Project Summary

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During my 12-week internship at Facebook, I designed and conducted a qualitative research study. This experience was incredibly fulfilling, as it validated my passion for user research and showed that I can quickly adapt to new workstreams in a fast-paced environment.

The focus of my internship was to assess user sentiments about Facebook Pay. Facebook Pay is a payment method that is used across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.

 

To comply with my non-disclosure agreement, I am unable to discuss the finer details of my research or my results. 

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Research Goals 

1. Assess users' overall sentiments towards Facebook Pay

2. Understand the motivations for using Facebook Pay

3. Identify any pain points users experience with Facebook Pay 

 

The major steps in my process included:

1. Collaborate with stakeholders to align on the scope of the project

2. Identify the sample population and develop the recruitment screener

3. Develop an interview script to guide my research sessions

4. Conduct in-depth interviews with participants

5. Perform thematic analysis on session transcripts

6. Present my research findings and assess the impact of my recommendations
    

 

Identifying Research Questions

 

After conducting a review of past research to establish the gaps in our knowledge of the product, I held 1:1s with the engineer, product designers, product manager, content strategist, and data scientist to understand their needs from research. (They had a lot to offer!)

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I reflected on those meetings with ruthless prioritization in mind and narrowed the scope of my study down to the most crucial research questions. 

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Recruitment 

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Based on my research questions, I established sampling criteria, which I shared with the data scientist. With her input, I refined my criteria, and within days she pulled a data set of users to recruit from. Shortly after, I created a screener survey to ensure that, of the people in that data set, I would be working with individuals who could provide me with the most valuable insights. 

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Developing the Interview Guide

 

Next,  I focused on creating the discussion guide to ensure that I would make the most of my time with participants. My goal was to leave no stone unturned with regards to the possible answers I could gather from participants. The interview guide included probing questions that covered a wide range of participant responses and I feel this paid off greatly. 

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It also took some time to involve my partners in this process, since I shared my guide with the team to solicit feedback and additional interview questions.

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Conducting Sessions

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I started my week of sessions by conducting a pilot interview with another researcher to ensure that my session flow felt natural and there were no issues with the recording software. In response to some no-shows and last-minute schedule changes, I doubled down on communication with participants and continued to follow up to ensure everyone was prepared for their sessions. I believe this helped positively influence turnout towards the end of the week. 

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During sessions, my interviewing skills improved with each participant I spoke to. As participants walked through their experiences with Facebook Pay, I gained an understanding of their cadence, when to respond, and how to dig deeper into their answers.

 

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Data Analysis

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My data analysis consisted of reading through each interview transcript, referring to audio when necessary, and making notes of relevant observations. I then turned each observation into a note on my Mural board and organized them into themes and insights. 

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With my thematic analysis complete, I reached back out to stakeholders to share any findings I had that related to their original research interests before the final readout. 

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Making an Impact  

 

Knowing that the research I conducted would have little impact if not presented effectively, I focused on creating a compelling narrative for my final presentation. Rather than talking about Facebook Pay and its features, I talked about the users and their experiences on the surface. I highlighted the participants’ perspectives by including video clips from sessions and quotes throughout the slide deck.

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Upon concluding this research project, I met with my team to assess how my insights might affect their decisions moving forward. I was delighted to hear that my research filled many gaps they had in the knowledge of the product and laid the foundation for several future projects.

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Reflecting on My Experience

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In this research project, I was able to put into practice everything that I had learned in my master’s program and more. This internship was rewarding, as it helped me to identify my strengths as a researcher as well as my areas for growth that I will continue to work on.

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This experience also revealed the importance of cross-functional collaboration. Continuous stakeholder involvement throughout the process was key to keeping everyone abreast of my progress in addition to getting them invested in the results. The significance of stakeholder buy-in can never be understated.

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Lastly, even though I left Facebook, I feel encouraged knowing that the impact of my work will persist. I hope that in future research positions, I will receive the same opportunity to generate valuable, user-driven insights for my team.