Consulting
I work with small and early stage ventures from the early idea and concept stage until they are ready for an in-house user researcher in three ways:
- Classes & Workshops
- Coaching & Advising
- User Research
CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
I give public classes and workshops about a range of topics related to talking to users and customers in order to build the right thing for them. Most of them are 1 - 2 hours long. I also customize workshops to help teams work through a specific challenge or to fit within a curriculum, such as a Design Thinking Tools Day (Introduction to Design Thinking + Introduction to User Research Methods + Introduction to Prototyping).
I give public classes and workshops about a range of topics related to talking to users and customers in order to build the right thing for them. Most of them are 1 - 2 hours long. I also customize workshops to help teams work through a specific challenge or to fit within a curriculum, such as a Design Thinking Tools Day (Introduction to Design Thinking + Introduction to User Research Methods + Introduction to Prototyping).
Talking to Customers: When and How to use four user research methods |
An introduction to four tools of user research that will cover 80% of the needs of early stage ventures |
Identifying & Recruiting Target Users |
To get great insights you need to make sure you are talking to the right people. This workshop walks through the process of identifying the key characteristics of the your target customers and writing a screener to recruit them |
Surveys: Taming an Attractive Nuisance |
Surveys are everywhere but are often plagued by common pitfalls. This workshop helps you decide when to use a survey, how best to phrase questions, and avoid frequent hazards |
Introduction to Design Thinking |
“Design Thinking” is a method to solve complex problems that involves understanding the problem through empathy, brainstorming solutions, and then prototyping and testing those solutions |
Rapid Prototyping: Making and Testing Early Ideas |
Investing in building out a solution only to learn that it doesn’t fit your customer needs is costly. This workshop introduces the steps in prototyping and testing solutions from the earliest stages to speed up learning and build the right thing |
Hands-On Workshop (1 Day Class) |
This class includes the “Talking to Customers: When and How to use four user research methods” and “Identifying & Recruiting Target Users” workshops, as well as an opportunity to write your recruiting screener, interview guide and practice it; students walk out with a user research plan that is ready to execute |
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"I definitely enjoyed Marianne's presentation ["Talking to Customers"} and learned a lot. One of the things that really stood out to me was how approachable and genuine she was. Sometimes, I can feel intimidated when I talk with someone who's very experienced in managing customer feedback/relationships. However, her unassuming personality made it easier for me to approach and ask questions after the presentation. I really appreciated that." - Karen Nakagawa, Whitekoat ("Talking to Customers: When and How to use four user research methods" class)
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"[I appreciated] the contextual help - in other words - having Marianne understand my product and getting advice that was not general." - Attendee, "Getting to Know Your Users: A Hands-on Workshop"
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"I gained a much deeper understanding into user research in a short space of time. The pack approach using notes and exercises makes it much easier to understand." - Attendee, "Getting to Know Your Users: A Hands-on Workshop"
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"[I liked] the linear progression and the right balance between detail and concept, as well as the useful guides and hands-on activities." - Attendee, "Getting to Know Your Users: A Hands-on Workshop"
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COACHING AND ADVISING
We'll dive in and work on whatever you need most to move forward. For example, you may need to:
We'll dive in and work on whatever you need most to move forward. For example, you may need to:
- Identify target customer behavioral characteristics
- Get a review of an interview guide that you've written but aren't sure if it'll get you the information you need
- Get feedback on how to conduct more effective interviews by having me sit in on an interview
- Basic: Weekly strategy meetings to keep your customer development and user research on track PLUS one small project such as reviewing an interview guide, or observing a session and giving you feedback.
- Boost: Weekly strategy meeting PLUS one larger project such as an analysis working session or collaboratively planning a round of research.
- Custom: Weekly strategy meeting PLUS a customized approach fit to your needs.
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“Marianne’s assistance was invaluable. The process she took our team through not only helped us understand our customers better, but helped us resolve competing issues that ultimately led to a better service offering and business model.”
- Julia Beabout, President, Qiao Inc. and advisor to Novaby |
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"In 30 minutes Marianne gave us the knowledge and advice that would have taken weeks of research on our own. From providing us actionable tasks to start gathering feedback and even critiquing our pitch deck, we could instantly tell that she is an expert in her space. Startups at any stage would benefit from speaking with her."
- Evan Rallis, Founder and CEO of Dippy |
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We are really excited to have the framework you suggested in our tool belt. We are so grateful to you and look forward to following up with you as we go through iterations with our product over the next quarter."
- Rose Afriyie, Co-Founder of mRelief (Future Cities Accelerator Winner 2017) |
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"When my team and I were designing our product, Marianne was the person to turn to help us think through our research plans. Not only does she know how to ask the right questions, she is always asking about the question behind the question, focusing us on what we really want to learn about our users. Most importantly, she understands how to help teams think about importance of conducting research that is usable and useful to make strategic decisions."
- Stephanie Yim, Co-founder of GoodCall |
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"Marianne helped us better focus our user research scripts and provided tactical advice on capturing user feedback so that it could be constructively compared and integrated into product decisions. To that end, I especially admired her skill in designing interviews and focus groups where users would create physical artifacts. For example, having users answer highly targeted questions on a set of cards allowed our team to easily map different categories of responses and spot patterns effectively - while also being sure that we kept the users' experience in their own words. Marianne was truly an endless fount of research knowledge, and her expertise was matched only by her creative problem solving. For teams that know they need help with user testing but aren't sure where to start, I cannot recommend Marianne enough!"
- Nicole Leffel, Co-founder of Community Lawyer |
USER RESEARCH
Founders need to develop a “spiritual connection” with their customers and deeply understand their needs by talking to them directly. However, sometimes teams need a bit of support in doing so, so I can step in with a bigger role and conduct the research. The founder and team generally are heavily involved in the sessions and/or the analysis. Some examples:
Founders need to develop a “spiritual connection” with their customers and deeply understand their needs by talking to them directly. However, sometimes teams need a bit of support in doing so, so I can step in with a bigger role and conduct the research. The founder and team generally are heavily involved in the sessions and/or the analysis. Some examples:
- Sidewalk Labs needed to better understand people’s parking behavior and decision making. I conducted a diary study with people who frequently parked in a city’s downtown. Then the team and I analyzed what we heard during the onboarding sessions, diary data, and participants’ final reflections.
- Florida Justice Technology Center needed to assess how well a pilot website was guiding people to the legal information and resources they needed. I conducted a usability study of the site and recommended a framework on how to fit the site into people’s natural search behavior.
- Properly wanted an expert review of their app before deciding on whether to proceed with a redesign.
Clients
