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A Self-Reflection Framework for UX Researchers (Especially During Performance Review Season)

A practical self-assessment to see where you're strong, where you're weak, and what to do next. Built for researchers who want decisions and impact, not vibes.
A Self-Reflection Framework for UX Researchers (Especially During Performance Review Season)

Why I built this

I built this framework for myself while prepping for my performance review. I realized I was stuck in the usual cycle: reading my self-review from last year, feeling vaguely bad about the same gaps, writing aspirational goals that sounded good but had no real plan behind them.

Performance reviews ask you to reflect, but they don't give you a structure for how to reflect honestly or what to do with that reflection. Most frameworks focus on leveling up for promotions or impressing hiring managers. That's fine, but it wasn't helping me get better at the parts of research that actually move decisions and ship products.

I needed something honest: a way to see my real gaps without the performance review theater, and a forcing function to actually work on them instead of just feeling bad about my storytelling skills for the third year in a row.

So I made this. I'm sharing it here because a few folks asked for it, and if you're in performance review season (or just want to get better at your craft), maybe it'll help you too. This is personal reflection infrastructure, use what works, adapt what doesn't, skip what feels like noise.

How to use it

  1. Block 30 minutes with no meetings, no Slack, no email
  2. Read each dimension and score yourself 1-5 using the anchors
  3. Add one note per score for context, what makes this a 3 vs a 4?
  4. Circle two strengths to amplify and two gaps to close
  5. Build a 90-day plan using the template below
  6. Share it with a partner and review progress weekly

Scoring key:

  • 1: Novice: you're learning the basics
  • 2: Basic: you can do the work but it's rough
  • 3: Solid: reliable, meets the bar
  • 4: Strong: you're good at this and others notice
  • 5: Expert: you're a multiplier who teaches and sets standards

The goal isn't to be a 5 at everything. The goal is to know where you are, pick what matters most, and actually improve it.

The Twelve Dimensions

Each dimension includes what it is, what good looks like, and anchors for scores 1, 3, and 5. Use these to calibrate yourself honestly.

1. Methods and Study Design

What it is: Choosing the right method, framing answerable questions, sampling well, controlling for bias.

What good looks like: Your studies are tight, decision-focused, and reproducible. People trust your methods because they fit the constraints and the question.

Anchors:

  • 1: Uses familiar methods without checking if they fit the question or constraints
  • 3: Matches method to question with clear tradeoffs documented
  • 5: Builds lean designs that de-risk decisions under real constraints-time, budget, feasibility

2. Data Literacy and Applied Statistics

What it is: Comfort with data, understanding uncertainty, effect sizes, power, basic modeling, reading telemetry and logs.

What good looks like: You translate data into risk and opportunity. You know when something matters practically vs just statistically, and you can explain it clearly.

Anchors:

  • 1: Reads averages and basic charts, avoids uncertainty
  • 3: Uses confidence intervals, practical significance, and talks about tradeoffs between Type I and Type II errors
  • 5: Combines logs, surveys, and experiments to estimate lift and risk. Comfortable with regression, segmentation, and power analysis.

3. Mixed Methods Integration

What it is: Joining qual and quant into one coherent line of evidence instead of treating them as separate workstreams.

What good looks like: The story is one argument backed by multiple sources. Qual explains quant patterns. Quant validates qual hypotheses.

Anchors:

  • 1: Runs qual and quant in parallel, presents them separately
  • 3: Designs qual to explain quant patterns or vice versa—one informs the other
  • 5: Runs staged programs that tighten uncertainty over time (e.g., logs → survey → interviews, or survey → experiment → post-launch debrief)

4. Storytelling and Narrative

What it is: Turning findings into a clear path to action. Structure, arc, tension, and resolution.

What good looks like: People can repeat your story without your slides. The decision is obvious. The logic is tight.

Anchors:

  • 1: Lists insights without arc or priority
  • 3: Builds a simple story with tension and resolution, beginning, middle, end
  • 5: Opens with the decision, shows the tradeoff, brings the evidence, and lands a clear call to action. Every section builds to the point.

5. Decision Framing and Product Sense

What it is: Defining the choice, the constraints, the success criteria. Translating "should we?" into "under what conditions would we?"

