#75 - Debunking UX Research Myths with Zach Schendel of DoorDash

As a seasoned researcher who has led teams at Unilever, Netflix, and DoorDash,  Zach Schendel has come up against every type of skeptical stakeholder you can imagine.

He joined us to chat about the research myths he runs into most often, how he debunks them, and why he wants to banish “let’s do a qual” from everyone’s vocabulary forever.

Zach talked about…

• The 4 UX research myths he’d like to debunk once and for all.
• Stories from his time at Unilever, Netflix, and DoorDash.
• How he gets stubborn stakeholders onboard, even if they’re hesitant about the merits of research.

Highlights

• [4:22] Myth #1: You can’t just ask people what they want.
• [9:39] How to maintain trust in research when users don't do what they say they will.
• [17:14] Myth #2: Five people isn’t enough for a valid finding. 
• [29:20] Myth #3: People can reliably articulate what's good and what's bad.
• [38:01] Myth #4: User research is qualitative research

About our guest

Zach Schendel is the Head of Research at Doordash. There, he leads the product and UX research teams and partners with design, engineering, product management, strategy and operations, and data science to innovate on the consumer, driver, and merchant experiences. Before Doordash, Zach led research teams at Netflix and Unilever.