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Note from UXRS President about 2020

12/24/2020

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2020 Year in Review

Looking back on changes, growth and success

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The founders of UX Research and Strategy: Jen Blatz, Lorie Whitaker and Lauren Singer, look back at 2020 with all smiles.
The goal for UX Research and Strategy has always been to be there for the UX community. 2020 has been a tough year for many people in a variety of ways, but in times of adversity, your community can help you through some rough patches. Our 2020 meetings have focused on providing opportunities for our community to upskill, make connections, expand their education, and make new friends. We hope our events have provided a way for our community members to make 2020 a bit more palatable. 

Our events would not have been possible without everyone who supported us in 2020: 
  • Those who stuck with us as we pivoted to an online platform 
  • Those who attended our events, asked great questions, and shared their experiences with their friends and colleagues, encouraging them to attend as well
  • Those who taught, helped, and connected with others in our Slack workspace
  • Those who liked, shared, and commented on our social media content
  • 500+ people who donated to help UXRS pay our bills this year. Those contributions ensure we can provide one free event each month and help defer the operating costs for our group. 

When thinking about UXRS in 2020, three words come to mind: 
  • Adaptive
  • Community
  • Growth

Adaptive
Prior to the pandemic, UX Research and Strategy was primarily a local organization, hosting our events in Dallas, Texas USA. As some organizations pivoted to online engagements in the face of the pandemic, UXRS decided, for the safety of our attendees, to shift all of our events online. In doing so, UXRS expanded around the globe in a matter of a few short months. 

Our first online event was the UXR Portfolio Review in February. Lorie Whitaker, co-founder and Treasurer, pivoted the already fully scheduled event from occurring in a local corporate office to an online-only event. 

After this successful event, and the unimpeded spread of COVID 19 around the globe, the founders decided to take all events online for the remainder of 2020. The founders discussed the logistics and started planning to move all of the remaining events to an online platform. Zoom was purchased, social media accounts were put into place, and UXRS moved online for the future, keeping our mission at the forefront:

Our goal is to make topics related to User Experience research and strategy both approachable and actionable by ensuring our community members come away with concrete examples of how to implement research and strategy methods.

Community
Moving our events virtually allowed us to reach a much broader audience. Our online events have enabled us to provide the opportunity to create a broader global network with people who share a similar interest: UX Research and Strategy. 

We’ve had attendees from countries around the world: Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Japan, India, United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa - just to name a few.
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Growth

Moving online allowed us to increase our meeting attendance from approximately 75 people in person to over 500 for online meetings! And it’s not just our attendance that’s grown. Our social media influence has exploded, going from virtually zero followers on LinkedIn to over 22,000. We’ve seen 5-fold increases in followers on our other channels - YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. The UXRS Slack space has grown from just hosting the three founders to being a dynamic place for over 1,100 people to share their thoughts, help each other, and ask for feedback. This growth allows us to bring our mission to a wider audience, enabling our community members to help each other and make meaningful connections during these trying times. 


We have brought in some pretty fantastic speakers like:
  • Debbie Levitt
  • Eric Ellis
  • Jim Kalbach
  • Andy Vitale
  • Amy Ross
  • Mike Kendall
  • Indi Young
  • Adrienne Guillory
  • Adam Polansky
  • John Sarmiento
  • ​Donna Spencer
  • Deb Gelman
  • Ashley Connor
  • Carri Craver
  • Meghan Rennie
  • Carol Smith
  • Amanda Dorsey
  • Kevin Liang

Our fabulous speakers talked about tons of interesting topics like:
  • Getting hired in UX
  • Information architecture
  • Design thinking
  • Jobs to be done
  • Analyzing data after research
  • Mental models and thinking styles
  • Remote contextual inquiry
  • Value stream discovery loop
  • Artificial Intelligence and UX
  • When to use which research method
  • How to break into UX research

As you can see, 2020 has been a very busy year for us. And we are not stopping there! We are in the process of planning some pretty amazing events in 2021 too. 

Let me just take one more moment to thank all of those who have supported us in 2020.
  • For those who beared with us through technical issues and adjusting to a new virtual platform.
  • For those who show up to our events, ask great questions and told your friends and colleagues they should come to our events too.
  • For those who contributed to the conversations in our Slack channels: teaching, helping and connecting with others.
  • For those who comment on, like, share and view our social media content.
  • And finally, for those who donated to help keep us going. Over 500 people chipped in to help us financially this year. Woot! Those contributions help us to keep most of our events free, and they help pay for operational costs like Zoom upgrades (permitting more viewers) and our website.

