Let’s UX the sh*t out of this

Understanding your customers is not an option, it’s the secret to your success.

Understanding

The first priority should be to understand your market, customers, or people who will use your product. First I help you understand the needs, motivations, culture and habits relevant to your product.

Accuracy

The second priority is to ensure we run the proper tests and inquiries or choose the method that makes the most sense. That can be something simple and elegant, or a more significant international endeavor. I work with you to match the budget and requirements to a real solution.

Authenticity

The third priority is to ensure we stick to the facts. Sharing stories from people with real quotes, real data, and solid conclusions. I won’t mince words or cherry-pick to get the right result. I will always give you the real result.

Tara Franz

I’m a UX specialist who lives on a boat, with my family including Salty the Pug. We live a bit like vagabonds but totally grounded in the experiences we have out on the water, in the towns we sail up to, and in the other normal stuff, we can curate through the internet and with friends. Yeah, we still just chill and binge on Netflix or Dr. Who DVDs sometimes, but sometimes we also get to snorkel a reef in clear blue water, paddle the pug to shore for exploration, and sail past cargo ships at night while watching lightning in the distance. I believe experiences can be magical. I believe that by understanding people, culture, and the relationship with the world around us anyone can make magical, functional, products.

How I Work

Better as a team!

I always work to ensure your team is comfortable with the research process. I work with you to understand your team’s and product’s goals and create a research plan to match. Once you love it – the best part – WE DO IT!!! WAHOO! Typically, these plans involve early exploration, draft testing, deeper design testing, follow-up confirmation, and post-ship feedback. I will always keep you ready for your next version updates.

Getting out in the world to understand and explore is crucial. Capturing dinghy culture on a remote island in Mexico.

Methods I Use

Primarily a qualitative researcher I tend towards methods that give you a deep, rich understanding of people. Let’s just say, I LOVE talking to strangers! I keep it light on the statistics, but heavy on the measurable value. My work plans scale from full Key Performance Indicator metrics involving surveys and interviews/ usability testing to early concept testing. It is most common to incorporate a few methods into a multi-method analysis to solve any one question. The following are methods I have experience conducting as solo projects or as parts of a larger investigation:

  • Ethnographic studies
  • Qualitative interviewing
  • Usability testing (hardware and software)
  • Moderated studies
  • Concept testing
  • Participant observation
  • Card sorting
  • Diary studies
  • Focus groups

Featured Work (Coming soon)

Oculus Quest

Stans

I worked with Tara for over two years while at UX Guys, where she led our research practice and we worked together on many projects. Tara has a deep knowledge of qualitative research practices and was especially great at finding new and innovative methods to use with our clients, often pushing the envelope of what was possible. She was also a fantastic mentor to our more junior staff. Tara is a great choice to lead any research team or project.

Anthony Hempell
President + Managing Director at Antenna Consulting Ltd.

“Tara has a genuine love for the work she does and this enthusiasm produces excellent results. This coupled with an amazing personality means that clients constantly go back to her and recommend her personally. I enjoy working with her and the work she produces means the work I produce is better. I hope to be working with her on many projects in the future. “

Jordan Girman
Head of Product Design and Research at Glassdoor

“If I had to choose the top 3 people I loved working with throughout my career Tara would be there. Tara is everything you would want from a researcher or a research manager and more. Tara couples deep understanding of people and how they operate together with business and company goals to put together research insights and recommendations that make sure to bring real value to people. I worked closely with Tara for two years and I can’t emphasize enough how much I learned from her and how much she impacted company wide decisions at Facebook. Tara’s positive energy, proactive rigors research chops and all around great collaboration skills make her a sure bet for impactful research work.”

Raz Schwartz
Sr. Product Insights Manager at Spotify

Let’s UX the sh*t out of your next project

tarafranz@gmail.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tarafranz