15 minutes, report the moment they finish
UX researcher skills assessment
Twelve written situations, about fifteen minutes, that measure whether a researcher can tell what data does and doesn't support, fit a study to the decision, and say no to a question that can't be answered.
The gap
What you can’t see when you hire a ux researcher
A research portfolio shows tidy findings. It never shows the studies that were badly framed, or whether the recommendation survived contact with the business.
The case starts here
The Head of Product: “Run some user interviews and tell us whether people want this feature.”
Every case opens with a request that already contains its own answer, because that’s how requests arrive at work. What we measure starts with whether they notice.
What this case shows you
- Whether they reframe an unanswerable question
- Whether they match the method to the decision, not to the budget
- How they spot a flawed study and say so
- What they conclude, and what they refuse to conclude
- How they report a finding nobody wants to hear
The kind of call they make
Situations a ux researcher runs into
Twelve short situations like this one, drawn from the day-to-day work of the role. The live situations are confidential, because an assessment you can rehearse stops measuring anything.
Example situation
The Head of Product asks you to run some user interviews and tell them whether people want the feature the team has already started building. You have two weeks and access to eleven existing customers.
What you get
A recommendation for your ux researcher role
You mark what this particular job can’t do without. The report opens with a clear call for that job, shows where the candidate stands on each capability you chose, and gives you three questions to ask in the interview.
Marta R. · UX Researcher
Leads with both of the things you named
Reaches first for picks the method the question deserves and last for knows what the data supports, and works at a different pace from your team.
Why these matter for a ux researcher
- Knows what the data supports
- The core of the role. Eleven interviews support some claims and not others, and a researcher who overstates the second kind is worse than no researcher, because now the team is confident.
- Spots when the brief is wrong
- Most research requests arrive with the method already chosen and the question badly framed. Reframing it without stalling the team is the skill.
- Holds a position with a senior stakeholder
- Above all when the finding is unwelcome. Softening the result is expensive, and so is delivering it in a way that guarantees it gets ignored.
Against what you already do
What each format sees, and what it misses
| Format | What it shows you | What it misses |
|---|---|---|
| Research portfolio review | Method range, rigour of write-up, and whether they can present findings to people who didn't run the study. | Whether the question was worth asking. A portfolio contains the studies that worked and produced a clean deck. The ones that were framed wrong from the start, or whose recommendation the business ignored, don't get written up. |
| Method quiz or knowledge test | Vocabulary and technique. Whether they know what a between-subjects design is. | Judgment about when to use any of it. Knowing eleven methods won't make someone say 'this decision doesn't need research, it needs someone to look at the funnel', and that's the answer that saves a team six weeks. |
| Study-design exercise | How they plan, in detail, with time to think. | What they do when the plan meets the business. The exercise never has a Head of Product who has already decided the answer, a sample of nine, or a deadline that removes the method they picked. |
| This assessment | Whether they can tell what data does and doesn't support, fit a study to a decision, and say no to a question that can't be answered. The same twelve situations for every candidate, read against your role. | Hands-on craft: moderation, analysis, stats. That's what a portfolio and a working session are for. |
How it works
Three steps,
with no calls and no setup
What must they be good at?
- Spots when the brief is wrong
- Knows what the data supports
- Moves without being told
- Sweats states and edge cases
One credit per candidate, spent only when they start. The first is free (see what the packs cost), and nothing expires, so a role on hold costs nothing.
Questions
Assessing UX researchers, in practice
Not as recall. It tests whether they pick a method that fits the decision, and whether they can say what a given sample does and doesn't support. Knowing eleven methods matters less than choosing the right one.
No. A portfolio shows how they run and communicate a study; this shows what they do when the question is wrong, the sample is thin and the stakeholder has already decided. They're different questions, and a good process asks both.
About fifteen minutes, on any device, whenever suits them. The report reaches you the moment they finish.
They can try, and it helps them very little. There's nothing to write or polish, and a model can't know what this particular person would do. Read past the headline.
No. You name what the role can't do without first, and the report is read against that. A sole researcher in a startup and one joining an established research team get different recommendations from the same sitting.
One credit per candidate, spent only when they start. The first candidate is free with no card, and credits don't expire.
Related reading
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