What is a "research portfolio?" Well, to start with, it's not a graphic portfolio.
It is similar, in that both are intended to display a predictable set of skills. More than that, though, both portfolios can show the depth at which the artist or researcher operates. Please let me break that down.
-- SKILLS--
When looking at a graphic portfolio, you can look for shallow illustrative skills ("Wow, that picture of a cow really looks like a cow!"), or you can look at deeper illustrative skills ("Wow, the color palette in the penumbra of the shadows corresponds directly to the color palette used in creating the illusion of three-point volumetric lighting!").
And you can look for shallow communicative skills (Wow, looking at that picture of a cow really makes me fell like I'm looking at a picture of a cow!"), or you can look at deeper communicative skills ("Wow, looking at that picture of a cow fills me with emotional conflict! It awakens a deeper understanding of how a young and soulful cow might feel, standing in the golden light of a setting sun. I can smell the fresh-mown hay and, somewhere in the background, barbecue.")
It's the same when you're looking at a UX research portfolio: you can look for the shallow skills ("Wow! That person knows how to design a survey using the same software we use, and the questions sound like questions I would ask!"), or deeper skills ("Wow! That person knows how to design a survey that asks simple questions that add up to answer complex problems, and frames the questions so that the answers can be translated mathematically into meaningful and actionable data!").
So, please don't look for pretty pictures in a UX Research Portfolio. These are not the skills on display here. I have other portfolios for that.
-- EXPERIENCE and PROBLEM SOLVING --
In the same way that a traditional graphic portfolio can show skills that are shallow or deep, they can also show whether the artist has the experience of solving problems that are shallow or deep. For example, most of the problems addressed in a student portfolio are shallow ("Wow! Your storyboard looks like a storyboard - with clear sequential pictures and characters that stay on model!").
The portfolio of an experienced storyboard artist will show that they were solving deeper problems: following the script, but also
a) reflecting the vision of the director (five people are talking, but we are following the emotional journey of our protagonist as she reacts to the others) and,
b) carefully meeting the demands of clear storytelling (the pacing of cuts to compliment story beats for emotional impact, and sequential transitions that don't cross the line of action) and,
c) addressing the strength and limitations of the tools that will be used in production (this is going to be a 3-camera set piece, using a full-body shot of the whole group, a mid-range shot of our protagonist framed between A and B whose body language shows that everyone is arguing, and a close-up shot of her face and shoulders).
The one time I storyboarded a feature film, I sat down with the director, and we went through the entire script. I took notes and iterated quick thumbnail sketches as he explained the story to me line-by-line. That way, I could make sure that my finished storyboards would really reflect his vision, before he started using them to share his vision with his cast and crew.
The same depth of experience can be seen in a UX research portfolio. Looking through the stories, you can see shallow skill - a questionnaire, a storyboard - but if you look more closely, you will also see richer and more complex issues being addressed.
-- THE PORTFOLIO --
The stories in my research portfolio reflect decades of experience in quickly finding solutions to real-world problems that are rich and complex.
Very often, the clients who hire me want me to find simple solutions - even to problems that have plagued them for months or years. Sometimes I can, and sometimes the problem is actually the intersection of several things that have gone wrong in different places and at different times. Part of my job is to help stakeholders see the underlying issues that have to be addressed. Sometimes even the most narrow and specific problem requires a broad, systemic solution. Other times, a pervasive, business-spanning issue has a solution that is so childishly simple that the client has a hard time accepting that they hadn't seen it themselves.
In my Research Portfolio, I tell stories about both of these kinds of problems, and some that are more run-of-the-mill.
Each story illustrates one or more of the ways that I use the scientific method to provide clear and actionable solutions.
- John