Overview

Over the course of my time at Bose, I have written and continually update a checklist and handbook that is used by the User Research team.

Challenge

When I first started at Bose, there were only 5 User Researchers. Because there was little to no training documentation on the process of conducting a user research study at Bose, I trained and became familiar with the process by shadowing and supporting my coworker, especially. As the process evolved along with the team’s growth of over 20 researchers within the span of 2 years, there were a lot of details and logistics to keep track of in a given study. As a result, I started documenting the process to ensure that the information can be referred to as needed.

Process

Initially, I created a checklist with the assumption that this document was going to be used by team members who are familiar with the process. Eventually, I realized that the checklist should be written so that a new member of the team could follow along. I then began to write and explain every step of the process.

I collaborated with different researchers, the program manager, the legal team, and the recruitment coordinator to incorporate their role and involvement in the study process. 

As a result, the checklist became more extensive and dense with information. As such, very few used it as a checklist. To have a more intuitive and effective checklist, I converted the existing checklist into a handbook and created a brand new checklist. 

Outcomes

I have written a one page checklist that highlights major milestones in a study. The 60-page handbook is a resource that thoroughly explains each stage of the process with consideration of any potential issues that may arise. It includes an appendix with detailed instructions for a given task.

To make it easier to navigate the handbook, I built in a table of contents that can automatically go to the desired section when it is clicked on. Additionally, I used the header styles in Microsoft Word in order to easily navigate wherever you are within the document. 

I have presented and trained coworkers on the research process and am the go to person for any questions regarding the research process.