Human Insight Podcast

Hi there and thank you for following UserTesting's Human Insight Podcast. We just launched the new Insights Unlocked podcast and will no longer be publishing the Human Insights Podcast. If you've enjoyed the Human Insights Podcast, we recommend following Insights Unlocked where you can get UX tips and insights from experts behind some of the most successful digital transformations and experiences in the world.Link to the new show Insights UnlockedThank you for listening!Follow our new show: Insights Unlocked

In this episode, Andy and Janelle recap season six of the Human Insight Podcast. Thank you to all the listeners of the podcast, wherever you may be. And thank you to all the guests for making time for us and sharing their stories.We're currently planning Season 7. If you have an insight you want us to investigate, or a guest you recommend, please email us at podcast@usertesting.com. Follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter Co-host Janelle Estes | @janelle_estes Co-host Andy MacMillan | @apmacmillan Producer Nathan Isaacs | @isaacsnd UserTesting | @usertesting Have an episode suggestion or guest recommendation? Share on social with the tag #HumanInsights Get a free video of a real person reviewing your website

In this episode, we curated 13 clips from past episodes of the Human Insight Podcast to give you insights on being a better product leader. You will hear from C. Todd Lombardo, author of several books including Product Roadmaps Relaunched; Silicon Valley Product Group's Christian Idiodi; Product School's Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia, Harvard Business School's Julia B. Austin, Radhika Dutt, author of Radical Product Thinking; Teresa Torres, author of Continuous Discover Habits, Ignition's Karthik Suresh, and IDEO's Iain Roberts.How the role of product management evolvingHow the product leader's role has changedKey skills product managers need to be successful3 fundamental characteristics that makes a great product managerWhat makes a great product teamThree pillars of radical product thinkingWhat is continuous discoveryWhy customer feedback is critically important to your successKey elements for a successful product launchHow do you include execs in a design sprintHow do you know when you have good product market fitThe seven diseases of  of product strategy & developmentThe future of productFollow us on LinkedIn or Twitter Co-host Janelle Estes | @janelle_estes Co-host Andy MacMillan | @apmacmillan Producer Nathan Isaacs | @isaacsnd UserTesting | @usertesting Have an episode suggestion or guest recommendation? Share on social with the tag #HumanInsights Get a free video of a real person reviewing your website

What is Human Insight? What can you do with human insight? And how do you get started gathering human insight? Those are the big three questions the Center for Human Insight, presented by UserTesting, hopes to answer. “People tend to think of user tests as being something just tied to usability when in fact it's a way to get broad feedback on anything that you need to get reactions to or input on in real time,” said Michael Mace, VP of the Center for Human Insight. “And the range of things you can do with it, the range of things you can learn are just amazing. We want to bring that to life for everybody so that they see what you can do.”Mace along with Michael Domanic, Head of Solutions Partners at UserTesting; and Sean Treiser, Insights Strategist at UserTesting, were guests on this week's episode of the Human Insight Podcast. In their conversation, they also discussed: What is the Center for Human InsightWho is the center's target audienceHow does someone submit an article or tip for gathering feedback to the centerLinks from the showCenter for Human InsightEmailing the center: centerforhumaninsight@usertesting.comFollow us on LinkedIn or Twitter Co-host Janelle Estes | @janelle_estes Co-host Andy MacMillan | @apmacmillan Producer Nathan Isaacs | @isaacsnd UserTesting | @usertesting Have an episode suggestion or guest recommendation? Share on social with the tag #HumanInsights Get a free video of a real person reviewing your website

Customer onboarding is critical to the success of a business not just in activation, but in the long-term retention of those users.Typically, we think of the example of when we sign up a new customer and then onboard them on our product or service. But onboarding is more than that. You'll need to re-onboard a once-every-few-months user every time they log on. And you'll need to successfully onboard a customer every time you release a new product feature. “If you don't,” says Pulkit Agrawal, cofounder and CEO of Chameleon, “that feature won't get adoption activation, retention, and won't be part of the reason why customers stick around.”Chameleon helps companies build better onboarding experiences. Agrawal was this week's guest on the Human Insights Podcast, joining co-hosts Andy MacMillan and Janelle Estes. “User onboarding, while it's typically considered at the start of the product journey, really applies across the product lifecycle as you build functionality,” Agrawal said. “And in the world of product-led today, where really the companies that have the best products and the most usage in engagement are the ones that win, it's really vital that companies have a method, a process, a system and tooling to continue to onboard users onto features and continue to drive engagement adoption.”Listen to the episode and learn more about: Why companies should focus on the why and not just the how with onboardingThe importance of onboarding, especially in a usage-based pricing modelHow a friction log can help improve your customers' onboarding experiencesEpisode links: ChameleonPulkit Agrawal on LinkedInChameleon funding roundGerrard: My Autobiography by Steven GerrardNudge: The Final Edition by Richard H. ThalerJonathan Livingston Seagull: The Complete Edition by Richard BachFollow us on LinkedIn or Twitter Co-host Janelle Estes | @janelle_estes Co-host Andy MacMillan | @apmacmillan Producer Nathan Isaacs | @isaacsnd UserTesting | @usertesting Have an episode suggestion or guest recommendation? Share on social with the tag #HumanInsights Get a free video of a real person reviewing your website

Welcome to our second annual roundup of book recommendations from guests on the Human Insight Podcast. It is a good mix of books, covering creativity, money, innovation and product development. There is even a children's book recommendation, as well as one for a newsletter. And don't forget, our own Janelle Estes and Andy MacMillan also wrote User Tested, which was published earlier this year. Brave New Work by Aaron DignanGerrard: My Autobiography by Steven GerrardNudge: The Final Edition by Richard H. ThalerJonathan Livingston Seagull: The Complete Edition by Richard BachBuild: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making by Tony FadellThe Gruffalo in Scots by Julia DonaldsonThe Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai LamaThe Marginalian by Maria PopovaDare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené BrownThe Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness by Morgan HouselBirdgirl By Mya-Rose CraigEnd of Bias: A Beginning by Jessica NordellInvisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado PerezHow Democracies Die by Steven LevitskyPermanent Record by Edward SnowdenThe Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you by Rob FitzpatrickFollow us on LinkedIn or Twitter Co-host Janelle Estes | @janelle_estes Co-host Andy MacMillan | @apmacmillan Producer Nathan Isaacs | @isaacsnd UserTesting | @usertesting Have an episode suggestion or guest recommendation? Share on social with the tag #HumanInsights Get a free video of a real person reviewing your website

