Social Science-Led User Research in Tech. With Rosie Webster
Our guest today is Dr Rosie Webster. Rosie has a PhD and an MSc in health psychology. She’s currently Science Lead for Zinc’s venture builder programme. Prior to Zinc, Rosie worked as a UX researcher at digital health company, Zava, and was Lead User Researcher at Babylon Health. While at Babylon, Rosie established the foundations of an effective Behavioural Science practice, which is partly what we’re here to talk about today.Rosie explains that if businesses are interested in delivering impact and making a difference, then social science can be really key. She says that research, in similar ways to design, is often underestimated and under-utilised in tech. Our power, she says, lies in understanding the problem and what the right thing to build is. This is a truly user-centred approach that requires trusting in the process and being willing to scrap an idea when the research points in a different direction.Often people don’t know what social science is, says Rosie, and equate it to academic research, with the corresponding but erroneous perception that it’s slow, when in actual fact it provides answers much more quickly.Rosie explains how she established the beginnings of a behavioural science practice at Babylon Health, with the support of two managers who understood its value and importance. She shares why she wanted to ‘democratise’ behavioural research, the benefits of that approach, and how she ‘marketed and sold’ behavioural science within the company.User research should utilise the existing academic literature more, “building on the shoulders of giants”, as Rosie calls it, “supercharging” primary research, and using evidence to understand what the solution might be. It’s an approach she says results in understanding people deeply, while increasing impact and reducing risk, and without slowing down the fast-paced product development environment.As our conversation draws to an end, Rosie has a final piece of advice for businesses that are genuinely open to achieving impactful outcomes, and recommends two books for people who are looking to bring behavioural science into their work: Engaged by Amy Bucher, and Designing for Behaviour Change by Stephen Wendel.Follow Rosie on Twitter @DrRosieW, and connect with her on LinkedIn.Read an edited version of our conversation which you can read online and also download as a PDF.