Looking forward
Our founders are hard at work planning our 2021 events. We hope they will bring our community more educational experiences and chances to connect with each other. We are truly grateful for your support. You give us your most valuable asset, your time and attention, and we don’t take that for granted. Thank you again for your support and we look forward to seeing you in 2021 and beyond.

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Donate to UXRS for North Texas Giving Day

8/29/2020

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Giving Day is Coming,

You Can Support Now!

Now's the time to show how much you appreciate how UXRS has helped you learn and grow

-> Jump to the chase: Support UX Research and Strategy Now! <-

UX Research & Strategy (UXRS) is participating in North Texas Giving Day for the first time. We recently celebrated our 1st birthday, and your support will help us grow and continue to thrive.
If you’ve benefited from our educational sessions and networking opportunities, mentoring and career series, or our Slack channel, we invite you to show your support for UXRS by giving during North Texas Giving Day. 

About North Texas Giving Day
Since 2009, North Texas Giving Day has become an annual event to mobilize nonprofits and givers and engage people in supporting local nonprofits, and create lasting impact in their communities. Hosted by the Community Foundation of Texas, North Texas Giving Day is the largest community-wide giving event in the United States. But North Texas Giving Day is for everyone, no matter if you live in north Texas or beyond! 

Our goal is to raise $5,000 between September 1 and September 17, 2020. 
We invite you to be a part of the event and share in this experience, with us.
  • Early giving starts on September 1, 2020
  • You can give until 11:59 pm CST September 17, 2020 (North Texas Giving Day). 

5 key reasons to give. Your gift:
  1. Builds a resource pipeline. You’ll be helping students and those transitioning from academia and other backgrounds into the growing UX research and strategy field. And, you’ll be giving seasoned UX research and strategy professionals more opportunities to learn, grow and mentor future practitioners. More mentors plus ongoing education builds resources and a learning community.
  2. Has a local and global impact. We want to keep bringing free and low-cost education events to our community. While we’re based in North Texas, we pivoted to online events during COVID-19. As a result, we’ve educated more people and grown to 20,000+ global UXRS community members.
  3. Makes our mission possible. We will use part of the money donated during North Texas Giving Day as seed money for an exciting new offering. Our mission is to bring a conference to you, our UXRS community members, in 2021.  Our goal is to keep tickets affordable - so that more can learn from both industry leaders and emerging new voices. Your donation will keep the cost of admission lower to reach a more diverse UX population. It’s a win-win for all. 
  4. Matters. Every donor and each dollar counts. Everyone can participate! No matter the size of the gift, it increases the capacity of UX Research & Strategy to do our work in north Texas and beyond.
  5. Tax-deductible. By giving to UXRS, you are giving to a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization. When you make your gift, you’ll get a receipt. You’ll be giving, and receiving, at the same time.
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We appreciate our donors. And, we want to say thank you!
By donating at least $25, you will be eligible for prizes. Check them out:
$25 gift 
  • Your name listed as a donor on our UXRS website 
$50 gift 
  • Your name listed as a donor on our UXRS website 
  • 1 ticket to our Fireside Chat with a famous UX pro, TBA
$100 gift 
  • Your name listed as a donor on our UXRS website 
  • 1 ticket to our Fireside Chat with a famous UX pro, TBA
  • 1 Conference Supporter*
$250 gift 
  • Your name listed as a donor on our UXRS website 
  • 1 ticket to our Fireside Chat with a famous UX pro, TBA
  • 1 Conference Supporter*
  • 1 workshop ticket
$500 gift 
  • Your name listed as a donor on our UXRS website 
  • 2 tickets to our Fireside Chat with a famous UX pro, TBA
  • 2 Conference Supporter*
  • 1 workshop ticket

And, there’s more. We’ll be giving raffle tickets to donors who give at least $25. We have some great prizes for our givers. Stay tuned for more details! 
* You are subsidizing the cost of a ticket for someone else

Ready to give?
Visit our UX Research & Strategy profile page to learn more. 

4 ways to give
  • Start early. Make your gift early, starting September 1st, give to UX Research and Strategy. 
  • Give on the big day. Celebrate North Texas Giving Day and generate excitement on the day – September 17, 2020. 
  • Create your own FUNdraising page. Become an ambassador for UXRS and share with your network! If your campaign raises over $50, you are eligible for 1 ticket to our Fireside Chat with a famous UX pro, TBA. Watch this video on how to build a FUNdraising page for simple instructions on how to create your personalized UX Research and Strategy FUNdraising page. 
  • Get the word out. Like and share our posts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
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FUNdraising page for North Texas Giving Day

8/24/2020

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Support UXRS First Hand

Join us in our biggest fundraiser of the year! Build a FREE page and win a ticket to our exclusive event this fall.

