Field research is most useful when it produces deep insights about the needs of users and about their context that help companies to find new ways to meet these needs, and to evaluate whether the innovations they are considering will really benefit users. This requires user researchers to work collaboratively with others in the organization to set up research that can have this impact. In this roundtable, we will discuss issues like: What does it take to convince a company that it needs to do this kind of research? How can we show them the benefits? What parts of the organization should participate? What difficulties should we be looking out for and how can we avoid them?

BENEFITS
Participants will:
 •  Exchange ideas on how to use field research to generate insights and to drive innovation
 •  Understand how field research can help link together marketing and engineering/development in their organizations
 •  Discuss potential barriers to getting the fullest benefits from field research and some ideas for what to do about them

INTENDED AUDIENCE
People with experience or interested in doing or using field research who are interested in learning more about how to use field research to generate creative insights including UX Managers, Designers, User Researchers, Developers, etc.

QUESTIONS
 •  What experiences have we had where field research has driven insights that have led to innovation?
 •  Who has to be involved in the research and what roles should they have to make this happen?
 •  What approaches have been successful in persuading organizations of the need for field research?
 •  What are common difficulties we need to plan for?