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UX Research in Action: Navigating the Feedback Maze to Engage the Right Audience
UX360 Virtual Speaker interview with Olga Ziegelman, Senior Manager UX Research at Alteryx
In the lead-up to the UX360 Virtual Research Summit, we had the pleasure of speaking with one of our presenters, Olga Ziegelman, Senior Manager of UX Research at Alteryx.
Olga is a UX research leader with a passion for all things research. With a multi-disciplinary background, she has worked across a variety of companies, including consultancies and large enterprises, spanning both B2B and B2C sectors. This diverse experience has equipped her with a unique perspective on the challenges faced by UX teams in different environments.
She possesses a strong foundation in both qualitative and quantitative research methods, alongside a deep expertise in research operations. These skills have allowed her to collaborate with talented teams and cultivate a love for the field of UX. Currently focused on UX leadership, Olga is addressing the complexities of building and scaling research teams. Her recent endeavours include measuring UX, amplifying research impact, and refining storytelling—all areas she finds particularly exciting. Outside of her professional life, Olga enjoys hiking, travelling, and quality time with her family. Based in Kansas, USA, she is proud to call it her third continent home.
UX360: What is the gist of your talk and the message that you would like to convey to all the delegates at the upcoming conference ( UX 360 Virtual)?
Olga: I would like to share my experiences working for a company that is obsessed with customer feedback—a commitment that is both a privilege and a challenge. The core challenge lies in managing mountains of feedback coming from various directions, some of which lack rigor. This creates gaps in two crucial areas: understanding who we are talking to and ensuring we are asking the right questions.
While much has been written about the latter, my talk will focus on how my team is tackling the first challenge—ensuring that we are engaging with the right people.
UX360: What motivates you to join the conference and what are your expectations?
Olga: I attended a UX360 conference in the past and found the content to be top-notch. I’ve been looking for a chance to return since! I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to connect with industry experts, learn about the latest work, and gain new perspectives so I can better serve my team.
And of course, I am also super excited to share the work my team has been doing.
UX360: In your tenure of working & the experience in this field, what method of UX is most effective?
Olga: I would like to pivot this question and state something that may be controversial. My answer is – none. No one method will always win and that brings us back to the art and science of UX research. You have to know your methods to apply them correctly – no solution works at all times, in all contexts or even in all companies.
I think that as practitioners we need to start with a deep understanding of the methodologies, but from there we must overlay the business context to know what will be most effective. Things like timelines, access to users, and even knowing the company culture will be critical in determining what will be most effective.
With experience, and trial and error, you will be able to much better and faster tailor the best method to your current circumstances. And even then, sometimes you will be wrong and that is OK. We must learn to try our best as UX researchers and then give ourselves grace for errors when things don’t go as expected.
UX360: What are the UX research trends that have redefined insights in the year 2024 and what to expect in the coming year?
Olga: In 2024, Generative AI entered our world and took it by storm. We had many conversations about how we might leverage Gen AI to help us work smarter. New tools emerged, providing support with research planning, better automation, assistance in data analysis, synthesis, and more. We started leveraging Gen AI in UX design.
Many of us were tasked to support the product development of AI-powered tools as our companies rushed to bring these new products and features to market at a neck-breaking pace. How do you create a useful and usable Copilot? How do you measure its impact and value to end users? These were some of the questions we needed to answer in 2024.
Reassessing our methods, rethinking our toolkits, and streamlining the way we conduct research will become even more exciting in 2025 as more of us share our learnings and cross-pollinate ideas. I believe we have only scratched the surface of what we can accomplish on this topic. Buckle up—it’s going to be exciting!
UX360: Thank you so much, Olga! We look forward to seeing you at the event!
The UX360 Virtual Summit is back this 2025 bringing together leading UX research experts from around the world to discuss the latest industry insights. Join us and Olga on February 19th – 20th, 2025 at the UX360 for presentations from top-tier UX researchers from the world’s largest brands, interactive panel discussions and 1-2-1 meetings. This year’s lineup features over 30 speakers from leading brands like META, American Airlines, London Stock Exchange Group, Standard Chartered, Accenture London and more.
Get ready to explore the latest in UX research and design—from planning research to using insights that drive real impact. Connect and network with UX pros globally, this is a must-attend event for anyone in UX design or research.
Register today– the early bird rate will expire on 30th November!