tl;dr
Support UXRS by creating a free and easy “FUNdraising page” to help us raise funds to keep our events free and global, going into 2021.
  1. Go to the North Texas Giving Day UXRS website
  2. Create a FUNdraising page to collect money starting September 1, 2020
  3. Share the link with your friends, family and network
  4. Raise at least $50 and get a free seat at our exclusive “Thank you event, Fireside Chat with a famous UX pro,” guest to be announced

Thank you for your ongoing support of UX Research and Strategy! Your generous support makes a meaningful difference to our mission of providing accessible educational resources focused on UX research and UX strategy to people around the world.
North Texas Giving Day gives us a chance to introduce our organization to a new audience and raise funds to expand our mission. This year we are asking you to join us by creating a FUNdraising page on UX Research and Strategy’s behalf to share with your networks about why our organization is important to you. These are personalized giving pages housed on the North Texas Giving Day website and connected to our profile. For 2020, we have a goal of raising $5000 during North Texas Giving Day. Will you help us reach that goal?
Creating a FUNdraising page is quick, easy, and can make a HUGE impact on our organization. This video on how to create a FUNdraising page will tell you all you need to know.
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Watch the video to learn how to quickly and easily create a FUNdraising page to show support for UXRS. 
When you create your page, share a compelling personal story why UXRS is important to you. Tell others why you are passionate about our mission to educate people!
Once your page is created, make sure to share the URL of your page with your family and friends via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, email. etc. You never know who shares your passion for UX! Don’t forget to tag us and use the hashtags #NTxGivingDay and #WhyIGive
Throughout the campaign, it’s important to share updates with your supporters and encourage them to invite family and friends to join you in support. And anytime someone contributes to your campaign, it’s important to thank them!
We are looking forward to making a bigger difference in 2021 and we hope you will join us!
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North Texas Giving Day 2020

8/13/2020

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Support UXRS's mission and 

take part in North Texas Giving 

 Day on September 17

UX Research & Strategy is participating, for the first time, in North Texas Giving Day! Since 2009, this region-wide movement of giving has been a staple for growing North Texas nonprofits. 

We just celebrated our 1st birthday, and your help and participation in North Texas Giving Day will help us grow out of our infancy and thrive.

North Texas Giving Day is an event that lifts giving and engages the entire North Texas region to support local nonprofits, celebrating the important role they play in strengthening our communities. While our founders make our homes in North Texas, the event is for everyone, no matter the size of your gift - or if you live in North Texas or beyond!
​

4 ways to support UX Research and Strategy

  1. Become an ambassador for UX Research and Strategy today! Like and share our posts on social media, donate if you can, create your own FUNdraising page, and share with your network!
  2. Early giving starts on September 1, 2020
  3. Official giving day on September 17, 2020
  4. Donate more than just your dollars! Share your time and talent by volunteering (indicate your interest during the donation process).

​People have great things to say about UX Research and Strategy's events. Check out this quote from a regular attendee, Chris Ferrell, UX Researcher:
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Go to the North Texas Giving Day website to pledge your support and help us continue to bring you more fabulous events in 2021 and beyond.
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August 10th, 2020

8/10/2020

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Join our Slack Channel

Get more involved in the UXRS UX community buy joining us on Slack

Do you have questions about UX research or strategy?
Do you want to help out your UX community by answering questions and providing your expertise? 
​Do you want to network and meet others who have the same interest in UX research and strategy as you do?
If you answered yes to any of these, then we have the place for you. We have a small, but mighty UX Research and Strategy Slack community. Please join us and become a valued member of our ever growing network and friends and professionals.
​Just take a moment to fill our our "Join the URXS Slack Community" form to get your special invitation today. See you in Slack soon! 
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Mural sponsors UX Research and Strategy

6/7/2020

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Gold Sponsor: Mural App

We are excited to announce our partnership with the famed online whiteboard solution

UX Research and Strategy is excited to announce our latest Gold Sponsor, Mural.
What is Mural?
It is an online tool which allows teams to collaborate in a virtual whiteboard-type setting. 
Why is Mural so great?
  • Access any time you can get online
  • Teams can work in real time, or asynchronously
  • People can work from anywhere in the world, truly collaborating globally
  • Numerous templates get you up and running that much faster
  • Functionality is fabulous. Post stickies, include gifs and icons, and insert your own images
  • Easy to learn and get going right away
What can you do in Mural?
  • Brainstorm
  • ​Affinitize data
  • Collaborate and plan a project
  • Agile ceremonies and planning
  • Save the whiteboard for future reference or access
  • Anything you can do on a physical whiteboard
  • And so much more!
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We even had the head of Customer Experience, Jim Kalbach, speak at one of our events, teaching us all about "Jobs to be Done." If you missed it, you can watch the Jobs to be Done video on our YouTube Channel. 
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Watch the "Master Your UX Job Interview" webinar on demand on Vimeo