Julia Austin is a strong advocate for feedback never stopping, whether she is pushing her students to get out and talk with customers or talking with business leaders. “I'll get this question, especially from founders early on, of ‘when do I stop talking to my customers and getting feedback and start building my product?,'” said Austin, Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School's Rock Center for Entrepreneurship where she currently teaches Startup Operations. “And I'm like, ‘Never ... You need to be talking to them all the time.”In this episode of the Human Insight Podcast, Austin joins UserTesting's CEO Andy MacMillan and Chief Insights Officer Janelle Estes to discuss the importance of customer feedback, as well as: What makes a great product manager?How do you know when you have product market fit?Her advice to legacy companies making the digital transition and developing new products or reinventing how their current products are offered in the marketplace?Links in the show: Julia on LinkedInJulia on TwitterJulia's page at the Harvard Business SchoolCourse description for her class, StartupOperationsGood for HerFollow us on LinkedIn or Twitter Co-host Janelle Estes | @janelle_estes Co-host Andy MacMillan | @apmacmillan Producer Nathan Isaacs | @isaacsnd UserTesting | @usertesting Have an episode suggestion or guest recommendation? Share on social with the tag #HumanInsights Get a free video of a real person reviewing your website

You have to understand how people work, and why, says Kaj van de Loo, UserTesting's Chief Technology Officer, on this week's episode of the Human Insight Podcast. “What do they actually want to do or need to do to reach their goals, vs. what are they doing as weird workarounds or because they are being told to do,” he said. “Look at the former, and support it. In our case, every product manager, designer, and engineer wants to understand our customers and users and they all want to hear about how our product is being used, what people think of it, and how we can make it better. We lean into that.” In their conversation with Kaj, co-hosts Andy and Janelle ask him about business workflows and how the pandemic and digital acceleration changed the way we think about processes and workflows. The also discuss how understanding how people work, and how they leverage tools and technology, as well as customer insights, to launch products successfully. Follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter Co-host Janelle Estes | @janelle_estes Co-host Andy MacMillan | @apmacmillan Producer Nathan Isaacs...

Producer's note: This week's episode is a conversation Janelle had with futurist and author Brian Solis at The Human Insight Summit held last week in New Orleans. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Do you know how your customers experience your brand today? Do you know how they really feel? Do you know what they say when you're not around? You think you know your customers, but you really have no idea–until you talk to them!Brian Solis, author of X: The Experience When Business Meets Design, joined Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer and co-author of User Tested, met onstage in a fireside conversation at The Human Insights Summit last week in New Orleans to discuss the importance of customer understanding and empathy in an always-on world, and why today customer experience is your brand.Solis is a world-renowned digital anthropologist, futurist, 8x best-selling author, and international keynote speaker. He serves as VP, Global Innovation at Salesforce and has consistently been recognized as one of the world's leading voices in innovation, business transformation, and leadership for over two decades.Leveraging insights from each of their books and professional experiences, Brian and Janelle spoke about the parallels in their books and beliefs on powering customer-centric experiences.Follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter Co-host Janelle Estes | @janelle_estes Co-host Andy MacMillan | @apmacmillan Producer Nathan Isaacs...

Amanda Renteria, the CEO of Code for America, joined the Human Insight Podcast to talk about using technology AND regularly talking with your audience to reimagine government to better serve communities. Amanda has worked in the financial sector, been a teacher in her hometown, and spent most of her career in the public sector, from serving as Chief of Operations at the California Department of Justice to being national political director for Hilary Clinton's 2016 US presidential campaign. And, oh yeah, she ran for the U.S. Congress and for California's state governor.Among the topics discussed include: Simplifying tax filingCode for America's Safety Net Innovation LabWhat is human-centered governmentAmanda's thoughts on Hispanic Heritage Month following her recent appointment by President Biden to his Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for HispanicsLinks in the show: Amanda Renteria on TwitterCode for America Safety Net Innovation LabSimplified tax filingFollow us on LinkedIn or Twitter Co-host Janelle Estes | @janelle_estes Co-host Andy MacMillan | @apmacmillan Producer Nathan Isaacs...

The digital acceleration is changing everyone's lives, especially for designers who are more and more in demand across companies, industries and geographies. The past decade has seen incredible changes to design, and who is a designer.In fact, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics this year officially recognized the job of “web and digital interface designer,” says Andrew Hogan, who leads insights and analysis at Figma and was this week's guest on the Human Insight Podcast. “And there's also this realization that design can impact things at a business level, call it Big D design,” Hogan said. “It's not just about moving pixels, it's also about solving business problems.”Podcast co-hosts Andy MacMillan and Janelle Estes talked with Andrew before Adobe's announced its intentions to acquire Figma for $20 billion.In addition to discussing how much design has changed, as well as what's ahead, they also discussed what are the best practices across the industry, especially as it pertains to big, global, and/or enterprise organizations. Follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter Co-host Janelle Estes | @janelle_estes Co-host Andy MacMillan | @apmacmillan Producer Nathan Isaacs...

