Design research, strategy, and storytelling
HI! I'M VERONIKA
I do research to improve people's lives, drive product growth and innovation, and inspire teams to include customer needs at every step in the product cycle.
I am a design researcher, currently leading projects in the small business space at Microsoft. Previously, I led research efforts at a Pacific Northwest health insurance company, Premera Blue Cross, where I helped establish and champion research practices, mentored and equipped teams with tools for improving customer experience.
I come to the UX field with a diverse background, from working as a reporter at a local newspaper to running an aviation magazine, from an interpreter to a charter sales manager in charge of hundred-thousand-dollar flights for business aviation clients. These rich experiences have shaped my deep listening, strong work ethic, curiosity, and problem-solving skills, which I gladly bring to the UX field.
Bring in multiple perspectives
I'm passionate about helping others discover the value of research and believe that the best work comes out of including diverse perspectives and partnering with others. I involve stakeholders and partners in planning and research activities, acknowledging that everyone adds something unique to the project. Most of the projects I worked on involved B2B and B2C customers and my partnership with stakeholders spanned across multiple disciplines (design and engineering, content strategy, marketing, internal experts, legal department, innovation lab, and entrepreneurs in residence). These partnerships and diverse points of view have made my research journey so much more enjoyable.
Keep learning and stay curious
My mentees often ask me, "When working on a new project, how do you know what method to use?" The truth is that in some cases I might not. While we as researchers rely on our past experiences and problem-solving skills, we also sit on the shoulders of thought leaders in user research, psychology, anthropology, and social sciences. Over the past years, we saw older frameworks like Personas reframed by a new generation of researchers and newer frameworks like Jobs-to-be-done getting more attention from the community. I believe that no matter where you are in your career you need to keep learning, stay curious, and add to your research repertoire over time.
Connect the dots and find the North Star
I take a strategic approach to research and thrive working with multi-disciplinary teams on complex projects that require making connections to a bigger picture. While evaluative research is a necessary step in the product cycle, I find that teams often jump to this step too early in the process, skipping the problem-space exploration. I help teams find the North star, connect the dots, make sure we build the right thing first, and think of different intricacies of the product or service we seek to create or improve.
MY EXPERIENCE
MICROSOFT
October 2019 - Present
As part of the Office Planning and Research team at Microsoft, I currently lead foundational research to uncover new opportunities in the small business space, and provide research support and guidance for product initiatives. Previously, I led research efforts in the consumer premium offerings in Office and supported end-to-end experience research in the consumer space.
PREMERA BLUE CROSS
March 2016 - October 2019
During my time at Premera Blue Cross, I was extremely lucky to be at the forefront of establishing design research processes and to work alongside talented researchers and strategists on diverse and complex problems. As a senior design researcher, I led research efforts that touched so many aspects of the end-to-end patients' experience, mentored interns and junior researchers, and facilitated research training sessions for stakeholders and partners. Here are some of the projects I worked on:
Improving experience for vision providers
Being on brand with chatbot experience
Baseline usability testing of the doctor’s experience
TOPFLIGHT MAGAZINE
September 2009 - July 2013
Prior to entering the UX field, I was managing an exclusive inflight magazine about business aviation, TopFlight. I joined the publication as an editor-in-chief to re-think the strategy, concept, and target audience, build a new team, and improve the brand awareness in the market. During my time with TopFlight, we've published 36 issues and were able to significantly increase the ad revenue.