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Microsoft XC Research

Portrait of Sheetal AgarwalSheetal Agarwal
Senior Design Research Manager

  • A recurrent theme across my career path as an investigative journalist, an academic (Georgetown University, MA and University of Washington, PhD), a civic technology consultant, and a UX researcher is my love for digging deep to understand human behaviors in order to surface information that helps people make good decisions. The art of listening and asking the right questions, identifying actionable insights through solid research, and then articulating our learnings in a way that activates leaders to make informed and human-centered decisions is a dream job where I get to bring my skills and passion together. I get to do that every day as Manager of the Windows Foundational Experience research team where I have the honor of leading a team of incredible researchers who are helping shape the experience of over 1 billion Windows users around the world. We do so in partnership with our Design, Data Science, Marketing and PM partners, working together to create OS experiences that our customers truly love.

    Articles:

    Directions in User Research (opens in new tab)

    Seattle Global ResOps Workshop Recap (opens in new tab)

portrait of Sheila AndersonSheila Anderson
Principal Program Manager

  • Sheila Anderson is a Principal PM Manager and a part of a collective of leaders standing up a new approach within the Experiences and Devices team at Microsoft that strives to create zero-distance between the people building our products and experiences and the customers we aim to empower.


Portrait of Paula BachPaula Bach
Principal User Research Manager

  • I am a Principal User Research Manager on the Customer Insights Research team, where I manage a team of researchers digging into next generation browsing. Over a decade, I have produced and evangelized customer insights to help teams make more human-centered product decisions. I earned a PhD in Human Computer Interaction at the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State University, a Master of Science at Michigan Technological University in Technical Communication, and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and English from the University of British Columbia. During my career at Microsoft I have helped shape code review and software diagnostic experiences in Visual Studio; documented workflows of data scientists, data engineers and data analysts for Power BI and Azure Data Factory; studied launching and switching efficiencies in Windows, and examined issues with mobile and cross-device experiences. My perspective is to ensure technology meets users’ needs by discovering and measuring how and when needs are met.

    Articles:

    Five Traits of Great User Researchers (opens in new tab)

    Create an Outside-In Organization and Celebrate the Voice of the Customer (opens in new tab)


Portrait of Safiya BhojawalaSafiya Bhojawala
Principal User Research Manager

  • Making sense of systems and hacks that people create to achieve their goals in life is what makes research fun! I believe in using the collective wisdom of UX Research, Data Science, Market research, Support and Field to disambiguate these complex, multi-dimensional systems and tease out actionable insights – jobs that people hire products to do, why they choose those products and not others, and how they measure success. Using that understanding in collaboration with PMs, Engineers, Designers, and Content creators to build meaningful experiences, measure ourselves against user expectations and business goals, and learn from our users to continue innovation is where the magic happens. I lead a kickass crew of Researchers who build experiences across Mobile, Cross Device Experiences (MMX) and Collaborative canvases (Notes and Intentional) to help our users stay focused on leading productive lives.


Portrait of Mike BortnickMike Bortnick
Principal User Research Manager

  • I am a Principal User Research Manager; I lead a team conducting user research on Microsoft 365 Admin experiences, Security and Compliance Admin experiences, and scalable services for the UX community.  I have been with the Microsoft for more than twelve years with prior roles as a Data Scientist, Product Manager and Program Manager in Windows, Xbox, and a Healthcare startup team.  I also have prior experience in healthcare IT, telecommunications, and the oil & gas industries which brings a unique perspective to the team along with my chemical engineering and MBA backgrounds.


Portrait of Matt BrodskyMatt Brodsky
User Researcher 2

Portrait of Katrina BrowneKatrina Browne
Data Scientist 2

  • After completing my Doctorate in Government from Cornell University, I joined Customer Insights Research (CIR) as a Data Scientist supporting Microsoft Education. I love using statistics to help improve student learning. I believe access to data and meaningful insights can transform school leaders’ ability to serve diverse student populations. I appreciate the opportunity to work across the Microsoft product ecosystem to help the business understand and foster healthy usage of our offerings.


