Research is a serious thing. Design is a serious thing. Life is a serious thing. But what good is any of it if you don’t love doing it? If you don’t enjoy practicing or living it? If you don’t show the fun in any of it? It can be so easy to get bogged down in the details, the seriousness of the task.

What qualities does it take to be a good user researcher? Empathy, curiosity, active listening, (re)framing, persuasion, patience, experimental-mindset, neutrality, and tenacity. The ability to be comfortable both when the data are unclear and when one must make solid recommendations.

I’m no Jan Chipchase, traveling to the far reaches of earth to discover unknown user behaviors. But over the years I’ve worked with midwives in Uganda, HIV/AIDS rights activists in Seattle, humanities scholars in Holland…