What good looks like: You move the team from vague topic to specific decision, and from idea to rule. You can articulate what would make option A right vs option B.

Anchors:

  • 1: Reports what users said without framing options or criteria
  • 3: Frames options with clear decision criteria (e.g., if X is true, choose A; if Y, choose B)
  • 5: Co-authors decision rules that actually ship. Partners treat you as a product thinker, not just a researcher.

6. Evidence to Decision Pipeline

What it is: How research becomes shipped change. Clear handoffs, owners, follow-through, accountability.

What good looks like: Research doesn't end with a readout. There's a plan, there are owners, and you track whether the decision actually happened.

Anchors:

  • 1: Shares decks and hopes for impact
  • 3: Shares decision memos with clear next steps, owners, and timelines
  • 5: Runs a lightweight operating cadence from kickoff to post-launch review. You track what shipped and what you learned.

7. Stakeholder Management and Influence

What it is: Building trust, maintaining alignment, resolving conflict, earning sponsorship.

What good looks like: You're a reliable partner who gets hard things done. People come to you early. You move blocked decisions.

Anchors:

  • 1: Shares updates late, reacts to problems, avoids conflict
  • 3: Sets clear expectations and follows through. Proactive communication.
  • 5: Anticipates concerns, earns executive sponsorship, resolves blockers, turns skeptics into allies

8. Writing and Decks

What it is: Clear writing, structured slides, visual clarity. The mechanics of communication.

What good looks like: Simple words. One idea per slide. One message per section. Your artifacts stand alone.

Anchors:

  • 1: Dense slides with jargon, weak headlines, unclear structure
  • 3: Clean sections with headlines that make a point, not just topics
  • 5: Crisp memos and decks that stand alone. You edit ruthlessly. Less is more.

9. Collaboration with DS, PM, Design, and Eng

What it is: Shared mental models, aligned timelines, integrated work. Real collaboration, not just coordination.

What good looks like: No handwaving. You co-build with partners. Shared ownership of outcomes.

Anchors:

  • 1: Works in isolation, hands off findings without integration
  • 3: Aligns on inputs and outputs, shares context, coordinates timelines
  • 5: Co-builds models, segmentations, experiments, and launch plans. You're embedded in the work, not adjacent to it.

10. Scoping and Prioritization

What it is: Saying no, sizing work, sequencing bets, managing your capacity.

What good looks like: Small bets. Fast reads. Compounding value. You protect your time for high-impact work.

Anchors:

  • 1: Tries to do everything, overcommits, reacts to requests
  • 3: Shrinks scope, sequences work by value, says no with rationale
  • 5: Runs a rolling roadmap with explicit tradeoffs. Partners trust your judgment on what to do and what to skip.

11. Tooling and Automation

What it is: Scripts, templates, dashboards, reusable playbooks. Anything that reduces cycle time without losing quality.

What good looks like: You reduce toil. Others adopt your tools. Quality stays high, speed increases.

Anchors:

  • 1: Does everything manually, reinvents the wheel
  • 3: Reuses templates and basic scripts (e.g., survey analysis, screener templates)
  • 5: Ships reusable tools that the team adopts (e.g., dashboards, analysis pipelines, shared playbooks)

12. Personal Operating System

What it is: Energy management, focus, stress habits, boundaries, recovery practices.

What good looks like: You can deliver under load without burning out. Sustainable pace. Clear head.

Anchors:

  • 1: Often in crisis mode, reactive, inconsistent energy
  • 3: Weekly plan with buffers, regular check-ins, some boundaries
  • 5: Stable routines, clear boundaries, quick reset practices. You model sustainability for the team.

Self-Assessment Worksheet

Copy this table into your notes and fill it in. Add one note per dimension to capture why you scored yourself that way.

Dimension Score (1-5) Note
Methods and study design
Data literacy and applied statistics
Mixed methods integration
Storytelling and narrative
Decision framing and product sense
Evidence to decision pipeline
Stakeholder management and influence
Writing and decks
Collaboration with DS, PM, Design, Eng
Scoping and prioritization
Tooling and automation
Personal operating system

Optional Composite Scores

If you want a higher-level view, calculate these:

  • Core craft index: Average of dimensions 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 (methods, data, integration, storytelling, writing)
  • Influence index: Average of dimensions 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 (decision framing, pipeline, stakeholders, collaboration, scoping)
  • Sustainability index: Dimension 12 alone (personal operating system)

Pick Your Focus

Don't try to improve everything at once. Choose two strengths to amplify and two gaps to close over the next 90 days.

