Researcherskills Workshop Guide Deck
User Manual:
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Page Count: 48
Researcher
Skills Workshop
A ResearchOps community project
Hashtag #researcherskills
While we settle
in, you can fill in
Research
Skills/Career
Sheet (part 1)
Welcome!
ResearchOps?
Active community on Slack
with 1,600+ members
http://researchops.community/
Twitter
https://twitter.com/teamreops
#researchops
ResearchOps is the mechanisms and
strategies that set user research in
motion. It provides the roles, tools
and processes needed to support
researchers in delivering and scaling
the impact of the craft across an
organisation.
Goals and outcomes
Provide space to reflect on the
nature of your work, identify
specific areas worth time &
attention.
Connect with other researchers,
so you can learn from each others’
lessons, perspectives, and
approaches to the work,
Give you a new frame &
perspective for thinking about
what it means to work as a
researcher, and where your
career can go.
Create useful data for the
ResearchOps team to publish
findings representing researchers
around the world.
Safe space
House by Creative Stall from the Noun Project
“Friend-DA” NDA
Eye by Guilherme Simoes from the Noun Project
Smartphone by Creative Stall from the Noun Project
Please step outside
if you need to take a call.
pocket camera by Guilherme Simoes from the Noun Project
Consent for photos?
Outline for today:
Currently, are you…
1. Working in-house
2. Working in an
agency/consultancy
3. Working in-government
4. An independent/freelance
Raise
your
hand!
1. New
2. Have been in this field for 2+ years
3. For 4+ years
4. For 6+ years
5. For 8+ years
6. For 10+ years??
Perspectives
What is research?
Rough-bucket career level
Combined view: growth & process ownership
Challenges in the work itself
Junior researcher Mid-level researcher Senior researcher
●Coordination with
cross-functional stakeholders
●Understanding each role’s
part in service delivery
●Limited set of research
techniques/tools, tasks
●Honestly assessing /
reflecting on work
●Lack of influence on product
decisions
●Fuzzy understanding of
business strategy
●Project stakeholder
management, engagement
●Weaving in / working with
quantitative data
●Higher-order prioritization of
research work
●Stretching too thin; always
adapting last-minute
●Proving value of research,
establishing project ROI
●Getting ahead of the product
delivery cycle
●Influencing cross-functional
teams for buy-in
Synthesized from 14 discovery interviews conducted by the ResearchOps project team
Clarity to excel and level-up
Clarity on the skills &
competencies required in role?
Junior researcher
Mid-level researcher
Senior researcher
Clarity on what’s next / how to
grow in their career?
No
No
Yes
No
Maybe
Yes
Synthesized from 14 discovery interviews conducted by the ResearchOps project team
Barriers to level up
●Figuring out what's next and
how to get there
●Finding good resources and
dependable mentors
●Concerned about not having
a specific goal around
progress
●Not playing a more
influential role in product
decisions
●Lack of clarity to advance
business acumen
●Not being able to make time
to find mentorship
●Always having to adapt for
everyone else / organization
●The need to always be
nimble with last minute
changes
Junior researcher Mid-level researcher Senior researcher
Synthesized from 14 discovery interviews conducted by the ResearchOps project team
What does ‘better’ look like?
Junior researcher Mid-level researcher Senior researcher
●Not clear ●Yearn to do more purposeful
and impactful work
●Crave to learn how their
work connects to what the
business envisions
●Growing deeper into
qualitative skills
●Proficiency in mixed methods
●Good at answering what
'minimum viable research'
will lead to progress
Synthesized from 14 discovery interviews conducted by the ResearchOps project team
Mapping and
discussion
Org. Ecosystem Model — Activity #1
●Get a sheet of scratch paper
and pens
●Start with a shaded dot for
yourself, and add a circle
around that for your team...
{my team in my org}
1. Draw a bigger circle around your team—what larger group /
business unit is your team a part of? Label that group.