Portrait of Denise CarlevatoDenise Carlevato
User Experience Researcher

  • I am a trained anthropologist and human-computer interaction expert specializing in customer and product design research driving delightful user experiences for consumers and business professionals for more than 20 years. I have a great deal of passion for analyzing customer feedback, identifying trends, troubleshooting problems with the team, and then closing the loop with the customer. I collaborate closely with multi-discipline roles to define product opportunities, generate and refine design ideas, and analyze post-release data to understand and predict. With a proven record of delivering customer insights that elucidate human behavior as people move between products, devices, and platforms, I use my talent to build innovative products that empower people to build, create, and invent solutions that have lasting value. On the CIR team, I empower all product groups to use a diverse set of customer data, and I document and consult on best practices for optimizing the use of customer data.

    A guide to conducting experience reviews (opens in new tab)


Portrait of Adam ColemanAdam Coleman
Principal Design Researcher

Portrait of Kara CostaKara Costa
Senior Design Research Manager

  • I started my career doing social research with Native American families and children and then followed my passions as they led me to freelance photography and video, gaming, interactive kiosks and exhibit films for museums, business development, marketing, communications, chief of staff, and, most recently, product management. Now I lead a crackerjack team of user researchers and product managers dedicated to shifting Microsoft culture from tech-focused to customer-centric. I’ve found that the diversity of my experience informs my ideas and approach and grounds me in customer empathy whether it is for our colleagues who take part in our customer connection events or the billions of people who use Microsoft products and services every day.


Portrait of Cale DarlingCale Darling
Design Researcher 2

  • I earned my PhD in Engineering Psychology from Georgia Tech in 2018 where I studied cognitive ergonomics. I joined Microsoft and the Customer Insights Research team in 2019. Currently, I conduct user research across the product develop process in support of the mobile and cross-device experiences teams. I’m passionate about studying the cognitive processes underlying cross-device experiences and understanding what makes them seamless. In my spare time, I like to hike, camp, mountain bike, admire tall trees, and explore the great outdoors of the Pacific Northwest.


Portrait of Alpa DaveAlpa Dave
Senior Research Manager

  • I have been in technology my whole career, spending the last 13 years at Microsoft, starting as a Product Planner in Windows Live and now as a User Research Manager for Microsoft 365. I was born in Sudan, grew up in Dubai, went to college at Arizona State University, and moved to Seattle in 1996. I am a long time customer advocate. I feel most energized working with customers and gaining their trust so I can truly understand and represent their needs. My passion is finding ways to use technology for the greater good. I am not afraid of taking risks and trying new methods to produce the right results. More recently, I am on a mission to build a team of diverse, passionate, and impactful researchers.


Portrait of Jodie DraperJodie Draper
Principal Data Scientist Manager

  • I have been a Data Scientist at Microsoft since 2012, specializing in user insights derived from product usage telemetry, mainly focused on Office products, as well as Education. As the manager of the Data Science team for CIR, I lead a team dedicated to helping business and researchers use data to better understand what their users are doing, how their business is faring, and what investments may impact their products the most.  I have a BS in Computer Science from Purdue University, a Masters of Computer Science from the University of Illinois and a Certificate in Data Science from the University of Washington.

    Articles:

    It’s time to get your UX researchers and data scientists collaborating (opens in new tab)


Portrait of Hilary DwyerHilary Dwyer
Senior Design Researcher

  • I’m a data-loving UX researcher curious about the ways that technology can simplify how we work, learn, connect, and collaborate. After earning my PhD in Education from University of California Santa Barbara in 2014, I have used research to drive impact across a variety of contexts and tools. I love findings ways to leverage my teaching and learning expertise to create inclusive teams, launch new products, and shift organizational culture. I joined CIR as a senior design researcher for a new initiative that encourages employees to be customer-centered in their thinking and product development. My work investigates how individuals and teams shift their attitudes and behaviors over time to create a culture grounded in the needs of customers using qualitative and quantitative research methods.