6/7/2020

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Master Your UX Job Interview

Purchase life-time access to this webinar and be ready for your next job interview

What are people saying about The UX Research and Strategy "Master Your UX Job Interview" event? Check it out:
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Plus, for one attendee, this webinar was very timely. Because she watched our webinar, she felt more prepared for her upcoming job interview and had her answers prepared in advance – all based on what she heard at this webinar. 
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--> Buy the "Master Your UX Job Interview" webinar on Vimeo <--

This webinar walks you through some of the most common questions asked in a UX job interview.
​Due to requests from the UX Research and Strategy community, we made our "Master Your UX Job Interview " available for purchase on Vimeo. We have a lot of requests for access to watch this webinar from those who did not get the chance to see it live. 

We want you to be ready for your UX  job interview, and we know that this webinar is jammed pack full of useful tips and tricks on how to prepare your interview answers in advance. 
Plus, you'll learn how to create a well- crafted, short and catered elevator pitch so you can tell your interviewer YOUR summary in a snap.
Pop on over to our Vimeo page and buy this on-demand webinar today. You will have access to it as long as the platform exists.
This webinar is ideal for people who just starting out in the field of UX Design, Research or Strategy. It's also great for those who are trying to transition over in to user experience.  

--> Buy the "Master Your UX Job Interview" webinar on Vimeo <--
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UX Research Portfolio on-demand purchase

5/2/2020

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UX Research Portfolio Webinar on Demand

Now you can buy unlimited access to our "Create an Awesome UX Research Portfolio that Tells YOUR Story" webinar on Vimeo

--> Buy the UX Research Portfolio webinar on Vimeo <--
Due to popular demand, we have made our "Create an Awesome UX Research Portfolio that Tells YOUR Story" webinar available for purchase. We have received a lot of feedback, including from our most recent webinar, that people are interested in watching this UX Research Portfolio webinar. 
We want YOU to be job ready for your UX research job interview, and we know that this webinar is jammed pack full of useful tips and tricks on how to put together an awesome research portfolio or case study. 
Some of the tips this webinar includes are:
  • Why you need a UX research portfolio
  • How to get started
  • How to deal with NDA
  • How to select what to put in that effective case study
  • How to write a good problem statement
  • ​How to get clips in your portfolio when you are just starting out
  • So much more!
So, go over to our Vimeo page and buy this on-demand webinar today. You will have access to it as long as the platform exists.
​For those who just starting out in the field of UX Research, or those who are trying to transition over, you need to have a UX Research Portfolio to get your foot in the door and get that job interview. This webinar walks you through how to get that portfolio ready. 
--> Buy the UX Research Portfolio webinar on Vimeo <--
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UX Research Portfolio Workshop

4/5/2020

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Portfolio workshop

Participants provided a number of great feedback points for the event itself, as well as to the montors who volunteered their time.

Guidance on how best to present one's UX experience in a portfolio is hard to find; the feedback from my "workshop partner" was invaluable, as it's based on his actual experience.
[She] gave me so many invaluable tips on how to structure a professional research portfolio. As a UX design student, I found it enormously helpful.
[He] has an extensive design background and does not hesitate to shares genuine, constructive critique and direction of the UX design business.
Receiving critical feedback from a trusted source. I saw A.G. speak at the meet-up on facilitation and knew I was in good hands once I was randomly assigned to her.
Getting honest upfront feedback without the pressure of trying to hire for a job was great.
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Sponsor UXRS in 2020

1/30/2020

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Sponsor UXRS in 2020

UX Research and Strategy is a 501(c)3, so your donations are tax deductible


​--> View the Sponsorship kit  <--
UX Research and Strategy is a registered 501(c)(3) org, and was founded by three former co-workers who saw a gap in the local UX market. Based on community feedback, we formed a group that is dedicated to teaching topics in UX research and strategy.
Our goal is to make these topics both approachable and actionable by ensuring our attendees come away with concrete examples of how to to confidently implement user experience research and strategy methods in their day-to-day projects and work.
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​Sponsorship Advantages for You
• Global reach to thousands of members on social media channels
• Affiliation with fastest growing meetup group in North Texas
• Increase your brand recognition amongst industry professionals
• Build your recruiting database
• Identify additional partnerships with other companies and supporters
• Showcase your technical and UX expertise to the community
• Donations to our 501(c)3 organization are tax-deductible under U.S. law

Interested in helping out and making your mark in the UX community? Contact us now and let's make it happen.
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​--> View the Sponsorship kit  <--

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