MPL Consumer Research Framework

At MPL, the consumer research team is capable of conducting a variety of research types, each with its own unique time and cost considerations. The team can address a range of questions, allowing clients to choose the type of research that best meets their needs. The three main types of research offered by the team are:
1. Brand & Marketing Research
2. Customer Experience Research
3. User Experience (UX) Research

UX Research Team at MPL

The UX Research team at MPL was small but highly skilled and dedicated. The team members were welcoming and supportive, and I thoroughly enjoyed working on the various research projects with them. During my internship, I was involved in 4 research studies with approximately 50 participants, all conducted virtually. The projects in the UX Research team were fast-paced and required a high level of agility and flexibility. Tasks were often completed within tight timelines, with stakeholders sometimes providing requirements in the morning and expecting a report in the evening. Despite the challenging conditions, the team was committed to delivering high-quality research that did not compromise on accuracy or integrity.

Working in this kind of environment was a new experience for me, and being present in the office allowed me to quickly collaborate with my colleagues and complete tasks efficiently. Overall, I found my time with the UX Research team at MPL to be incredibly rewarding and educational.

I will not be disclosing the project I worked on, due to confidentiality and respect for the company and my team. I will rather, be focusing on what I learnt. This brings me to my first learning which was;

1. Evangelize Research

As researchers, our role was not only to conduct research and provide insights, but also to educate our colleagues on the value of research and how it can be applied to inform decision-making. This often required us to be proactive and advocate for the research we had conducted, highlighting its relevance and significance to stakeholders.
For example, we once compiled a collection of introduction clips from our repository of interview recordings and created a collage. We shared this collage with different teams across the organization, encouraging them to use it to better understand the backgrounds, goals, and motivations of MPL’s real users.

2. Learn the craft

I had the opportunity to participate in a number of interviews and observe how experienced researchers posed questions and collected data. This allowed me to develop my own research skills and gain a better understanding of how to effectively conduct research and extract valuable insights.
One key aspect of the research process that I found particularly interesting was the importance of framing questions in the right way. For example, asking a question like “Would you buy a pink transistor?” is likely to elicit a different response than asking “If you had to buy any entertainment device for ₹ 500, which one would you choose?” The way a question is phrased can significantly impact the response, and it is crucial to carefully consider the wording in order to obtain accurate and meaningful data.

3. Doing Secondary Research

Many times, before going to talk to the end users, the project required secondary research to gain a better understanding of the topic and identify potential areas for further investigation. When conducting secondary research, it was important to take a structured approach and carefully consider the sources and timelines of the data. Outdated or unreliable might not be helpful for the project.
Once all the data is collected, it’s just not dumping it in altogether but instead organizing it in a way that is easy to understand and interpret. This might involve grouping the data into different categories, or summarizing key findings in a clear and concise manner. This helps to make the data more accessible and allows others to quickly understand the key takeaways from the research.

4. A contributor to the team

While the bigger role of the UX Researcher was to do research, there were many aspects of research process like budgeting, planning, doing secondary research, conducting interviews, making notes, clippings videos of quotes, analyzing data, making of presentation report, etc. I made sure that I am available for my team whenever they needed me in the whole process. For us, collaboration doesn’t mean always sitting together and working, but it was often working individually on certain tasks and then coming up together to discuss progress, share insights, and make decisions.

5. Presenting work to seniors

When it came to presenting any task to seniors be it small or big, I made sure that it was well organized. It needed to back up with data when any question arose.

6. People’s skills in the office

In addition to the professional skills I developed during my internship, I also had the opportunity to work on my people skills. As I mentioned earlier, I was required to go to the office three days a week, where I sat among my colleagues in the larger Product Design group. We would often take breaks together for lunch and snacks, and I made sure to maintain positive and productive relationships with my colleagues.

7. Enjoy work, and enjoy the play!

The most enjoyable aspects of my internship was to participate in regular team catch-ups, both formal and informal. I did not expect to be part of such team hangouts when I first started my internship, but I am glad that I had the chance to connect with my colleagues in this way. I once organized Treasure Hunt for the team. Everything provided an opportunity to get to know my colleagues on a more personal level, and to learn more about their work and interests. Overall, it was a great way to enjoy my work and have fun with my team.

Cheers to the Product Deasign Team at MPL! Special thanks to my mentor, Manasi Bhonge, and my manager, Utpala Wandhare for their feedback and guidance throughout the duration of my internship.