SAURABH SHARMA
UX Research + Strategy
USER-CENTERED PRODUCT
=
PRODUCT-LED GROWTH
Over $34 million in business impact
500,000+ data points analyzed
"HOW MIGHT WE DESIGN TO SIMPLIFY HOTEL SEARCH?"
(Product Analytics + Session Recordings + Qualitative + Quantitative Research)
1350+ user & customer contacts
5+ international corporations
Global research + strategy
RECENT RESEARCH + STRATEGY WORK
"HOW MIGHT WE PERSONALIZE WITHOUT LOGGING IN?"
(Personalizing webpages for half a million customers, everyday)
I'm a UX strategist + researcher who obsesses over being customer and society centric. With hybrid skills across strategy, UX research, design and marketing, I'm able to uncover user insights and turn them into product concepts, prototypes and features, and then test them.
Years of work, across global markets including US, China and India have made me curious, empathetic and open to diverse perspectives.
Over the years, I have received top honors for effectiveness in advertising design. I was awarded WPP's Atticus,
award for original thinking in marketing services multiple times.
My research and strategy work has also been published in AdAge, Campaign, WARC, Financial Times, among others.
In 2012, I published my first book 'Turbo Chinese,' which chronicles my experiences of learning a new language.
.
"HOW MIGHT WE ANSWER CUSTOMER QUESTIONS WITHOUT ADDING TO THE COST OF SUPPORT?"
(Harnessing Generative AI in E commerce)
"HOW MIGHT WE MEASURE THE QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE DESIGN?"
(Analysis of current measurement practices + Goal-setting + Devising a user-centered measurement system and testing)
"HOW MIGHT WE USE UX RESEARCH AND DESIGN TO SAVE MONEY AND ENHANCE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE?"
(Mixed methods research)
MY OUTLOOK
WE ARE IN THE GOLDEN ERA OF PRODUCT-LED GROWTH
Software products create extensive usage data. Interpreting this data, and making the right assumptions can inform qualitative and quantitative research. Such use of mixed methods can help us in understanding user motivations and inspire focused experimentation. This helps in improving the product and leads to measurable business outcomes.
By studying product analytics, and asking users the right questions, I make recommendations that make products more useful and businesses more successful.
MY SKILLS
USER EXPERIENCE RESEARCH
ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS, DRAWING IMPLICATIONS, AND TELLING A COMPELLING STORY
Research has been reshaped by cloud-based software tools. What used to take months and weeks can now be accomplished in a matter of days and hours, and at a fraction of the cost. By combining my knowledge of human motivations and my experience in utilizing various research tools, I'm able to spot actionable insights.
USER EXPERIENCE STRATEGY
LINKING USER EXPERIENCE WITH MEASURABLE BUSINESS OUTCOMES
I understand business and marketing goals and help translate them into behavior change mandates. As products evolve into outcomes, business and marketing also need to evolve from being brand-centered to being product + experience driven.
My experience in business and marketing helps me in influencing and leading at the intersection of product and marketing. I have helped diverse teams in focusing on user needs and integrating efforts for better outcomes.
EXPERIENCE
SENIOR USER EXPERIENCE RESEARCHER
January 2022 - Present
SENIOR USER EXPERIENCE RESEARCHER
May 2020 – Dec 2021
"User-centered thinking for enterprise cyber security"
-
Insights to save millions in support costs
-
Product analytics strategy for better measurement.
-
Mentored junior researchers.
"Bringing millions to the next computing platform"
-
>$22 million in impact by informing build vs buy decisions
-
Insights for login-free personalization to improve conversion
-
Insights for generative AI in eCommerce
SENIOR EXPERIENCE DESIGN RESEARCHER
October 2019 – May 2020
"Using insights to integrate efforts across product and marketing"
-
Identified points of friction that led to user drop-offs and revenue loss.
-
Insights to inform the home page content strategy for 5x Hilton brands.
-
Worked with the Voice of Customer (VoC) team to define questions for in-context feedback on 5x Hilton websites.
USER EXPERIENCE STRATEGIST AND RESEARCHER
April 2016 – October 2019
"Helping teams become more user-centered"
-
Partnered a diverse set of clients
-
Engaged and managed diverse stakeholders
-
Helped clients in identifying and prioritizing user needs
-
Led creative brainstorms and design sprints
FROMROOTS LLC
EDUCATION
MASTER'S IN HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION AND DESIGN, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE (UCI)
MHCID @ UCI is a top-5 master's program in HCI. It prepares working professionals for the world of UX by diving deep into human-centered research, design and technology.
MASTER'S IN BUSINESS AND ADMINISTRATION (AICTE)
Master's program in business management (equivalent to MBA). The program prepares graduate students to become leaders in management, marketing and global business.
BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN COMMERCE, DELHI UNIVERSITY
Delhi University's bachelor's degree in commerce imparts foundational conceptual knowledge of subjects such as commerce, economics, business organization, communication and financial accounting.
MY UX PHILOSOPHY
BUSINESS ALONE IS NOT IMPORTANT, WHAT IT DOES, FOR THE CUSTOMER AND THE SOCIETY IS
[People > Business]
PRODUCT ITSELF IS NOT IMPORTANT, WHAT IT HELPS USERS IN ACCOMPLISHING IS
[User > Product]
STRATEGY IS NOT IMPORTANT, HOW AND WHAT GETS EXECUTED IS
[Action > Intention]
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
LET'S CONNECT
RESEARCH REPORT IS NOT IMPORTANT, THE OUTCOME THAT IT ENABLES IS
[Outcome > Output]