RANDY SEMELEER
Senior UX Researcher
Research doesn't create value until it changes decisions. I help organisations uncover user needs, validate ideas and build the processes, tools and communities needed to make research part of everyday product development.
About me
I'm a Senior UX Researcher with experience in government, financial services, scale-ups and international organisations. Over the years I've helped teams better understand their users through interviews, usability testing, surveys and mixed-method research.
Beyond conducting research, I enjoy building the foundations that make research successful. This includes setting up research practices, introducing new ways of working, establishing repositories, coaching teams and helping organisations make customer insights part of everyday decision-making.
Areas of expertise
Research
Generative and evaluative research
User interviews
Usability testing
Survey research
Accessibility
Leadership
Building research practices
ResearchOps
Community building
Workshop facilitation
Stakeholder management
Selected Organisations
Wolters Kluwer
Logius (DigiD)
Shypple
RVO
Capgemini
Sogeti
Community Building
Community building has been a recurring part of my work throughout my career. At Sogeti, I helped build the Usability Guild, and within Capgemini I contributed to the international UX community and helped organise its first international UX conference.Beyond Sogeti and Capgemini, I have contributed to communities including UX Rotterdam, UXinsight, Rotterdammer Centraal and User Needs First (Gebruiker Centraal), connecting practitioners, sharing knowledge and helping create spaces for people to learn from one another.
Outside of Work
I am also a podcast maker, writer, poet and interviewer. These activities have strengthened my ability to listen, ask meaningful questions and uncover the stories behind people's experiences.I have volunteered as a language buddy (taalmaatje) in the Rotterdam public library, experiences that further deepened my appreciation for learning, communication and helping people navigate information and services.
Building a UX Research Practice at Shypple
OVerview
Shypple is a scale-up and digital freight forwarder operating at the intersection of logistics and technology. As Shypple's first and only UX researcher, I was responsible for establishing UX research as a discipline within the organisation while supporting the UX team and up to five development teams.
Many people across the organisation had never worked with a UX researcher before and had limited understanding of UX. Alongside conducting research, I acted as an advocate for the UX team and helped bridge the gap between logistics experts, product teams and customers.
My work focused on building the foundations needed to make research sustainable and scalable, including services, processes, tooling, participant communities and a research repository.
Organisation: Shypple
Role: UX Researcher
Period: December 2021 - January 2023
The challenge
No established UX research practice
No central repository for research insights
Limited awareness of UX research across the organisation
Supporting multiple product teams simultaneously
Bridging the gap between logistics experts and product teams
What I Did
Building the Practice
Designed research services for product teams, marketing and other stakeholders.
Defined deliverables and ways of working for UX research.
Set up and maintained internal (UX Allies) and external (Shypmates) participant communities.
Researched and selected tools to support research activities.
Selected, implemented and introduced a research repository, including templates, taxonomy and governance.
Secured budget for research tooling, participant engagement and research support.
Built research capacity by hiring and managing a research assistant and supervising a UX research intern throughout her graduation project.
ResearchOps & Repository
Selected, implemented and maintained a research repository.
Designed research templates, deliverable templates and taxonomy to improve consistency and findability.
Created a central location for research findings, making insights accessible across teams.
Established processes for storing, sharing and reusing customer insights.
Drove adoption within the UX team and product organisation.
Community Building & Advocacy
Acted as an advocate for UX research across the organisation.
Educated stakeholders about the value of research and how to use it effectively.
Established and maintained the UX Allies network, consisting of approximately 40 internal stakeholders.
Established and grew the Shypmates customer panel, reaching approximately 30 participants during the initial phase.
Helped create a stronger customer-centric mindset across teams.
Research Delivery
Conducted generative and evaluative research across multiple product teams.
Planned and facilitated user interviews and usability tests.
Supported exploratory initiatives with customer research and validation.
Identified user needs, pain points and opportunities for improvement.
Shared findings through reports, presentations and workshops.
Impact
UX research became an established discipline within the organisation.
Customer insights became easier to find, share and reuse through the repository.
Research was embedded into exploratory initiatives and early product discovery.
Built a network of approximately 40 UX Allies and 30 Shypmates to support research activities.
Secured organisational investment in research tooling, participant engagement and research support.
Established the foundations for scaling research through processes, tooling, communities and dedicated research support.
Key Learnings
Building a research practice requires organisational change as much as research expertise.
ResearchOps and knowledge management can significantly increase the impact of research.
Communities of stakeholders and customers help research scale beyond a single researcher.
Establishing Usability Testing at DigiD
Overview
Between 2014 and 2021, I contributed to multiple usability testing projects for DigiD, returning repeatedly over a seven-year period. Working through Sogeti, I conducted and coordinated research activities for one of the Netherlands' most widely used digital government services.
Over time, my role evolved from UX Researcher to Lead UX Researcher, taking responsibility for research quality, stakeholder management and the continuous improvement of research deliverables and methods.
Organisation: DigiD / Logius
Role: UX Researcher / Lead UX Researcher
Period: 2014 - 2021
The Challenge
Usability testing was conducted infrequently and often too late in the development process.
Research was primarily evaluative and focused on acceptance rather than discovery.
Opportunities to identify issues earlier were regularly missed.
Digital government services need to work for a highly diverse population, including vulnerable user groups.
Poor usability could result in increased support costs and a poorer experience for citizens.
What I did
End-to-End Research Delivery
Planned and executed usability tests from intake to reporting.
Developed research plans, test scenarios and interview guides.
Recruited participants and defined recruitment criteria.
Prepared test environments, devices, accounts and supporting materials.
Moderated usability tests and stakeholder observation sessions.
Delivered findings, recommendations and presentations to project teams.
Improving Research Deliverables
Introduced video summaries to bring usability issues to life.