In this bonus episode celebrating International Podcast Day 2022, 12 past guests on the show share their tips and advice for convincing others to invest in customer feedback.In order of appearance are: Ep. 48: Wesley FaulknerEp. 46: Patrick QuattlebaumEp. 17: Christian IdiodiEp. 47: Karthik SureshEp. 20: April DunfordEp. 45: Radhika DuttEp. 41: Bobbie WoodEp. 40: C. Todd LombardoEp. 28: Jennifer LeeEp. 15: Susan RiceEP. 18: Catherine RichardsEp. 26: Brent LearyHello podcast listeners. Want to get more insights on how to improve your customer's experience? Registration is open for UserTesting's The Human Insight Summit taking place October 17th thru the 19th in New Orleans! You can expect two full days of presentations by some of the world's best researchers, designers, digital product leaders, and marketers. You can also sign up for deeper, hands-on learning with our half-day University Live pre-conferen

"When you're thinking about measuring a community, usually what you measure is what you effect," said Wesley Faulkner, Senior Community Manager at Amazon's AWS. "So, if you're not measuring the success of the people who are in the community, if that's not part of the measurements, then you're really not going to be tracking that. Thus, you may lose sight of what makes your community good."Wesley talked with Andy MacMillan, UserTesting's CEO, and Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, in Episode 48 of the Human Insight Podcast. Wesley is a first-generation American, public speaker, and podcaster. He is a founding member of the government transparency group Open Austin and a staunch supporter of racial justice, workplace equity, and neurodiversity. His professional experience spans technology from AMD, Atlassian, and Dell among others. Wesley is currently .He also co-hosts the developer relations focused podcast Community Pulse and serves on the board for SXSW.He said measuring what makes a sponsored community successful can be complicated. Ask the sales team and they want to know how many leads are coming from the community. Ask customer service and they want to know how many tickets are being diverted to and answered in the community. "But if I had to boil it down to anything," Faulkner said, "it is what does the community itself say its worth?"Listen to the episode to hear Faulkner's tips for putting metrics to that measurement. Additionally, they discuss: What do Faulkner mean when he says community shapes us? What are the benefits of a community to those within the community, and what are the benefits to the sponsoring organization? How do you authentically build an audience, especially as everything seems to shift to more digital, more remote, and more global ? Hello podcast listeners. Want to get more insights on how to improve your customer's experience? Registration is open for UserTesting's The Human Insight Summit taking place October 17th thru the 19th in New Orleans! You can expect two full days of presentations by some of the world's best researchers, designers, digital product leaders, and marketers. You can also sign up for deeper, hands-on learning with our half-day University Live pre-conferen

This week on the Human Insight Podcast, Karthik Suresh joins Andy and Janelle to discuss just what goes into making a successful product launch. Suresh is co-founder and CPO/CTO of Ignition, a collaborative hub for product teams to plan, execute, and measure the GTM side of launching a product.In their conversation, they discuss:What are some ways to ensure you successfully launch? Whether that changes  based on the business size (small or large), or model (B2B or B2C)What are the elements of a GTM plan?What are the key ingredients in building a culture of innovation?How can digital product leaders best support a culture of innovation?Hello podcast listeners. Want to get more insights on how to improve your customer's experience? Registration is open for UserTesting's The Human Insight Summit taking place October 17th thru the 19th in New Orleans! You can expect two full days of presentations by some of the world's best researchers, designers, digital product leaders, and marketers. You can also sign up for deeper, hands-on learning with our half-day University Live pre-conferen

We all have special moments. There are signature moments, critical moments, key moments, moments that matter, moments of truth and so forth.For this week's episode of the Human Insight Podcast, we talk with Patrick Quattlebaum, Co-founder and CEO of Harmonic Design and author of Orchestrating Experiences. Quattlebaum believes moments are a powerful concept worth exploring. "What I have been fascinated by is this concept of moment and how it can be an architectural element that we can think about: this moment occurs and this event occurs that we can actually observe and that we can collect data on and that we can then do additional research to then really understand the dynamics around that moment," he said. "And that taps into some systems thinking in terms of drilling into structure and mental models and can we then start to see moments as a design target together? "We can measure it, we can try to understand it, understand how moments are connected to one another.  And if we start using that similar language, and using the term the same way, it can unlock that cross functional collaboration that companies find it really hard to get everybody focused on the same thing."Besides the concept of moments, we also discussed: How do you engage more stakeholders in the process, especially when not everyone is a designer?The concept of zooming outThe role storytelling in sharing insights across the organization Hello podcast listeners. Want to get more insights on how to improve your customer's experience? Registration is open for UserTesting's The Human Insight Summit taking place October 17th thru the 19th in New Orleans! You can expect two full days of presentations by some of the world's best researchers, designers, digital product leaders, and marketers. You can also sign up for deeper, hands-on learning with our half-day University Live pre-conferen

We talked with Radhika Dutt in this week's episode of the Human Insight Podcast. Radhika is an engineer, entrepreneur and product leader who has participated in four acquisitions, two of which were companies she founded. She has built products in industries including broadcasting, media, advertising technology, government, consumer, robotics, and wine. She is currently Advisor on Product Thinking for the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Singapore's central bank and financial regulator.  She is also the author of Radical Product Thinking: The New Mindset for Innovating Smarter. Among the topics discussed included: Why do you think iterative product design is a bad thing?How can product team leaders best mitigate risk in developing products?What are the challenges with Lean and Agile with product development?What are the seven diseases of product strategy & development?What are Three Pillars of Radical Product Thinking?Hello podcast listeners. Want to get more insights on how to improve your customer's experience? Registration is open for UserTesting's The Human Insight Summit taking place October 17th thru the 19th in New Orleans! You can expect two full days of presentations by some of the world's best researchers, designers, digital product leaders, and marketers. You can also sign up for deeper, hands-on learning with our half-day University Live pre-conferen

Hello podcast listeners. Want to get more insights on how to improve your customer's experience? Registration is open for UserTesting's The Human Insight Summit taking place October 17th thru the 19th in New Orleans! You can expect two full days of presentations by some of the world's best researchers, designers, digital product leaders, and marketers. You can also sign up for deeper, hands-on learning with our half-day University Live pre-conferen

Today we're recapping our fifth season of the Human Insight Podcast. Maybe the biggest change to the podcast this season you'll have noticed is we started including into episodes more clips from our opt-in contributor network. These are people from around the world, responding to questions we asked either related to that episode's guest and topic, or to a current news event or trend.This week's insightIn many episodes, as well as in our book User Tested, we've talked about the rising importance of the customer's experience with your product or service.In fact, Google's search trends for the term “customer experience” has increased 400 percent in the last 10 years. For this Insights segment, we asked our contributors what does Customer Experience mean to them, and for examples of good and bad experiences. Here is what they had to say: [video] What does customer experience mean to you? This season's episodes: Ep. 39 Dan Misener - Growing your audience with an "Only we" strategyEp. 40 C. Todd Lombardo - Delivering value to both your customers and your businessEp. 41 Bobbie Wood - Understanding the accessibility and usability of UX writingEp. 42 Adam Thomas - The three survival metrics for building better productsEp. 43 Ethan Song - Building deeper web3 relationships between creators and their fansThank you to all the listeners of the podcast, wherever you may be. And thank you to all the guests for making time for us and sharing their stories.Season 6 will launch in September. If you have an insight you want us to investigate, or a guest you recommend, please email us at podcast@usertesting.com. Until then, you can go back and listen to any of past episodes of the Human Insight Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you.

