Scaling Rapid Research at Google Core UX
UX Researcher, Google Core UX (via Akraya) · Dec 2020 – Oct 2023
At a glance
Role: First Rapid Researcher on the team, which grew to 9
Scope: 20+ product teams across Core Developer, Core ML, and Core Data
Methods: Usability studies, concept evaluation, interviews, generative and quantitative research
Impact: 65+ studies, 250+ recommendations, informed Google-level OKRs
Overview
As the first hire on Google’s Core Developer UX Rapid Research team, I ran research and gave actionable recommendations to 20+ product teams across Core Developer, Core ML, and Core Data. I worked with interaction designers, UI designers, PMs, UX engineers, and business stakeholders.
What I built
I set up a repeatable research system for the team: a participant recruiting pipeline, a peer review process, and an insight-sharing framework. It scaled research throughput and raised quality. The team grew from 1 to 9 researchers, and I mentored junior researchers to Google’s research standards.
Scale and impact
Led 65+ mixed-methods studies across 20+ internal enterprise products used by 350K+ weekly active users, from foundational workflow research through concept evaluation and pre-Beta usability testing
Made 250+ actionable recommendations that informed Google-level OKRs. They were either built into product designs or planned for upcoming quarters.
Supported the multi-phase overhaul of Google’s Core Developer tools with the Design Systems team under a unified design theme
Led accessibility research that informed a High Contrast Theme across multiple internal products
Researched AI feature integrations and how developers form mental models of new capabilities (see AI Error Checking for a New Google IDE)
Why it matters
A 2020 McKinsey study found that companies with better developer work environments achieved revenue growth four to five times greater than their competitors. Better developer experience raises productivity, satisfaction, engagement, and retention.
Typical study timeline
Planning (week 1) → Research (week 2) → Synthesis (week 3) → Delivery (week 4) → Evaluation (weeks 5–6)
Methods
Usability studies · Concept evaluation · Semi-structured interviews · Generative research · Prototype testing · Quantitative research