Episode web page: https://bit.ly/4gFlEVz ----------------------- Rate Insights Unlocked and write a review If you appreciate Insights Unlocked, please give it a rating and a review. Visit Apple Podcasts, pull up the Insights Unlocked show page and scroll to the bottom of the screen. Below the trailers, you'll find Ratings and Reviews. Click on a star rating. Scroll down past the highlighted review and click on "Write a Review." You'll make my day. ----------------------- Episode Summary: In this episode of Insights Unlocked, host Nathan Isaacs chats with Kuldeep Kelkar, partner at UXReactor, seasoned UX researcher, and author of Strengthen Your User Research Superpowers. Kuldeep shares his journey through 25+ years in user research, his experiences shaping the industry, and how his new book is designed to empower researchers to amplify their influence within organizations. What You'll Learn in This Episode: The evolution of user research from a niche function to a critical part of product development. Key challenges faced by UX researchers, including gaining influence, communicating value, and driving business impact. How Kuldeep’s book provides practical, actionable skills in the form of "superpowers" to help researchers navigate these challenges. Why addressing sample size questions can be an opportunity to educate and build credibility. Highlights: Kuldeep’s Career Journey: From being one of the first researchers at PayPal in 2004 to his leadership role at UX Reactor. About the Book: Kuldeep’s book is structured like a deck of 52 cards, each focused on strengthening specific "superpowers" researchers need to succeed. Favorite Superpower: Learn why "sample size" is a topic Kuldeep now approaches with confidence and excitement. AI in UX Research: Insights into how AI tools like ChatGPT are being integrated into research and design processes, and the current limitations of AI-driven efficiencies. Industry Trends: Discover how budget constraints and resource cuts are influencing organizations’ approaches to UX and the growing demand for outsourced expertise. Customer Feedback in Action: A surprising story of how Kuldeep’s advice helped a client rethink usability testing timelines. Rapid-Fire Fun: Kuldeep shares his favorite word ("research"), a dream career (astrophysicist), and what role he’d take in a restaurant (chef—despite not cooking!). Memorable Quote: "The biggest challenge for researchers isn’t conducting research—it’s gaining influence and driving outcomes within their organizations." – Kuldeep Kelkar
Chapter 1: What is the journey of Kuldeep Kelkar in user research?
Khaldip, can you tell us about who you are and what you do?
Yeah, so name is Kuldeep Kalkar. And as the book says, I recently published a book called Send Then Your User Research Superpowers. I'm a partner at a company, a boutique design and research agency called UX Reactor. Full disclaimer, I used to be part of UserZoom user testing for almost eight years. I left user testing UserZoom almost a year ago, took some time off, wrote the book.
I'm glad I got to finishing the book. I had thought about this for a long, long time. I was one of the first researchers at PayPal way back in 2004. Back when there was no user zone, there was no user testing, user research essentially meant research in the lab. That's pretty much it. Only a handful of companies had user researchers.
Interestingly, I was also told early on in my career that maybe only a handful of companies might have this user research thing. I'm glad I stuck around because that's clearly not the case. So amazing to see 500 people out here. And I got started as we were talking about in the field of user research through my master's program way back in 98 at Clemson University.
Still a Clemson Tigers fan and still follow college football.
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Chapter 2: What are the key challenges faced by UX researchers?
Well, we won't hold that against you. Tell me about the book too. So it's strengthening your user research superpowers. If I'm going to read the book, what am I getting out of the book?
Yeah. So in the last 25 years, I've seen researchers generally not struggle with conducting research. but struggle with influence, struggle with product or technology or getting a seat at the table or influencing the outcome of the product. And over and over and over and over again, I have heard researchers talk about these challenges. And so when I was thinking of writing a book,
Chapter 3: How does Kuldeep's book empower UX researchers?
I didn't want to write yet another book on how to conduct research. There's plenty of books that are out there. They talk about conducting research, the how to write test, all of that is straightforward. So eventually this book ended up being a deck of cards, 52 cards, like a deck of cards literally. Each chapter is just a couple of pages strong and these are the superpowers.
I wish every researcher had so that they can do what they are wanting to do at their organization, which is influence the stakeholders, become a leader, be able to have those business conversations and make an impact while doing so. So if you had a superpower, a favorite superpower, what would it be? Yeah, it's like asking me which one of my two children do I like more? I don't.
Chapter 4: What is Kuldeep's favorite superpower and why?