Ethan Song, Co-founder and CEO of RareCircles, joins the Human Insight Podcast this week. Ethan was previously the co-founder and CEO of Frank And Oak, a leading direct-to-consumer brand, and he's an active investor in Web3. As the RareCircle's CEO, Ethan empowers a new generation of entrepreneurs and brands to build deeper relationships with their communities through NFTs and blockchain technology. Its intuitive platform allows anyone to make, sell and manage powerful NFT memberships under one operating system.We asked Ethan about what brands and the general public should know about NFTs, as well as:   How creating a community is the foundation to today's businesses How does he connect with his customers? And why that is important.How brands may start to include NFTs in the products and services they offer their customersHow NFTs will be integrated into our real life experiences. 

Adam Thomas believes the role of a product manager is one thing only: how do you help the organization make better decisions consistently? Part of that is knowing when to stop work on a product idea, when to pivot on a product, and when to double down on a product initiative. Adam, lead product manager at SmartRecruiters, as well as a speaker, consultant and technologist, has developed what he calls  Survival Metrics to help product managers do just that. Adam joined Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, on this week's episode of the Human Insight Podcast. They talked about his Survival Metrics, the difference between them and success metrics, and more. Insights this weekIn this week's Insights segment, we asked consumers what advice they had for brands to consider as they advertise between Memorial Day through early fall?For many Americans the Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer, family vacations, grilling in the backyard, swimming at the pool or lake, and enjoying the longer days. That's also the time we start seeing and hearing more advertising and other brand messaging for such things as travel and outdoor activities, yard and home improvement projects, as well as for events such as Pride Month, the Fourth of July or going back to school.But consumers are also living amid the third year of the pandemic, rising inflation and gas prices, the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as other national and global violence and other issues.  So we wondered what advice do people have for brands to consider so that they can be both human-centered and innovative. You can also watch their response in this highlight video. Help us, help youWe're looking for your input in helping us improve the podcast. Please take this short survey to help us improve the show. There is also an opportunity to take a UserTesting test about the show, where we can hear about your experiences directly.  Survey: https://forms.gle/nCSTZFR5affEs2k1A

Good UX writing begins with usability and accessibility. Bobbie Wood, founder and CEO of UX Content Collective, joins the Human Insight Podcast this week to discuss UX writing and the importance of making it inclusive to everyone and all abilities. Bobbie and co-host Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, also discuss how Artificial Intelligence will impact UX writing.We also solicited feedback from UX writers and content writers from around the world, asking their thoughts about AI and how it may affect their careers.You can watch highlight reel videos of what they said. In the first, they answer whether AI will take their job. And in the second, we ask what advantages do you think humans have over AI when it comes to writing. This week's insightsLast week, the U.S. Congress held its first hearing on UFOs in 50 years. At the hearing, a Navy intelligence official told lawmakers no evidence of aliens had been found. However, a database of reports of UFOs now includes about 400 incidents, up from 143 assessed in a report released about a year ago.The military says improved sensors, an increase in drones and other non-military unmanned aerial systems, and "aerial clutter" such as Mylar balloons as causes for the uptick in reported incidents. In a Gallup poll in June 2021, one-third of Americans said they believed some UFOs are indeed alien spacecraft, and a resounding three-fourths of Americans said that "life of some form" exists elsewhere in the universe.If you had one question to ask someone from another planet or solar system, what would it be?We asked UserTesting contributors if they had one question to ask someone from another planet or solar system, what would it be. We'd love your feedbackAnd as a listener of the show, we'd love your feedback. Please take this short survey to help us improve the show. There is also an opportunity to take a UserTesting test about the show, where we can hear about your experiences directly.  Survey: https://forms.gle/nCSTZFR5affEs2k1A

One of the rules of product research is “insights are best shared,” says C. Todd Lombardo.The subtext is never write a report that no one is going to read. C. Todd is the vice president of product and design at Openly, an insurance-tech company empowering agents to deliver a higher standard of service through cutting-edge technology and comprehensive options.He joined UserTesting's CEO Andy MacMillan and Chief Insights Officer Janelle Estes on the Human Insight Podcast to talk about all things product management, such as how he shares insights and aligns the company with what customers want. Instead of writing reports, C. Todd said, product leaders should ask themselves how do you bring people along for the ride? How can you share the insights you're getting from your customers? Can you involve others in your organization before the insights are even generated? For example, he is often asked how he involves an executive in a design sprint. His strategy, he said, is to apply a multitouch inclusion strategy.Include them the first half hour of the first day when you are doing your assumption storming and trying to understand the problem you are solving so that they have the opportunity to co-create with you and shape the problem you're trying to solve. Bring them in again at the end of the third day when you've gotten your sketches ready and your starting prototyping. “These are the solutions we think we're going to to try and build, prototype and test, what do you think.”And then bring them in again at the end of the last day. “We tested this and here are some of the videos from our conversations, these are some of the things we learned.” By doing that, they've had more visibility — and buy in — into the whole journey. It's not easy, C. Todd says, but it's the best way he's seen teams get executives involved. Listen to the episode to get more insights from C. Todd. Also, in a new podcast segment we're calling UserTesting Insights, you can also hear what podcast listeners thought about the Human Insight Podcast's old introduction and its replacement.We'd love your feedbackAnd as a listener of the show, we'd love your feedback. Please take this short survey to help us improve the show. There is also an opportunity to take a UserTesting test about the show, where we can hear about your experiences directly.  Survey: https://forms.gle/nCSTZFR5affEs2k1A