Created visual deliverables including infographics and eye-tracking heatmaps.
Developed categories for findings and recommendations to improve consistency and reporting quality.
Adapted reporting formats to better suit stakeholder needs.
Research Leadership
Coordinated research activities across multiple DigiD projects.
Provided quality assurance and oversight on research conducted by colleagues.
Worked closely with product owners, analysts, designers and policy stakeholders.
Advocated for the value of usability testing within the organisation.
Impact
Usability testing became a more visible and valued part of the development process.
Research deliverables became more engaging and actionable through the use of video, visualisations and structured reporting.
Research helped identify and address usability issues before release.
Contributed to improvements in the DigiD app, including onboarding and expectation management.
Increased awareness of the needs of vulnerable and less digitally skilled users.
Supported the growth of UX maturity within the organisation, which eventually led to the establishment of an internal UX team.
Key Learnings
Timing is critical: the earlier research is conducted, the greater its impact.
Effective storytelling can significantly increase the influence of research findings.
Helped advocate for digital services that work for everyone, regardless of age, background, digital skills or familiarity with Dutch government services.
From Business Case to UX Lab and Research Service
Overview
Sogeti had explored the idea of an in-house UX research lab several times, but previous attempts had never developed into a sustainable service.
Together with colleagues, I initiated a new attempt in 2018. Rather than treating the lab as simply a physical facility, we developed it as a research service that could support client projects, training and broader propositions across Sogeti and Capgemini.
I helped take the initiative from business case and executive buy-in through facility design, research processes, tooling, researcher training and commercial launch. The Sogeti UX Lab opened in Amsterdam in 2019 and was subsequently used for research with clients including Logius (DigiD), KVK (Chamber of Commerce) and ING.
When COVID-19 severely limited on-site research in 2020, I helped adapt the service for remote research by introducing new tooling and processes.
Organisation: Sogeti
Role: Founder UX Lab / Lead UX Researcher
Period: 2018–2021
The Challenge
Previous attempts to establish a UX research lab had not resulted in a sustainable service.
External usability labs had to be rented for research projects, increasing both cost and effort.
Investment and support had to be secured across a large organisation with multiple divisions and competing priorities.
A successful lab required much more than equipment and a room: research services, processes, recruitment, privacy, planning, training and commercial support all had to work together.
A new research service also had to gain adoption from sales teams, researchers and client-facing teams.
What I did
Building the Business Case & Securing Buy-in
Developed the business case for an internal UX research facility and service.
Positioned the lab for use across standalone research projects, broader testing and digital service propositions, and training.
Presented and refined the proposition through multiple rounds of pitches to senior stakeholders and divisional directors.
Secured approximately €8–10K in initial investment from two divisions, with support from two others.
Built support across research, sales and organisational leadership.
Applied lessons from previous unsuccessful initiatives by seeking sponsorship at the level where investment decisions could actually be made.
Designing the Research Service
Defined services including usability testing, user interviews, focus groups, eye tracking, expert reviews, heuristic evaluations, workshops and customer insight sessions.
Designed research processes, templates and deliverables, including reports, one-pagers, heatmaps, infographics and video compilations.
Selected a recruitment partner to provide participants based on research criteria.
Established processes for planning, participant reception, observation and research delivery.
Worked with privacy, legal/compliance, facilities, sales, communications and planning to make the service operational.
Created and maintained internal documentation and research resources in SharePoint.
Developed marketing and sales materials to support internal adoption, client pitches and events.
Building the Facility & Research Team
Helped design and establish a dedicated testing room and observation room with a one-way mirror, cameras, microphones, computers and mobile devices.
Introduced Tobii eye-tracking technology as part of the research setup.
Established additional observation capacity for projects with larger stakeholder groups.
Coordinated practical requirements ranging from construction and cabling to room access, security and participant hospitality.
Selected and trained approximately ten researchers to deliver research through the lab.
Acted as the senior research lead, supporting researchers and safeguarding the quality of research delivered through the facility.
Launching, Selling & Evolving the Service
Conducted and supervised client research through the UX Lab for organisations including Logius (DigiD), KVK and ING.
Supported sales teams in incorporating the UX Lab into client proposals and broader service offerings.
Used observation and insight sessions to expose client stakeholders directly to user behaviour and reactions, creating greater awareness of user needs.
Presented the service at events and to prospective clients.
Helped make in-house research more economically viable: the initial facility investment was comparable to the external lab costs of only a few studies.
In 2020, helped transition the service towards remote research, introducing Lookback and adapting research processes and guidance when COVID-19 severely restricted on-site research.
Impact
Turned an initiative that had previously struggled to gain traction into an operational UX research facility and service.
Established an internal capability that reduced dependence on externally hired usability labs.
Generated new client work and enabled UX research to be incorporated into broader commercial propositions.
Created a professional environment where clients and stakeholders could directly observe and engage with user research.
Built research capability beyond a single researcher by selecting and training approximately ten UX researchers.
Supported research for major organisations including Logius (DigiD), KVK and ING.
Extended the service beyond the physical facility by adapting it for remote research during COVID-19.
The UX Lab continued operating after I left Sogeti in 2021.
Key Learnings
Organisational change needs sponsorship at the level where decisions and investment can actually be made.
A research facility creates value through the service, people and processes around it, not through the room or technology alone.
Building a sustainable research capability requires aligning research with sales, facilities, planning, privacy, technology and organisational leadership.
Making research visible and tangible can help stakeholders understand its value in ways that reports alone often cannot.
Contact
I'm always interested in meeting curious people, discussing UX research and exchanging ideas.Feel free to connect, read my blog (in Dutch) or email me at [email protected].
A good conversation over a cup of tea is always welcome.