2. Add in your Design and/or Product team if they aren’t
already a part of the picture.
3. Finally, think of each team/group with direct access to
customers: sales, support, consulting, etc.—add them to the
map and shade them in. Draw out how they’re connected
to you.
Org. Ecosystem Model — Activity #1
Solo
3 min
Org. Ecosystem Model — Discussion
1. Where does your team fit into the org?
How does that arrangement affect the work that you take on?
2. Which other team has the strongest connection to customers/users?
Why? What happens to their knowledge & experience?
3. From your perspective, who has the most impact on your work?
In pairs
10 min
Project Journey Map — Activity #2
●Get a sheet of scratch paper
and pens
●Start with two lines: an
emotion line on top (add
your favorite happy/sad
faces), and a project timeline
line on the bottom
{Name of a recent research project}
1. Start by filling out a timeline of major project events,
anything that changed the state/course of the project.
2. Now think through and fill in the “emotional state” journey
map line—how were you feeling throughout the course of
this project?
3. Where did you feel the most frustration? Circle that area
and draw an exclamation mark on your timeline here
4. Finally, where did you feel you had the great impact? Circle
your timeline & draw a “!” on your timeline here
Project Journey Map — Activity #2
Solo
3 min
#2 Project Journey Map —Discussion
1. How did your involvement in the project get started?
How much influence did you have over how that?
2. What type of event, action, or outcome made you
feel the most impactful?
3. What conditions led to stress or difficulty in the
project? Why?
4. How did your involvement close? What were the
ultimate outcomes? Pairs
10 min
Optional—need a
short break?
Reflection and
rating
Craft Skills: Worksheet #1
1. Circle each skill you’ve used in the last ~3 months on real project work
2. Add a star to any circled skills you feel “very comfortable” with—could
teach or explain to others
3. Add numbers “1, 2, 3” next to the three circled skills you think are the
most important for your work right now
4. Add letters “A, B, C” next to three uncircled skills you think would be
most helpful for advancing as a researcher
Craft Skills: Worksheet #1
Solo
7 min
Human Skills: Worksheet #2
1. Circle each skill you’ve used in the last ~3 months on real project work
2. Add a star to any circled skills you feel “very comfortable” with—could
teach or explain to others
3. Add numbers “1, 2, 3” next to the three circled skills you think are the
most important for your work right now
4. Add letters “A, B, C” next to three uncircled skills you think would be
most helpful for advancing as a researcher
Human Skills: Worksheet #2
Solo
7 min
Career Map: Worksheet #3
1. When did you start as a researcher?
—place a dot, add a date. In that first
role, where do you think you got to?
Place a dot and trace the progression.
2. Move on to your next year or next job,
whichever first: think about how you
were working—place a dot.
3. Now continue dot-ing and tracing your
progress for each year & career event,
until you reach today
4. Finally, draw forward a few years...
Career Map: Worksheet #3
Solo
5 min
1. Where are you now, and how did you get there?
2. What’s the most interesting (best, worst, hardest,
unusual) part about your journey so far?
3. Where do you think you’d like to push towards? How
will you get there?
#3 Career Map: Worksheet #3
Pair
15 min
4. Reflection
●What did you learn today?
●What next steps do you want to take tomorrow?
●What are the questions you want to explore?
Self-reflection
Solo
3 min
●And share whatever you’re comfortable sharing
Reflection circle:
—go around the room
1 min
Per
person
if your workshop is
greater than 10-12
in size; consider
breaking out into
two or three groups
The final step!
Fill out page 2; leave both with facilitator
Take photos for yourself, and
you can keep all the other
worksheet materials
Your organizer will also send
you a workshop feedback
form (digital) tomorrow
Thank you
+ Follow @teamreops
+ Join the Slack waitlist
+ Come to one of our town halls
+ Watch town hall videos on Vimeo
+ Join the conversation: #ResearchOps and
#researcherskills
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https://researchops.community