    Why UX researchers need to be great educators (opens in new tab)


Portrait of Meg GroundsMeg Grounds
Design Researcher 2

  • I’m a UX researcher working on OneNote and Whiteboard and I’m interested in understanding collaboration experiences across different device form factors (Surface Hub down to mobile) using foundational, tactical, and mixed qual/quant methodologies. Before starting at Microsoft, I received my PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Washington where I investigated different cognitive and personality factors to explain human decision making, specifically weather and medical decisions. Before that I received my BA in Psychology and Mathematics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Outside of work I enjoy watching hockey (go Sharks!), playing videos games, and learning far too much random trivia.

    Articles:

    Designing with others: How Microsoft Whiteboard boosts collaboration (opens in new tab)


Portrait of Jonathan GrudinJonathan Grudin
Principal Design Researcher

  • I was drawn to education as a research focus several years ago when I visited schools and saw the potential arising from the declining cost of capable devices, new pedagogies that could benefit from them, and teachers confident in using technology. My background included degrees in physics, mathematics, and a PhD in cognitive psychology. My natural drive is to find patterns and associations in quantitative and qualitative data around me and work to identify causal relationships that underly the correlations. It has been exciting to see the E&D EDU research and development effort take shape over five years. In my spare time, apart from my seventh and final year of having daughters in high school academics and sports, I enjoy film, food, moderate biking and hiking, and seeing what we can do to combat climate change.

    Articles:

    Technology and the evolution of group behaviors (opens in new tab)


Portrait of Brandon HaistBrandon Haist
Senior Design Researcher

  • Brandon Haist is an accomplished researcher and independent thinker. He has traveled the world in his pursuit of understanding the human psyche, in addition to holding a Master’s degree in Applied Cognitive Psychology. Brandon has had a successful career in Design Research, being a lead researcher for two Fortune 100 tech companies – Microsoft and HP, with his expertise evident through his product recommendations and the holding of multiple patents at both companies. The lens through which Brandon sees the world is just as critical as it is insightful and refreshing.

    Articles:

    Why your users value color icons more than you may think (opens in new tab)


Portrait of Veronika HansonVeronika Hanson
User Researcher

  • Veronika Hanson is a user researcher on the Microsoft 365 admin center team. She uses both qualitative and quantitative research methods to understand IT admins’ needs and evaluate their patterns of interaction with our product. Veronika is passionate about learning how customers approach their work and observing behaviors that lead to “aha” moments. Through daily collaboration with UX designers and content writers, her work ensures that customer insights are reflected in design, and their experiences become more efficient and joyful.

    Articles:

    Stop making assumptions about language: How user research can support better language choices (opens in new tab)



Portrait of Angela HeinrichAngela (Heinrich) Lambert
User Researcher

  • I love to figure out how people’s brains work – the thought processes and considerations behind their actions. I thrive in discovering the differences between these patterns and why they exist. I have a mission to escape my desk as much as possible and talk to people, which draws me to qualitative research, though I prefer to strategize based on quantitative discoveries. Getting to see the real environments people operate in and form genuine connections and empathy for their situation makes me happiest. I especially love working with kids because they are mostly hilarious and unfiltered in their feedback. Outside of work, I play soccer twice a week and go to hot yoga whenever it’s gloomy. I also sing in a local choir and you can regularly catch me jamming out in my car.


Portrait of Theresa HorstmanTheresa Horstman
Design Researcher 2

  • I am a design researcher in Security & Compliance. I love the process of making sense of a complex question or design challenge, mapping the details of the design process, understanding how people make sense of their experience and how the tools, materials and technologies impact their experience. In practice, I am a qualitative researcher and always ask “why” with an eye towards identifying optimal research methods for understanding the circumstances and design features are creating the results we see. My published research experience, more broadly, is in digital technology and learning – with special attention on design-based research, participatory and co-design, game design (mechanics in non-game settings), and instructional design. With 15+ years of industry experience and 10+ years’ of academic research experience, I am a self-starter and a creative problem solver; making connections between things that on the surface, may not appear to connect. I am highly adaptive, persistent and see opportunity in a challenge.


