Curiosity Tank

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You're Invited! And four other surprises

michele ronsen

If you know me individually, from a class, or follow me on LinkedIn, you also know I'm passionate about helping people increase their user research skills and transition into the field. Unfortunately it's confusing and many people feel lost about where to start and how to succeed.

This month I'm excited to share five (YES 5!) cool updates with you. Yea, we've been busy. First, let's make sure you're in the loop about rebranding my design and user research practice.

Our new name is Curiosity Tank!

Here's the skinny on the five:

#1. Welcome to the first "Fuel Your Curiosity" newsletter with the Curiosity Tank brand. What do ya think? NOTE: This is coming from the new Curiosity Tank email address too so please move it into your primary folder now to ensure you don't miss any future user research tips and insights.

#2. The Curiosity Tank website is up. It needs work - we know - but it's getting there! There are feedback requests on every page so please don't hold back. Share your thoughts, help us fix broken links and typos, and improve anything that isn't clear, etc. Hey, we take feedback seriously over here!

Remember, progress over perfection ;)

#3. The first "Ask Like A Pro" class is now available. These classes are real-life, deep dives into various aspects of customer research. They include step-by-step guidelines on how to conduct meaningful, relevant and impactful studies.

All classes include hands on, proven methods and tools to help you genuinely understand your customers, challenges, and opportunities as well as increase your own UXR skills and confidence.

Work on your own research project and leave with your very own plan, survey, discussion guide, etc. And yes, we'll gladly provide you with a project if you don't have one. (Hello portfolio case studies!)

You'll get hands on practice, mentorship and guidance every step of the way. Check out the details, ask questions, and please consider enrolling in "PLAN," our first class to launch. Use discount code "FIRST20" to receive 20% off. This code is valid for the first 20 students.

Enter "FIRST20" to receive 20% off!

#4. I published my first article on LinkedIn, titled "Dear Academic Researcher." While targeted to academics it's helpful for anyone looking to learn more about user research.

#5. We are launching our first Curiosity Tank event! See details below.

WOWIE that's a lot, eh?

All five of these updates help address the confusions, complexities and other challenges to up-skill and transition into the user research field. This is in large part why I founded Curiosity Tank: to do my part in closing this gap. And guess what?

We're moving faster than planned!

Classes, an event, and an article oh my! Here's the scope:

I wrote the article months ago but never distributed it. I reached out to Tatiana Vlahovic, and several of my PhD students on this terrific list, for feedback. Then it sat on the back burner. Eventually it inspired the free, remote, panel event Tatiana (now my fantastic co-host) and I will offer this Tuesday, March 3rd. NOTE: You do NOT have to attend the live event to receive the recording and post-event materials. And ya know what?

526 people already registered.

The response far exceeded our expectations. And this is my first announcement to my own list. Given the terrific interest, we decided to launch the first Curiosity Tank class, called "PLAN", this morning. Yep, flipped the switch. Pre-sale is on. And there you have it! You're nearly caught up.

The event:

I'll be moderating it with researchers who have transitioned from academia into industry. Our panelists, Tatiana Vlahovic, Paul Derby and Celeste Roshuni will share stories and lessons learned from ramping up in UXR and tips on how to break into user research, regardless of where you are coming from. All made the transition successfully. Whether you are coming from academia or another industry, we welcome you!

Please join us for the live session or watch the remote playback.

Register for access links.

Here are the details from the original LinkedIn promotion:

Making a career transition to user research is hard, especially from academia. Join us for a live panel discussion with user researchers who successfully made the leap! This panel will focus on stories and lessons learned from ramping up in user research after academia and tips on how to break into user research, regardless of where you are coming from.

NOTE: You do NOT have to attend the live event to receive the recording and post-event materials. The Zoom recording, and post-event articles/resources, will be emailed to everyone who registers on Eventbrite.

In other UXR news:

Special shout out to Sarah Hall, Megan Wilson and Tatiana (again!) for hosting me at their San Francisco User Research Meetup Group’s Data Visualization event at Crunchyroll HQ. Biggest takeaways:

  • This is an amazing Bay Area UXR organization! What an event! Join the Meetup Group here.

  • My co-panelists, Nate Mahoney: Senior UXR for The City of San Francisco Digital Services, Bingrui Tang: Lead Product Designer at Stitch Fix and Michelle Carney: Senior UXR at Google AI, are definitely movers and shakers to keep an eye on!

Terrific Open UXR Positions:

  • The good folks at Gusto (one of my favorite former clients) are looking for interns and a head of UXR.

  • A former student of mine heads up Vonage Product Design and UXR. She has a sweet opening for a UXR in London.

  • Crunchyroll also has an open research role. For the record, they have the single coolest office space I’ve ever seen. Ever.

Speak up, Get involved, Share the love:

Upcoming San Francisco In-Person Classes:

Stay curious my friends. I hope you find some UXR inspiration in here and you enjoy. Tuesday's remote panel event or recording.

- Michele

Proud new founder of Curiosity Tank