Design Research

AI-generated personas and insights are starting to pop up in my LinkedIn feed, often pitched as clever ways to speed up user research. But if you’re aiming to build something better than average, these shortcuts won’t save you time. They’re more likely to lead you in the

“I looked and looked and looked, but I did not see God.” The quote is often attributed to Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin after his journey into space. Whether he actually said it is uncertain, but the Soviet propaganda machine used it anyway to make a point. User research exists to bring

A couple of weeks ago, I met up with the CEO of a local bank. We talked about the future of banking, the benefits and challenges of being a local entity, and, of course, the importance of customer experience. At one point, I turned my screen to show how we

Did you know acquiring a new customer is five times more expensive than retaining an existing one? Or that customer-centric companies can grow their revenues 4% to 8% faster than their competitors? Or that companies that focus on enhancing the customer experience see, on average, a 15-20% increase in sales

Imagine spending months developing a new feature, only to find out it doesn’t resonate with your customers—despite feeling confident that you "knew" what they wanted. Sound familiar? This scenario plays out more often than we think. Decision-makers sometimes ask me: “What’s the point of research

A few weeks ago, I got to catch up with Steve Portigal, author of Interviewing Users and track leader at Ambition Empower. We talked about what’s changed over the years, including the rise of remote research—often at the expense of traditional field studies. Many years ago, after completing

"You know we would like to do tests and research, but there is no time right now.” Jan Andresen recently followed up on my post about trusting the process. He asked how I handle situations where decision-makers want to skip the research and move straight to implementing a solution.

I’ve spent years meeting with CEOs, VPs, and upper management—both as a board member and advisor. These rooms can feel intimidating, filled with decision-makers who expect results. My role is often to help make the product or service perform better. Still, despite decades of experience, I sometimes find

When optimizing business performance, numbers often steal the show. And here’s the thing. They should. But to really understand what’s happening, you have to dig deeper. The most important insights aren’t captured in spreadsheets. Last week, my Ambition colleagues and I organized after-work events in Gothenburg and