What makes a podcast worth listening to?That is an overarching question we'll be asking as we kick off Season 5 of the Human Insight Podcast. After four seasons, we're reaching out to listeners to see what's working and what needs improvement.In this episode, we interview Dan Misener, Director of Audience Development at Pacific Content. Pacific Content helps brands—such as Ford, Charles Schwab, Adobe, Mozilla and many others—develop and produce award-winning podcasts.If anyone knows what makes a great podcast, it will be Dan and the team at Pacific. We also asked avid podcast listeners from around the world what they like and dislike about podcasts; whether that is show notes; how they discover new shows; whether they leave a rating or review and many other questions.We'll be sharing those insights with you throughout the season. In his conversation with Janelle Estes, Chief Insights Officer at UserTesting, Dan explains the “Only we” strategy for creating a podcast. And it is advice you could apply to just about any endeavor. “Only we is the idea that podcasters of all stripes should make the show only they are uniquely suited to make,” Dan says. “What is the show only we could make? What is the show no one else could make even if they wanted to?”Sometimes the “only we” is the access you have; it could be a point of view or a world view; it could be that you're the subject matter expert on a particular topic. “Could someone else make this show and would it be the same?” Dan said. “If the answer is yes, I don't think your show is designed especially well.”Listen to the episode to get more insights from Dan. In addition to expanding on the “Only we” strategy, Dan responds to UserTesting contributors sharing their thoughts on how they find a podcast, and whether they leave reviews. You can watch the videos, too! See and hear what podcast listeners say about how they discover podcasts, and whether they leave reviews. 

In this episode, cohosts Andy MacMillan and Janelle Estes recap Season 4 and talk about what to expect in the next season. And as a listener of the show, we'd love your feedback. Please take this short survey to help us improve the show. There is also an opportunity to take a UserTesting test about the show, where we can hear about your experiences directly.  Survey: https://forms.gle/nCSTZFR5affEs2k1A

Nick Mehta, CEO at Gainsight, believes there are three pillars to a great customer experience and he points to Peloton as an example. One thing great about Peloton is they combine human and digital, Nick said. First, you need a human connection. That could be a customer success manager at a B2B tech company. And for Peloton, it is the relationship with a coach. Nick's favorite instructor Cody Rigsby for example. The second pillar is the product. Nick said Peloton's digitally-connected product delivers what he (the customer) needs and wants to know for a workout. The third pillar is a community of other human beings. This is the leaderboard, which allows you to compete with the rest of the Peloton users in the same class as you and your type of equipment.“That triad is the future,” Nick said.In this bonus podcast episode, a previously recorded LinkedIn Live conversation, Roberts joined Andy MacMillan, UserTesting's CEO, to discuss the concept of design thinking and why it's so important for businesses. Their conversation was part of the User Tested book tour. The new book was co-authored by Andy and Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer.  Listen to the episode for further insights. To learn more about User Tested: www.usertesting.com/usertested.

If you asked someone shopping for a new truck whether they would purchase an electric truck what do you think would be the answer?Now ask those same potential customers if they want to run their power tools off the bed of the truck? Or in an emergency, would they want to be able to power their homes off their truck so the ice cream doesn't melt?“That insight is the beauty of understanding customers in a way that isn't just what they say and do but in what they think and feel,” said Iain Roberts, Chief Operating Officer at IDEO, a global design and consulting firm; which counts Ford and others among its longtime clientsIn this bonus podcast episode, a previously recorded LinkedIn Live conversation, Roberts joined Andy MacMillan, UserTesting's CEO, to discuss the concept of design thinking and why it's so important for businesses. Their conversation was part of the User Tested book tour. The new book was co-authored by Andy and Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer.  Roberts said design thinking allows companies to drive real growth by seeing through your customers eyes. According to its press release introducing the electric F-150 Lightning, Ford relied on its deep understanding of its truck customers to inform the design of the all-new F-150. “We see it as our duty to deliver not just what our customers want and need, but what they might have never thought possible,” said Craig Schmatz, Ford F-150 chief engineer.Early results are impressive. Ford has reported they have more than 200,000 reservations for the electric truck, of which 75% new customers to Ford. Listen to the episode for further insights. To learn more about User Tested: https://www.usertesting.com/usertested.

During the writing and editing of User Tested, coauthor Janelle Estes reached out to Jim Kalbach to review draft chapters and share his feedback. Kalbach, the Chief Evangelist at MURAL and author of several books, loved the book but wanted more stories and proof points. In this bonus podcast episode, a previously recorded LinkedIn Live conversation, Kalbach and Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, discuss the writing of User Tested and the importance of talking with your customers. Kalbach reviewed the first two chapters on why Human Insights are important, and the last two chapters on how to make this happen in any organization.He said his advice could be applied to anyone writing a book. He wanted more stories— or evidence— as a way to connect to a larger audience, who may be unfamiliar with incorporating testing and customer feedback into their business processes. Kalbach said you want to be able to talk with these people in a language they can understand. Ignore them, and you're just talking with folks in an echo chamber who already believe and support your point of view.It is a challenge many in the UX industry have experienced, explaining the need for user insights. But as Tamara Adlin in Episode 12 of the Human Insight Podcast said, you need to talk in a language your audience will understand. Listen to the episode for further insights. To learn more about User Tested: https://www.usertesting.com/usertested.

