#165 - High Impact Research on Embedded Teams with Hannah Ghidey of Etsy

#165 - High Impact Research on Embedded Teams with Hannah Ghidey of Etsy

Author: User Interviews April 23, 2025 Duration: 35:16

Embedded research teams—where UXRs are dedicated to a single product area—are popular. The proximity to design, product, and engineering stakeholders increases subject-matter expertise and user insight integration. But how can those working in this structure balance deep diving product-specific work with longer-term strategic opportunities?


Hannah Ghidey, Senior Research Manager at Etsy has successfully navigated this balance, finding big, strategy-setting questions while maintaining product-specific influence and know-how. It’s a great conversation for anyone working as a UXR on a product team or searching for a scaleable way to build a responsive team that’s also strategically-oriented.


Highlights

  • 03:09 Strategic Research in Business Innovation
  • 07:30 Effective Collaborative Research Planning
  • 11:03 Harnessing Team Insights for Innovation
  • 15:01 Building Trust in Research Collaboration
  • 20:15 Sustaining Research Relevance
  • 29:53 Integrating Research into Business Strategy

About Hannah
Hannah Ghidey is a UX leader, currently at Etsy. She is a creative, strategist, and researcher, helping teams shape experiences at the intersection of user needs, business goals, and data.

Resources


Awkward Silences is a conversation about the human side of building things. Hosts Erin May and Carol Guest, both VPs at User Interviews, don't just talk about theory-they get into the messy, real-world practice of talking to users and making sense of what they say. Each episode pulls back the curtain on the craft of user research, featuring candid chats with the practitioners who do this work every day. You'll hear stories about navigating tricky interviews, the weight of interpreting qualitative data, and how genuine understanding directly shapes better products and smarter business decisions. This isn't a dry lecture; it's a geeky, relatable dive into the questions and quiet moments that define UX research. The Awkward Silences podcast lives in the intersection of technology and business, focusing on the people and processes that connect them. Listen for practical insights, empathetic strategies, and the occasional shared laugh about the inevitable fumbles that come with trying to understand anyone. It’s for anyone who believes that building effectively starts with listening well.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Awkward Silences
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