UX Research Democratization in an Agency via a Playbook and Classroom Sessions
Democratization Results
Coached
Five UX Designers
Improved Research For
7 Tallwave Clients
Smarter Decision Making for
15 Projects
Case Study Overview
Context:
Tallwave, a customer experience agency, sought a cohesive approach to unify, standardize, and optimize practices across five major clients—among them top U.S. banks and a natural gas company.
The final resource outlines theory, methodologies, and industry-specific analyses, building on concepts from the Research Process page.
Problem: The UX team lacked a single framework to share knowledge, streamline methods, and encourage broader adoption of user-focused techniques across diverse industries.
Role: As Principal User Researcher, I authored a comprehensive playbook. Incorporated into Community of Practice sessions, it provided consistent processes and broadened access to critical insights.
Impact: The playbook refined workflows and scaled expertise throughout Tallwave, becoming proprietary IP.
Expanded Skill Sets: Led weekly coaching sessions for five designers, showing them how to apply user-centered methods in client projects and elevating overall UX capabilities.
Streamlined Processes: Organized key tactics and frameworks in a unified playbook, reducing ramp-up time for new team members and providing consistent best practices.
Enhanced Team Autonomy: Empowered designers to conduct user-focused activities independently, freeing senior researchers to tackle more complex or strategic tasks.
Increased Adoption: Incorporated the playbook into regular workflow and collaborative meetings, fostering ongoing engagement and continuous improvement in user-centered thinking.
Playbook Description
The playbook itself is Tallwave IP.
Chapters generally followed the following organization:
Theory section: with flowcharts for processes/workflows and mind maps to explain concepts.
Practical section: with a templatized approach and Loom videos.
Further Learning section: with books, articles, YouTube videos, and podcast episodes or podcast channels.
As Principal User Researcher at Tallwave, I guided user insights for a team reworking Fare Rules, a resource customer service agents use to calculate travel costs. Its text-based interface slowed work and caused errors. The updated system streamlined navigation, reduced call handling time, and saved $6.2 million in one quarter for one of the largest U.S. banks.
As Senior Manager of User Research at Nabler, I led a three-person team in a mixed-methods study for a higher-education client. Building on prior data, we pinpointed the best email to send prospective students, increasing enrollment and boosting conversion rates.