When T. Rowe Price rolled out a new process for creating an online investment account, they discovered a 37% drop off on the very first step after users opened the webpage.They needed to know “why behind the what” and for that they turned to UserTesting. Within hours they'd identified the problem and were making fix recommendations to product owners. The T. Rowe Price story is one of many shared in User Tested and that is being featured in Season 4 of the Human Insights Podcast. The book was authored by podcast hosts Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, and Andy MacMillan, UserTesting's CEO. You can order the book here or on your favorite book seller's website.Harsha Thayi, Senior Manager of UX Research at T. Rowe Price, shares their story and other insights in his interview. In their conversation, he and Janelle discuss: How Thayi partners with other teams within T. Rowe Price to ensure they create and deliver exceptional experiences for T. Rowe customers What metrics or KPIs does Thayi's team directly or indirectly influence and how that maps to company strategy and purposeHow they are building a “shared understanding” of T. Rowe Price's customers across the organization

Ben Hoggan's team at the Notre Dame's IDEA Center has mentored close to 200 startups and would-be startups  from concept to revenue over the last four years. The best way, he said, to know if a company will be successful is by talking with its customers and potential customers. And after more than 6,000 customer interviews on behalf of those startups, he should know. "It is very selfish to invest in customer research," said Hoggan, the Director of De-Risking at The IDEA Center. "You're saving yourself time. You're saving yourself money."Standing for Innovation, De-Risking, and Enterprise Acceleration, the IDEA Center works with faculty, student, community, and alumni entrepreneurs on their commercially viable, early-stage product ideas and innovations.The IDEA Center's story is one of many shared in User Tested and that are being featured in Season 4 of the Human Insights Podcast. The book was coauthored by podcast hosts Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, and Andy MacMillan, UserTesting's CEO. You can purchase a copy of the book here or on your favorite book seller's website.Listen to the episode to learn more about: Ben's work as Director of De-Risking at The IDEA Center at the IDEA CenterWhat are some strategies he and his team use to identify if startup ideas will *stick* or be adopted by the market?What metrics or KPIs does the IDEA Center own? And how does Ben's team work ties to those metrics?

In this episode, Janelle Estes talks with Tom Lorusso, the Principal User Research Lead for Xbox and gaming across Windows products and devices.Tom has been working in games for over 7 years, with 15 years in the user research field on phones, operating systems and portable ultrasound. Tom and his Xbox Experiences team tackle a variety of research questions in social gaming, community, monetization, communication, cross-platform gaming, video consumption, accessibility, and inclusivity.Tom's story at Microsoft is one of many shared in User Tested and that are being featured in Season 4 of the Human Insights Podcast. The book was co-authored by podcast hosts Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, and Andy MacMillan, UserTesting's CEO.  You can order the book here or on your favorite book seller's website.Listen to the episode and learn how Tom and his team at Microsoft and Xbox tackle: What strategies Tom and his team use to identify shifting behaviors and expectations in the gaming spaceWith all the changes (technology, pandemic, and so forth) happening in recent years, how does Tom and his team prepare and plan for the futureHow Tom and his team partner with the other teams within Microsoft to ensure they create and deliver an exceptional  experience for Xbox customers

This week on the Human Insight Podcast, we are excited to have James Villacci joining us to discuss how HelloFresh is scaling customer insights across the organization. As the first UX Researcher at HelloFresh, James Villacci established the value of conducting studies on the company's online and offline projects. He is now head of Global UX Research at the company, which is the largest meal-kit provider in the world. He evangelized the power and impact of getting fast customer feedback through what has become “The Insights Show,” an internal watch party of customer insights that draws 100+ employees.The HelloFresh story is one of many shared in User Tested and that will be featured in Season 4 of the Human Insights Podcast. The book was authored by podcast hosts Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, and Andy MacMillan, UserTesting's CEO. The book is being released on February 15th, but you can pre-order it today here or on your favorite book seller's website.Listen to the episode to learn James' recipe for democratizing insights across an organization. In their conversation, they discuss: How HelloFresh's insights show came to beHow James and his UX team partners with the product organization to ensure they create and deliver a great experience for HelloFresh customersHow James and his UX team built the case for UX research at HelloFresh, from business metrics to storytelling

In this week's episode, James Lane shares the evolving story of how AAA is becoming a design-driven organization.James, a Senior Product Design Manager at AAA Club Alliance, joins host Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, and Andy MacMillan, UserTesting's CEO, to share AAA's story, which is one of many being shared in the upcoming User Tested and that will be featured in Season 4 of the Human Insights Podcast. The book was authored by podcast hosts Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, and Andy MacMillan, UserTesting's CEO. The book is being released on February 15th, but you can pre-order it today here or on your favorite book seller's website.James said becoming a design-driven organization is similar to how organizations evolved into being data-driven, moving data insights from just the math wizards in a corner office to enabling everyone in an organization to use data to inform and improve their work. “We can all use design processes, just as we all use data, to understand our world a little better, as a process for exploring what customers are looking for,” he said. The results are impressive. Following their customer-informed design changes, organic conversions for the website were up 30%, including a 55% lift for Premier memberships (AAA's top-tier membership type), a 39% lift in revenue for this channel.In their conversation, they go on to discuss: Going from pilot to launchWhat he means by design-drivenAnd how customer insights are informing new initiatives, such as a recently rolled out new website

2022 may turn out to be the big bang of the metaverse, but no matter the reality- augmented, virtual, extended or mixed- doing business in an increasingly digital world needs to begin the human experience.This week on the Human Insight Podcast, Krikey co-founders Jhanvi Shriram and Ketaki Shriram join host Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, to share how they are putting customers first for their mobile augmented reality (AR) gaming app.Jhanvi, the CEO of Krikey, and Ketaki, the CTO, have been featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 list, and Fast Company's Best Apps and Games of 2020.Krikey's story is one of many shared in the upcoming User Tested and that will be featured in Season 4 of the Human Insights Podcast. The book was authored by podcast hosts Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, and Andy MacMillan, UserTesting's CEO. The book is being released on February 15th, but you can pre-order it today here or on your favorite book seller's website.With insights from UserTesting, Krikey has surpassed more than 2 million users, saw a 45% increase in app conversions, and they are now bringing their app to new markets worldwide. Listen to their interview to hear how the Krikey co-founders: How and why they started the businessHow customer feedback fits into Krikey's business prioritiesHow testing the user experience helped evolved their offeringsHow customer feedback is tied to user growth, retention and engagement

