Life @ Kerv Digital As A UX Researcher

Published 25/07/22 under:

Hi.

I’m Deb Robinson, a User Experience Researcher for Kerv Digital.

Although I’ve only been with Kerv Digital since April ’22 (but already love working here so much!) I came with over six years worth of experience in planning and delivering rigorous qualitative and quantitative user research and community engagement for complex projects.

It’s my job to find out what and why people want from the awesome solutions Kerv Digital put in place.

 

I first came to UX research after spending a significant amount of time supporting and advocating for the needs of individuals through community engagement.

After realising UX research was a career in itself I decided to see how far I could pursue this to really hone and develop my skills.

I think the reason I’m passionate about UX research is because it takes real empathy and asks for a collaborative effort, allowing me to approach problems creatively and constructively.

There’s nothing better than getting closer to the answer by really understanding the needs and experiences of users.

In time I hope to continue to develop my skills and work across a variety of projects within Kerv Digital as it’s so great to find an organisation that really values their employees as well as the products and services they support, maybe even by upscaling the research function of the entire Kerv Group… Who knows? This definitely seems like a company you can grow in though!

 

The Kerv Group was formed on a series of principals, but if I’m being honest, the one I’ve always most identified with as ‘Think Customer First’.

I say this because my role is all about really understanding the users of our services whilst being an advocate for them… ensuring services that are designed to best support their needs and improve their experiences.

 

That’s the high-end view of my job anyway!

On a day-to-day basis you’ll find me involved in the careful consideration of users and their needs.

In a nutshell I’m here to get a deep understanding about who the users of services are, what they’re trying to do and why and what problems they experience.

I’ll do this via several qualitative and quantitative approaches including interviews, usability testing and observations.

It’s then my responsibility to relay the key insights gained from these methods to the rest of the team to feed into the iterative approach of produce and service development.

That means that each and every day is spent putting the user (customer) first.

I have to be the Devils Advocate sometimes.

The advocate for user needs. Luckily asking relevant questions is one of my strongest skills, reflecting my curiosity, strong critical thinking and understanding of human psychology.

Everything I do has to have the customer in mind, I want users to have better experiences and nothing is better than seeing a user smile when they use a service I have played a part in designing.

Someone once said to me “You really do listen to what I say and that is like a breath of fresh air.”  That to me, tells me I am doing my job and that makes me happy.

 

It’s not all work and no play though!

When I’m not figuring out exactly what a customer needs, I can probably be found spending quality time with my family and our beautiful rescue dog Masha as well as our two cats Coco and Henry.

 

Health and fitness are a huge passion of mine and most days I make time to go for a run, open water swim or a session at the gym.

Something most people at work don’t know is that I also enjoy face painting and often practice creating ‘masterpieces’ (definitely not on myself) before moving on to the neighbours in readiness for fancy dress parties and special events they’re attending!

 

Finally, wrapping this up, the marketing team asked me Which three famous people would I most like to have dinner with and why?

I have to say the question threw me for a bit of a loop! It’s far too difficult to answer!

I could probably narrow it down to include someone from the sporting world, perhaps a swimmer or gymnast? Then maybe someone from the musical industry?

You can’t beat a good old musical!

Maybe it’d have to be a full on sports and music party rather than a formal, sit down dinner!