Use this framework to decide:

Strength to amplify: This is already good and compounds impact. Make it a signature capability that others come to you for.

Strength to leverage: This is solid and covers risk. Consider teaching it to others or building tools around it.

Gap that blocks outcomes: This is actively limiting your impact right now. Fix it first.

Gap to monitor: Keep an eye on it but don't prioritize yet. It's not blocking you today.

90-Day Plan Template

For each focus area (both strengths and gaps), answer these questions on one page. Keep it concrete.

Outcome

What changes in 90 days? Be specific. What does success look like?

Example: "Ship three decks that open with the decision, present one argument, and close with a clear call to action. Peers can repeat the story without slides."

Leading Measures

What do you control and track weekly? These should be inputs you can act on, not outputs you hope for.

Example: "One narrative outline per week. One 5-slide practice deck per week."

Practice and Drills

What specific exercises will build the skill? Include reps and deadlines.

Example: "Use a five-part template: Decision → Tension → Evidence → Tradeoff → Call. Rewrite one old section per day using this arc. Record a dry run weekly and cut by 30%."

Feedback Loop

Who reviews your work and when? How will you know if you're improving?

Example: "Red team for 15 minutes before each share. Ask for one thing to cut and one claim to sharpen."

Artifacts to Create

What templates, tools, or resources will you build that are reusable?

Example: "Story bank doc with reusable openings and transitions. Template deck with strong headlines."

Cadence

How often do you review progress? When do you share updates?

Example: "Weekly self-review on Fridays. Monthly check-in with partner."

Risks and Mitigations

What might derail this plan? How will you handle it?

Example: "Risk: Urgent projects derail practice time. Mitigation: Block two hours every Tuesday for drills, non-negotiable."

Getting Better Feedback

Self-scores drift over time without external input. Use these lightweight feedback loops to stay calibrated:

Partner Loop

Ask one trusted peer to score the same twelve dimensions for you from the outside. Compare your self-scores to their scores. The gaps tell you where your self-perception is off.

Do this once at the start of your 90-day plan and once at the end.

Stakeholder Loop

After each project, ask your PM or design partner to rate dimensions 4-7 (storytelling, decision framing, pipeline, stakeholder management) on a simple three-point scale:

  • Clear: The work landed well, the decision was obvious
  • Somewhat clear: The work was useful but could have been clearer
  • Unclear: The work didn't land or the decision was ambiguous

Track the trend over time. If you're stuck at "somewhat clear," that's your signal.

Red Team Loop

Before major presentations or share-outs, give someone 15 minutes to poke holes in your work. Ask them to find:

  • One thing to cut
  • One claim to sharpen
  • One assumption to test

Capture what to fix, not just notes. Act on it before you present.

Feedback Log

Keep a one-page log with four columns:

  • Date
  • Source (who gave the feedback)
  • One-sentence insight
  • One change you made as a result

Review it monthly. Patterns will emerge.

Make It Real in One Week

Don't overthink it. Start now.

Day 1: Score yourself using the worksheet above. Pick your focus areas (two strengths, two gaps).

Day 2: Draft two 90-day plans using the template. Keep them to one page each.

Day 3: Build your first templates or tools (e.g., story template, kickoff doc, decision memo).

Day 4: Do one practice drill and one red team session on existing work.

Day 5: Share your plan with a partner and schedule your weekly review cadence.

Final Thought

This framework is a tool, not a test. The goal isn't to be a 5 at everything, it's to pick two things that matter, work them deliberately for 90 days, and actually get better at them.

Most improvement happens through reps, not insight. The worksheet gives you clarity. The 90-day plan gives you structure. The feedback loops keep you honest.

If you use this, I'd love to hear what you focused on and what changed. If you want the templates in a ready-to-use format or have ideas for making this better, send me a note!

Good luck. Do the work.

🎯 Most researchers know their gaps but never fix them. This framework gives you the structure to actually improve.

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