I do have a favorite child. I don't. So all 52 superpowers are out there. They are all meant to be used in the right time in the right place. But since you asked, the favorite superpower is sample size. And why? Because in my first 10 years of my career, it was very interesting. When anyone challenged me on sample size, I think I used to get frustrated, maybe even angry.
It's like, why is this question coming up again and again? Now, I see that as an opportunity. It's like, hey, let's have a discussion. Let's talk about the benefits of qualitative research with smaller sample size. Let's talk about the benefits of larger sample size. I have my spiel ready these days, and I look forward to somebody asking the sample size question these days.
Chapter 5: How can sample size questions be an opportunity for researchers?
All right, all right. Well, sample size, two words. Yeah. We're here to do the fast five questions with Kuldeep here. So question number one, what is your favorite word?
If I say research, would that be cheesy? No, it's not cheesy. No, okay. Yeah, it is research. After 25 years, 27 years, this is pretty much what I know. So it's research.
Chapter 6: How is AI being integrated into UX research?
What profession, other than your own, would you like to try?
Ooh. Like to try, if I were not a UXer, and this might shock you, everyone here, I might have been an astrophysicist. It's like, gee, where, there's no, if you draw concentric circles, there's no overlap that I can think of between user research and astrophysics. But weirdly, I'm also interested in the physics and the astrophysics and the, not at the quantum level, but at the large level.
So maybe an astrophysicist.
All right. You know, besides something, so what would be, if you were going to be working at a restaurant, what would be your job at a restaurant?
Maybe a chef? I might have to take that back.
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Chapter 7: What surprising feedback did Kuldeep receive from a client?
You'd have to be the person in charge.
Probably, though I don't cook, so.
We talked a little bit about how your role has changed since you started 20 odd years ago. Now, more specifically, how has your role evolved with the rise of AI?
Oh, AI, which is, of course, the talk of the town, has been for the last year and a half. How has my role changed? Well, I'm a partner at UX Reactor. So honest answer, it hasn't dramatically changed for me. Having said that, I heavily use AI. I use ChatGPT, the 4.0 model. I heavily used it for the book as well for editing purposes.
Chapter 8: What fun facts does Kuldeep share about himself?
I had to stop using it at a while because it just became generic stuff. In our practice, we use ChatGPT for research planning, for analysis if the customer allows us to do so. We use it for aggregation of insights, editing, and a whole bunch of other things. So all in all, I don't know it has particularly changed my role as such.
We do see a lot of anxiety as well as excitement within our customer base, where everyone is trying to figure out what does this mean for their organization. We do get asked questions about, hey, do you use AI in your design? Do you use AI in your research? Answer is, of course, yes.
What they're really wanting to know is, okay, if you're using it, are there efficiencies and can those efficiencies be translated to us as customers?
we're not in a position yet to say yes to that because we're piloting we're experimenting we don't have concrete data at this point in time that says that hey design is 10x faster or or 50 saving in design and research hasn't happened yet so so no not much do you find yourself
trying to figure those answers out like you did with sample size, right? You had to do a little deeper research in their understanding sample size. So when you were asked that question, you could answer it quickly. Are you trying to figure that out? Because I'm sure clients are saying, do we come to you to help us with our project, or do we just use Chatbot to figure it out?
Yeah. So a little bit yes and no in there as well. Customers come in with all sorts of questions. It's for us to figure out how best can we use this? How best can we translate this into efficiency for our customers? Customers come in with all sorts of asks. Hey, we are revolutionizing whatever they are revolutionizing. As I said, it depends on use case by use case.
In some use cases, if it is enterprise design, then it hasn't yet translated to the outcomes that they're hoping for. So there's a lot of experimentation, a lot of piloting that is going on. And we, as a community, still have to find the use cases where it really, really benefits. I know for sure it helps us on the research front. I know for sure it helps us on the design front.
But does that translate into customer benefit? Don't know yet. what's one surprising thing you've learned from your customers this year customer conversation every conversation starts with as as we heard this morning here we have budget and resource constraints which i used to think everyone says that but i almost always thought that that was a negotiation tactic
Right now, it seems to be the true thing. And so they ask, hey, what can you do with we only have this much budget? And so that's fine. I mean, we're an agency, so we'll do so. But over a period of time right now in Q4, it's starting to appear like customers are trying to spend more money because they understand that they are probably getting behind in this UX game.
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