Joanna Weber
1 min readSep 19, 2023

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I find these conversations odd. Twenty years ago, we had market researchers, and UX wasn't "a thing", or at least not something I'd heard of, and I learned research project management skills in a business planning department alongside data analysts, marketers, business development and strategic folks. Usability testing was part of design work, but something I took on when people were busy, when I wasn't cranking out reports about market trends or interviewing customers about their needs.

The last few jobs I've applied for, they haven't even had market research departments, and UXers perform the role traditionally filled by market researchers (disovery and customer insights projects).

There's always going to be a role for Research & Development and you can slice it a hundred ways and call it almost anything you like.

If I got laid off tomorrow, I am experienced and qualified for pretty much any UX, market research, product management, project management, BA or strategic consultancy role, so it's not something I personally worry about - but I do worry about companies that think that AI is even slightly capable of performing a UX role.

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Joanna Weber
Joanna Weber

Written by Joanna Weber

UX research and product development | author of Last Mile

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