In this episode, Jennifer Lee, UX Research Lead at Wise, shares her experience being the company's first qualitative researcher to scaling insights across the company.Wise (formerly known as TransferWise) is a publicly-traded, London-based technology company founded in 2011. Wise is building the best way to move and manage money around the world, helping a community of over 10 million like-minded people and businesses.Wise's story is one of many shared in the upcoming User Tested and that will be featured in Season 4 of the Human Insights Podcast. The book was authored by podcast hosts Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, and Andy MacMillan, UserTesting's CEO. The book is being released on February 15th, but you can pre-order it today here or on your favorite book seller's website.The book gives both individual contributors and executives an approachable, pragmatic playbook for stepping beyond standard business metrics and infusing real human insight into every business decision, design, and experience.In her interview with, Jennifer tells Janelle and Andy about holding monthly UX Research 101 classes that anyone at Wise could join to learn about qualitative research. This began the democratization of the research function, as requests to get involved came from their HR/People Team, Engineering, Project Management, Marketing, Design, and more. In their interview, they go on to discuss: What role does the user experience play at Wise in securing and retaining customers?How her team partners with the product organization to ensure they create and deliver an exceptional experience for Wise customers?What metrics or KPIs does your team directly or indirectly influence?How to build the case for customer listening? 

Join Andy MacMillan, CEO of UserTesting, and Janelle Estes, Chief Insights Officer at UserTesting, as they recap Season 3 of the Human Insight Podcast. And in January, Season 4 of the podcast launches with a focus on the success stories, examples and playbooks from User Tested, the new book co-authored by Janelle and Andy, now available for pre-order.

This week on the Human Insight Podcast, we interview Brent Leary, CRM industry observer, author and speaker. Leary is co-founder and Managing Partner of CRM Essentials LLC, an Atlanta based CRM/CX advisory firm covering tools and strategies for improving business relationships. He writes regularly for CRM Magazine and ZDNet, and is a founding member of Newseek's Expert Forum. He hosts the weekly One on One conversation series for Small Business Trends, the A Few Good Minutes livestream series, co-hosts The CRM Playaz show, and is a regular on the Gillmor Gang show on TechCrunch.In his conversation with Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, Leary discusses: Can a company actually be customer centric? Or are they just data centric about their customers?The tension between tracking our customers and transparency of what that information is being used for?Building stronger customer relationshipsHow technology is making things easier to do, except it doesn't seem to be getting any easier to find, catch and keep good customers. Why?This episode originally aired December 20, 2021.

You could design UX for a B2C to increase conversions. Or you could oversee UX for health tech company and, ultimately, save or improve lives.For Andrew Frueh it was an easy choice. Frueh is the senior vice president of UX design at Health Catalyst, a leading provider of data and analytics technology and services to healthcare organizations. This week, he joins Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, on the Human Insight Podcast where they talk about: What metrics or KPIs does his UX team directly or indirectly influence? How does that map to his team's strategy and purpose?When it comes to customer-centricity and experience, what is unique about the healthcare space? How does it compare to other industries, such as retail or financial services?Is there a difference between UX in B2B vs. B2C? If so, what are those differences?

If you're a regular listener to the show, you know Janelle asks our guests about a book they've recently read and would recommend.In this episode, we've rounded up all those recommendations from the past year and share them with you, whether you are looking for a holiday gift, you're planning your 2022 strategy and are looking for some help, or just want to get in some quality reading over the holidays.Before we jump into our guest recommendations, I should also note that five of our past guests are also authors of some great books. Teresa Torres, author of Continuous Discovery HabitsJohn S. Couch, author of The Art of Creative Rebellion Tamara Adlin, co-author of The Persona LifecycleJim Kalbach, author of The Jobs to Be Done PlaybookApril Dunford, author of Obv!ously AwesomeHere are the other recommended books: Tiny HabitsTurning ProUser FriendlyUX Pioneers Never Split the DifferenceNever a Dull MomentThe Jobs To Be Done PlaybookNo Rules RulesCaste: The origins of our discontentCreativity, Inc.SnowcrashGentleman in MoscowKlara and the SunWho Not HowThink AgainConnectAnd last but not least, we'd like to recommend User Tested by our podcast co-hosts and co-authors Janelle Estes and Andy MacMillan.In their book, you'll discover why the company that offers the best customer experience always wins, and that real, three-dimensional people can't be reduced to data points on a graph.The book is being released on February 15th, but you can pre-order it today on your favorite book seller's website.

This week on the Human Insight podcast, we interviewed Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia, Founder and CEO of Product School. Product School is the global leader in product management training with a community of over one million product professionals. Product School instructors are real-world Product Leaders working at top companies including Google, Facebook, Netflix, Airbnb, PayPal, Uber, and Amazon.In his interview with Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Information Officer, Carlos discusses: The role of a product manager in today's worldThe skills and experiences product managers need to be successful The role customer feedback plays in a product manager's day-to-day life

This week on the Human Insight podcast, we interviewed Teresa Torres, author of Continuous Discovery Habits. Teresa teaches a structured and sustainable approach to continuous discovery that helps product teams infuse their daily product decisions with customer input. She's coached hundreds of teams at companies of all sizes, from early-stage start-ups to global enterprises and has taught over 6,500 product people core discovery skills through the Product Talk Academy. In her interview with Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, Teresa discusses:What is continuous discovery?What role does customer input and feedback play in a product manager's day-to-day life?Who should manage continuous customer feedback? What do we do with those customer insights?How do we align those insights with business goals?

This week on the Human Insight podcast, we interviewed Emily Carrion, VP of Marketing at Esper and veteran of the Seattle startup scene. In her interview with Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, Carrion discusses:Her observations on the progress being made in getting more women startup founders, board members, and senior leadersThe marketing challenges she is addressing this quarterWhy it's important to hear directly from customers, in their own voicesWhat startups should prioritize with their customer feedback and testing?Her advice developing continuous engagement with customers

This week on the Human Insight podcast, we interview April Dunford, a tech executive, board member, CEO and founder of Ambient Strategy, and author of Obv!ously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It.In her interview with Janelle Estes, UserTesting's Chief Insights Officer, Dunford discusses: Is positioning just for startupsHow has the pandemic changed the role of positioning How our biases inhibit our positioning effortsWho should be involved in positioningThe importance of customer feedback in developing your positioningAnd how to identify your best fit customers

In this episode, Andy and Janelle recap highlights from Season 2 of the Human Insights Podcast, as well as offer a sneak peak at what's in store for season three, which kicks off in September.

