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User experience research and product beta testing are now a core phase of product development, where researchers work with existing or likely users to better understand how they engage with a product, what they like and dislike about it, and what adjustments made to the product would make it easier to use or more likely to be used. Who is selected to offer input (stakeholder selection) is an important aspect of user experience research, requiring careful consideration of which set of stakeholders or users to prioritize. Usually, this means focusing on the largest base of users (trying to identify the “average” user). The most aligned application of stakeholder engagement for user experience research and product beta testing would be to seek “edge” cases or users who exist outside the “average” or “typical” case, therefore working with people who are very socially marginalized, such as those who are criminalized (e.g., people who identify as LGBTQ+ in areas where same-sex relationship are illegal). One key concern for UX research and beta testing is that currently, as it is applied, it is integrated into later stages of product development, when stakeholders may not be largely consequential (meaning they would affect minor features, but not the broader conception of the product). This risks misapplication, where stakeholder engagement is turned into an instance of “participant washing,” where participants are expected to give it a “seal of approval” before release.
A dating app is planning to expand to more non-U.S. markets. Currently, the dating app supports LGBTQ+ relationships, meaning users can 1) identify with gender categories that best describes them (beyond the gender binary) and 2) match with people regardless of gender identity (including same-gender matches or matches with trans or gender non-binary individuals). The team agrees that additional user research is needed to best understand how to expand into new, non-U.S. markets in order to replicate the positive app experience they have with their U.S. users.
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