A blog by Zhuoning Fu.
I used my time during the Easter break to complete an enjoyable and enlightening two-week work experience at Lagom Strategy.
I was first introduced to my research buddy – Adam, who provided loads of help and valuable guidance throughout my two weeks with the team. Undoubtedly, every Lagomer I met was welcoming and supportive.
Using one word to describe my time with Lagom, I would say ‘well-structured’.
Lagom encouraged me to join in as many live sessions as possible and learn, as well as practice my own research skills on individual projects too.
From engaging in project kick-off meetings and show-and-tell sessions with clients to being involved in live user research sessions with participants and observe how the user researchers pass on insights to the wider team in specific catch-up calls and debriefs.
I learned more about the techniques and tools used to support the user researchers in their analysis of research data. I was also introduced to methods around validating and prioritising user needs – which clearly helps to bridge user research with a client’s responsibilities around delivering a digital service. This is something I think would be useful to continue with in my future career as a practising user researcher.
I was given the chance to speak with the different members of the team, finding out more about the origins of Lagom as a business, as well as the roles of specific disciplines like service design and delivery management.
When I jumped onto the user research team’s ‘roundtable’ call, I observed the Lagom user researchers work very closely to reflect on current processes, share opinions and support each other to resolve any issues they might have encountered that week.
Apart from the skills that I learnt during this experience, it is worth mentioning that my favourite insight from Lagom is about how a user researcher supports the whole project. I now have a clearer sense of the role a user researcher plays in a digital team and how they contribute their skills and value to the bigger picture.
A thank you to Lagom, the experience here illuminated my Easter break and enriched my journey as a novice user researcher and has made me more confident in heading for my future user research career.
