I am a UX Researcher & Storyteller who loves problem solving.
Meditation helps settle my mind and tap into its full potential. I am a trained meditation facilitator :)
Interests
UX Research
Photography
Screenwriting
Mental health wellbeing programs
Comic book collecting
Bubble Tea
+More
When I am not researching or writing stories, I fall in love with the outside world !
Why I do what I do ?
Stories were an important part of my life since early childhood. I read stories on animals, kings, mythology, ancient tales and other fiction. Immersing myself in those stories and relating to its characters has always been comforting. When I was with family friends or relatives, someone would ask me – “Tell us some story” and I would be narrating a tale, being the center of attention of the adults and kids around me. I would pay attention to their eyes and expressions and would know when to dramatize and when to tone down my narration. This tacit feedback helped me improvise my narration.
“I used ethnography and observations to build up characters as a screen-writer for short films and a full-length film”
Even before I began my journey as a UX Researcher, I used ethnography and observations to build up characters as a screen-writer for short films and a full-length film. I wanted my characters to be real - my stories blossomed out of what I saw in the real world. One of my writer friends told me – “Your stories are incredible, but you need to rewrite them to give them happy endings.” I then thought to myself – “These are stories of real people altered to have an unreal ending. How do I really rewrite these people’s lives to actually give them a better ending?
“It struck me that being a UX Researcher helps me rewrite real stories and give happy endings to the user’s little inconveniences or major frustrations”
During my time as a software developer, I raised questions over the requirement sheets given to me. I wanted to know whom I was developing a feature for, and if my design benefitted the end user. It struck me that being a UX Researcher helps me rewrite real stories and give happy endings to the user’s little inconveniences or major frustrations. Gradually, my passion for UX Research grew, and I started informally learning it in parallel to my work. To broaden my exposure to UX Research, I enrolled in an HCI program at GT to gain research and industry-oriented experience. At Georgia Tech I was part of the Culture And Technology Lab and was advised by Dr. Betsy DiSalvo while working on understanding Gamification as Motivation for Learning. In early 2019, when I graduated from the program, my thesis was recognized the runner-up best project award in my cohort. This recognition gave me immense confidence before heading back to the Industry.
“As a researcher, I not only work on investigative story-telling, but also impact the lives of millions”
I am now a confident mixed methods researcher (via contract) with the Edge Browser Research Team at Microsoft. As a researcher, I not only work on investigative story-telling, but also impact the lives of millions and shape my future as well as that of many others'. I feel passionate about UX research, as it empowers me to do what I care for : rewriting people’s stories to have happier endings.
