Judd Antin

Guest: Judd Antin - Former Head of Research at Airbnb and Facebook. Judd has built and led research teams at top tech companies, with his direct reports now leading research at companies like Slack, Notion, and Figma. He currently consults on organizational challenges, product strategy, and research. Key Takeaways: User-Centered Performance: Many teams perform user-centered practices symbolically rather than for genuine learning. Avoid "checking the box" with research; instead, aim to falsify assumptions and embrace being wrong. Research Frameworks: Focus on macro (strategic, business-focused) and micro (usability, specific) research rather than middle-range research, which often yields interesting but non-impactful insights. Integrate Researchers Early: Researchers should be involved from the start of the product process to drive impact. This requires strong, consistent relationships with PMs and designers. Business Alignment: Researchers need to align more with business goals, understanding metrics, and strategic objectives to drive value and impact. Researcher Skills: Effective researchers should be multi-method, combining qualitative research, usability testing, survey design, applied statistics, and technical skills like SQL or prompt engineering. Topics Covered: User-centered performance, research frameworks, integrating research in product development, aligning research with business goals, evaluating researcher effectiveness, NPS critique.