Portrait of Erica JorgensenErica Jorgensen
Senior User Experience Writer

  • Erica Jorgensen is a Senior User Experience Writer at Microsoft. She has a background in magazine and newspaper journalism, has worked as a UX writer and content strategist for Amazon and Expedia, and taught digital analytics for the University of Washington’s graduate program in communication leadership. She also mentors writers and designers through the Seattle chapter of Hexagon UX.

    Articles:

    Customer-driven content design: A real-life example – Microsoft Research (opens in new tab)


Portrait of Sooraj KootykrishanSooraj Kootykrishnan
Senior Data Researcher

  • Experienced in data science, I am interested in discovering insights about customer needs, and persuading teams to act on those insights. One thread that was consistent throughout my circuitous path to my current role is that data science is the most effective when we craft accurate and compelling stories using data that illuminates insights from observational studies, experiments, qualitative research, and external data points. Currently, I am part of a team that uses such methods to affect the decision making of our partners, including at the whiteboard team and at Microsoft Edu. Before joining Microsoft, I had worked as a data scientist at zulily, biostatistician at the kidney research institute, held postdoctoral fellowships, and had published in several scientific journals. I have a Ph. D in Mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis, and an MS in biostatistics from the University of Washington, Seattle.


Portrait of Dragana LassiterDragana Lassiter
Design Researcher

  • I am an anthropologist by training who has conducted qualitative and mixed methods research and written articles and a dissertation on the topic of moral dilemmas in healthcare, organizational culture of biobanks, and issues around organ donation in Serbia. The power of qualitative research to drive innovation by creating foundational shifts in our taken-for-granted practices and perspectives inspires me. I love fieldwork both because it challenges us to make sense of messy realities and because it demands a non-authoritative, humble and open-minded attitude. I work on Windows within the M365 FX team. Aside from research, I do lifestyle photography and hike and backpack as much as possible.


Portrait of Michele McDanelMichele McDanel
Senior Research Communications Strategist

Portrait of Jacqueline Meijer-IronsJacqueline Meijer-Irons
User Researcher

  • Trained in demographic methods while pursuing a PhD in Public Policy at the University of Washington, I bring a strong mix of quantitative and qualitative methodologies to the practice of user research. In CIR, I conduct research in the Compliance space, working closely with my design and engineering counterparts to understand how companies interpret and respond to an ever-changing landscape of regulations and data privacy law. In addition to this work, I have begun a telemetry data project, with the aim to tease out trends from the telemetry data that can inform our qualitative work, and vice versa.


Portrait of Sera MirchandaniSera Mirchandani
Data Scientist

  • I am a data scientist with experience in applied math, engineering, and consulting, excited to derive insights and data-driven business outcomes using machine learning, statistical analysis, and data visualization. I leverage complex event-stream usage data to influence understanding and decision-making throughout product development resulting in more customer-centric releases. I also enjoy using mixed methods (opens in new tab) insights to guide holistic development and design decisions. I support both commercial and consumer products such as Assignment Services, Class Notebook Add-in, and OneNote. I joined Microsoft in 2018 after transitioning to data science from the engineering consulting industry. In my free time, I enjoy traveling, thrifting, yoga, and spending time with family.


Portrait of Soodeh MontazeriSoodeh Montazeri
Senior User Researcher

  • An industrial designer turned design researcher, I hail from the beautiful city of Tehran. While the designer in me is passionate about design’s creative and visionary power and inspired by people’s authentic stories, my researcher side is fascinated with the complexity of human emotions and relationships, particularly the ones developed with the built environment and in different cultural contexts. I am a true believer that good design can inspire positive change, should it be woven into the fabrics of people’s everyday lives. This has been my motivation to pursue topics such as design against crime, persuasive design to elicit eco-friendly behavior, and financial literacy and wellness, in academia, consulting, and fin-tech, before starting my career at Microsoft. I’m currently helping the browser team to discover meaningful opportunities for innovation through understanding how internet browsing is integrated into people’s everyday activities.


