Concept testing
Committing to a direction before testing it with users is an expensive assumption. I help teams validate potential before the cost of building accumulates.
Case study
Designing a research repository people will actually use
CIHI had no shared home for its user insights, so decisions were being made without them, not for lack of research but because it couldn’t be found or trusted. Listening sessions with 36 staff revealed the real barrier wasn’t findability but confidence, which shaped a repository design and an AI-built interactive prototype that gave leaders something real to react to.
Position
Senior UX Researcher, CIHI
Approach
Listening sessions and an AI-built prototype
Output
Research repository design direction
Concept testing that confirms whether a design direction has real potential before the team commits to building it.
- Concept testing using wireframes, sketches, or higher-fidelity mockups depending on research goals
- Feedback on usability, clarity, and desirability of proposed directions
- Identification of gaps between proposed solutions and real user needs
- Research-informed recommendations to guide design prioritization
Align on what we're testing and why
The research goal determines everything — what fidelity makes sense, what questions to ask, and what a useful finding looks like.
- Define what the concept needs to prove or disprove
- Advise on fidelity choices and flag anything that could compromise research integrity
- Align with the product team on what a useful finding looks like before the study begins
Turn findings into testable prototypes
Before we test anything, I translate research findings into concrete requirements, then build toward a testable artifact myself.
- Distill discovery and prior research into clear, prioritized user requirements
- Vibe code interactive design prototypes directly from those requirements, iterating in tight loops rather than waiting on a design handoff
- Refine each prototype against the requirements it's meant to satisfy, so what reaches participants reflects real user needs, not just a visual concept
Facilitate concept testing sessions
I run moderated sessions that go beyond surface reactions to understand whether users are ready for, and capable of adopting, what's being proposed.
- Recruit participants that reflect the range of users who will encounter the concept
- Probe beneath initial reactions to understand the conditions that shape readiness and adoption
- Identify gaps between what the concept assumes about users and what users actually need
Translate findings into product direction
Concept testing findings are most valuable when they feed directly into design and prioritization decisions.
- Synthesize findings across participants to identify patterns and segment differences
- Facilitate prioritization workshops where research findings shape what gets built
- Support design iterations grounded in what users are actually ready for
- Annotated concept designs with real user feedback
- Prioritization workshop outputs connecting research findings to feature decisions
- Research-informed recommendations for design iterations