Catherine Richards said one way Tesco Bank builds a CX culture is through positive disruption.“And what I mean by that is, as leaders, you need to know when to make a call to positively disrupt how you're working,” said Richards, who is head of design at Tesco Bank. An example was introducing Customer Wednesdays, a day dedicated in the week to spending time with the bank's customers. They started that four years ago, bringing in customers to get feedback early in the design process. That's continued during the pandemic, just that now they get that feedback remotely. “When you tell a story about a customer that you've seen, or you've spent time with, there's just something about that, that people remember. They remember the customer stories,” Richards said.    In her conversation with Janelle Estes, Chief Insights Officer at UserTesting, Richards goes on to discuss:What is the role of leadership in driving customer-centric design and experiencesWhat metrics or KPIs does her team directly or indirectly influenceHow has the financial services/bank customer experience evolved over the course of your career?

Christian Idiodi has led or consulted on nearly 200 successful product launches for a range of companies from startups to big banks. So, you’d think he always wanted a career in product management, right? “Actually, I wanted to be a doctor,” said the partner at Silicon Valley Product Group, a global product consulting firm. “I wanted to solve hard problems like cancer or HIV. That was always what I had dreamed and aspired to be.”Idiodi joined the Human Insight Podcast to discuss what makes a great product manager, how companies and managers should invest in coaching their product managers, and how product managers work with teams to ensure customer satisfaction. In his conversation with Andy MacMillan, CEO at UserTesting, and Janelle Estes, Chief Insights Officer at UserTesting, Idiodi discusses:His role today at SVPGHis new initiative, Innovate AfricaHow the product world has evolved over the yearsBest practices for developing and coaching product managers and leadersStaying close to the customerBalancing processes and innovation

As Jim Kalbach likes to say, work is not an office it is what we accomplish together. As many companies are now planning if and when their employees return to offices, the questions of what work is and how we accomplish it are top of mind. This week’s Human Insight Podcast dives into the topic in a roundtable discussion with Mariano Suarez-Batten, co-founder and CEO at MURAL; Kalbach, Chief Evangelist at MURAL; Andy MacMillan, CEO at UserTesting, and Janelle Estes, Chief Insights Officer at UserTesting. In their conversation, they discuss: Distributed collaborationDigital TransformationDiversity & Inclusion

How do you build a customer-focused design team that scales?Susan Rice has done it three times. She’s the Vice President of UX at Workiva, a global SaaS reporting compliance platform that enables the use of connected data and automation for reporting across finance, accounting, risk, and compliance.In her Human Insight Podcast interview with Janelle Estes, UserTesting’s Chief Insights Officer, Rice discusses: Building a customer-focused teamHer favorite UX design KPIUX design differences between B2B and B2CAdvice for those embarking on a design career

The pandemic has changed so much about retail, but some retail trends will outlast the pandemic, such as providing a personalized experience, says Sean McKee, the former Director of eCommerce and CX at UK footwear retailer, Schuh.In his Human Insight Podcast interview with Janelle Estes, UserTesting’s Chief Insights Officer, McKee discusses: His 25-year career at Schuh from storeroom to boardroomThe biggest changes to retail and ecommerce over that timeKeeping a customer focus in a sea of ecommerce data points“What retailers have to think about is the question of experience and what experience looks like because if doing things that were at the experiential end of the spectrum were important before COVID, they're even more important now,” McKee said. “Customers really need to have a compelling reason to visit your store because they've just had an education that tells them they can do other things. So, the experiential stuff is important.”

Dan Storms, CookUnity’s Chief Product Officer, said adding steps to their sign up process had a positive result on the business. It was a counterintuitive action  from a design perspective. Usually, you want to eliminate steps. But listening to their best, most raving fans, yielded insights that a few added questions initially would result in an even better experience for customers. And it was great for CookUnity, too. They saw a 50% increase in conversions. The three-year-old startup is a direct-to-consumer meal delivery platform that allows its customers to choose a range of ready-to-eat meals from celebrity and up-and-coming chefs. It’s based in New York City, recently opened its second community kitchen in Los Angeles, and delivers to twenty-seven states.In his Human Insight podcast interview with Janelle Estes, UserTesting’s Chief Insights Officer, Storms goes on to discuss: How they leveraged two bestsellers to create a framework for customer listening that they then applied to their product and market strategyHow to validate customer feedback with surveysInsights on planning the NY Product Conference

Are you speaking the language of your executives? If you’ve been sending them a doc to explain your latest great idea, you’re not. Because they speak in the language of spreadsheets. In Episode 12 of the Human Insight #podcast, @Tamara Adlin discusses the importance of understanding your audience, especially when your audience are your executives. In this episode, you'll learn:Her seminal book, The Essential Persona Lifecycle: Your Guide to Building and Using PersonasHer magic trick to achieving executive alignmentStartups and the Catch 22 of the MVP

When John S. Couch started at Hulu as Vice President of UX and Design in January 2016, one of the first things he wanted to do was produce a vision video. Design is a lot like the parable of the elephant and the blind men, said Couch, author of The Art of Creative Rebellion. In the story, the blind men have never come across an elephant before so each man feels and describes only one part of the elephant, like its trunk or tail—unable to describe the elephant in its entirety “They're all correct, but they're looking at it only through one slice,” Couch said. “And what I wanted to do was make a short film, which described the end result. What the whole elephant looked like.”“And there was an immediate mental shift,” Couch said. “From ‘We're not really sure’ to ‘Oh, that's the elephant.’”In Episode 11 of the Human Insight Podcast, Couch goes on to talk about his career path (such as exaggerating his skill sets to land a job at Wired to the evolution of his role now as a Mr. Wolf—consulting companies on their UX and design problems).