Portrait of Scott OsoskyScott Ososky
Design Researcher 2

  • I believe that the most interesting work takes place at the boundaries between disciplines. That passion for collaboration and continuous learning brought me to Microsoft, and now to the EDU team. It is a privilege to be able to conduct meaningful research to support the work of educators and their professional development. My research interests also include simulation for training, human-system interaction, mental models, and positive psychology. I have a Ph.D. in Modeling and Simulation from the University of Central Florida. Outside of work, I enjoy indoor spin classes, playing video games, and visiting theme parks with my family and friends.


Portrait of Nancy PerryNancy Perry
Principal User Research Manager

  • I am the principal research manager for Outlook product and services at Microsoft. Prior to this role, I managed a horizontally focused user research team that empowered product teams with customer-driven practices, tools, and data/insights – to ultimately increase the scale and visibility of research and customer engagement across our organization. My team and I have led research around culture change to understand customer-driven behaviors and drivers of product/customer impact. I have been at Microsoft for 20 years, driving UX strategy and conducting research for a range of products and experiences such as Surface Hub, Windows Hello, Microsoft Advertising, Xbox Kinect, HoloLens, and BizTalk/SQL Servers.

    Articles:

    Give Your Research Skills Away (opens in new tab)


Portrait of Rebecca SeerveldRebecca Seerveld
Partner User Research Director

  • Practiced in the data analytics and research (foundational/market and UX) disciplines, I am driven by uncovering deep customer needs, gaps, and insights. I enjoy creating viable business solutions that meet those needs in new and innovative ways which can be measured by data-driven business success criteria. The power and beauty of truly actionable data and research comes to life via the marriage of the art of human understanding and the science of intelligent measurement, and I enjoy unraveling both. I currently lead a cross-discipline and passionate team of amazing Researchers, Data Scientists, Software Engineers, and PMs across Windows Experiences, Edge Browser, Mobile and Cross Device Experiences, Education, OneNote & Tasks, M365 Admin Center, and Security & Compliance. Our team (Customer Insights Research) influences decisions and actions throughout product development cycles. Research and Data Science partner to ensure that customer needs are at the forefront, from idea inception to final product. Our efforts range in focus from rich 1:1 customer qualitative touchpoints to deep quantitative analyses leveraging multiple data sources to building creative tools that enable us to contextually connect with customers in real-time. We build, experiment, learn, advocate, hypothesize, and measure. We also have a good deal of fun along the journey!


Portrait of Suneetha SivasankaranSuneetha Sivasankaran
Senior Design Researcher

  • I’m excited to be part of XC because our team blends user research with actionable data in the pursuit of improving user experience. I currently conduct research for the EDU team where my primary focus is Teams for Education and analytics for teachers and school leaders. I love working in the EDU space as it is very rewarding to build tools for students and educators with the end goal of improving student outcome through engagement and collaboration facilitated by technology.


Portrait of Valentina (Grigoreanu) Strachan, PhDValentina (Grigoreanu) Strachan, PhD
Senior Design Researcher

Portrait of Alaina TalboyAlaina Talboy
Design Researcher 2

Portrait of Sarah TianSarah Tian
Senior User Researcher

  • I am thrilled to be a part of the CIR team as a UX researcher. My job is all about connecting with and understanding users, to help build the right products and ensure happy users. I use qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods to understand user needs and problems. Today’s technology is advancing quickly, and Cybersecurity is critical to protect business and personal from security risks and threats. I am passionate about being a researcher focusing on cybersecurity, creating empathy for customers and helping engineering partners solve problems and build the right products. I have a master’s degree in computer engineering.


