapter. It will cover how to integrate research at key points while including users as an inherent, inseparable part of the team that creates a product.