My Role
As an intern on the UberEats Consumer team, I focused on user research at the Uber HQ in San Francisco. During the 12-week internship, I worked closely with product managers, data scientists, researchers, and designers to inform 3 key features across restaurants and groceries based on mixed-methods data from 80+ end users.
I led -
1. Project prioritization
2. Research planning
3. Hosting brainstorming workshops to inform feature direction
4. Conducting research with end users
5. Analyzing data and insight generation
I led -
1. Project prioritization
2. Research planning
3. Hosting brainstorming workshops to inform feature direction
4. Conducting research with end users
5. Analyzing data and insight generation
Takeaways
01. Gracefully navigate curveballs thrown your way
One of the biggest learnings was that research doesn’t always go as planned. At Uber, I was challenged to take ownership of my work, and think on my feet at every turn. Instances where I could not get my hands on the data I needed to make decisions, or when a participant didn’t show up for an interview taught me to pivot quickly and make the most of the situation at hand, especially in a fast paced environment.
02. Select your research methods carefully, or create your own!
The internship experience gave me the opportunity to explore different research methods like in-depth interviews, contextual inquiry, concept testing, surveys and card sorting. Before starting a particular project, I took the time to analyze and anticipate the outcomes that came with different methods based on the research goals.
I also had the flexibility to create my own method or co-create with users. This gave me the room to exercise my creativity, while using critical thinking.
I also had the flexibility to create my own method or co-create with users. This gave me the room to exercise my creativity, while using critical thinking.
03. Work with your team, outside of the project
This proved to be the best way to expedite my learning process. I actively participated in workshops and critique sessions, conducted hallway pilot tests, and set up numerous coffee chats to learn from the very talented people working with Uber.
Have a look at this video to get a glimpse of what summer at Uber was like, and here is the link to our intern post! 🥡🥢🥑