Portrait of Jessica TranJessica Tran
User Researcher 2

Portrait of Michael van WaardhuizenMichael van Waardhuizen
Senior User Research Lead

  • I am the lead for the FAST/CUE team, providing qualitative and quantitative research-as-a-service to help other researchers and product teams scale up and conduct high quality research faster. I am also a builder of tools, processes, and backends for scaling research and the Customer Driven effort. Previously, I directed and conducted applied research to improve the user experience of SharePoint 2013, Office 365, Delve, Yammer, OneDrive, Microsoft HoloLens and Windows Mixed Reality. I’ve acted as an analyst, a designer, a developer, a benchmarking expert, a mentor, a manager, and of course a researcher. I’ve worn a lot of different hats and try to keep a broad perspective as a result. I use all of it to help make our research practice and the products we make better.

    Articles:

    Define your threshold: Communicating confidence in UX scorecards (opens in new tab)


Portrait of Rachel WaiteRachel Waite
Senior Design Research Manager

  • Rachel Waite is a Senior Design Research Manager in Office Planning and Research. She appreciates that Microsoft has given her space to learn, inspiration to grow and opportunities to impact across roles in Devices and Software. Rachel thanks all the passionate and authentic people who have been with her along the way and who make work worthwhile each day. Rachel’s Microsoft journey has been an exploration of humans, aligning our business and product decisions to the needs of others. User Research techniques help us understand perceptions, uncover nuances in behavior and inspire innovation. Now Rachel’s energy has turned to the people whose influence is rare in product making and she believes that we must amplify the voices of underrepresented races and people of lower socio-economic status to find creative solutions to the challenges of our world.

    Articles:

    Trouble with to-do’s: How employees manage in-progress tasks – Microsoft Research (opens in new tab)



Portrait of Kristen WarrenKristen Warren
User Researcher 2

  • I have been at Microsoft for 6+ years, working across various products such as Xbox, Internal Tools, Windows and most recently Edge. I focus on mixed-methods research, using both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand and triangulate user behavior. My background is in Social Psychology and Human-Computer Interaction, and my favorite type of research is looking at how technology can facilitate behavior change and pro-social behavior. I am originally from Canada and have fallen in love with the scenery and climate of the Pacific Northwest! I spend lots of time hiking with my dog Charlie, and on rainy days you can almost always find me playing my favorite Xbox games online.


Portrait of Michelle WantuchMichelle Wantuch
User Researcher

  • After completing my Master’s in Technology, Innovation, and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and working as a Teaching Fellow in a Chicago Public School, I joined Customer Insights Research (CIR) and am thrilled to now be a part of CIR’s Education Product Research team. I am fascinated by the ways education technology should and shouldn’t be used inside and outside of the classroom, striving to improve student outcomes in collaboration with teachers and administrators around the globe. I work across a variety of EDU teams and products, including but not limited to: Office.com for EDU, EDU IT Admin data management, and inclusive math.


Portrait of Gregory WeberGregory Weber
Senior Data Scientist

  • I am a firm believer that Big Data + Machine Learning = Customer Insights. I leverage machine learning techniques to harness the quantitative explanatory power of big data to reveal customer insights and interesting behaviors. I am a Maker. I love getting my hands dirty touching and transforming data exhaust into actionable insights. Each query, aggregation, hypothesis, and machine learning reduction crafts another puzzle piece. Every iteration creates a distinct facet of the users’ context, constraints, and goals. Like the story of the blind men and an elephant (opens in new tab), only with enough diverse perspectives can the truth be revealed. My role is a Data Scientist focused on classroom education providing insights that improves student outcomes and empowers teachers to unlock the full learning potential of every child.


Portrait of Denise ZhangDenise Zhang
User Research Program Manager

  • I worked in the clinical research field for four years before making my transition to user research. I have been in CIR for the last year and couldn’t be happier working in such a diverse and innovative team. Initially, I created and established the process of how research coaching operates today. This program scales user research and makes employees become more customer-centric and drives data-informed decisions. I now work on the Customer-Driven initiative, where I collaborate with numerous teams to help them get connected with customers through programs such as Flash Feedback and Coffee with Customers, as well as leveraging tools like UserTesting. I love being able to share my passion for human-centered design with others and utilize my creative skills to create new solutions to help our product and feature teams overcome their barriers in collecting user feedback.