Maegan Pisman, PhD

“Maegan and I worked together at Instawork. During our time together, Maegan consistently demonstrated exceptional skills in conducting user research and gathering valuable insights. Her ability to plan and execute research studies, including usability testing, interviews, and surveys, was truly impressive. She was adept at selecting the appropriate research methods and tools to effectively uncover user needs, preferences, and pain points. Additionally, she possesses the technical acumen and ability to collaborate with data teams to translate complex data into actionable recommendations, providing valuable guidance for product design and development teams. What sets Maegan apart is her strong communication and collaboration skills. She is skilled at presenting research findings in a clear and concise manner, making complex information accessible to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. She actively engages with cross-functional teams, fostering an environment of open communication and knowledge sharing. It was a pleasure working with her at Instawork, and I have no doubt that she will continue to excel in her future endeavors.”

“Maegan headed the UXR function at Instawork, building it from the ground up. We initially partnered together on foundational work where she built user personas/segments for our professionals - giving us a new view into their backgrounds, motivations and work profiles. I and others on BizOps often leveraged the qualitative research Maegan and her team produced to validate hypotheses and add more colour to our data insights, ultimately helping the business make better decisions. For anyone looking for a great UXR leader, Maegan’s the person you need! I look forward to working with her again. ”

“Maegan and I worked at Instawork, and during our time together, I had the opportunity to witness how methodical and holistic her work can be. She was the sole researcher supporting a product organization of over 30 people—a challenging task, as research requests tend to come from all directions. She recognized the inefficiency of ad hoc research conversations and strived to make every interaction with team members valuable. As a result, we now utilize Dovetail to leverage insights and contribute to the repository ourselves, thanks to her foresight. From fostering member empathy to uncovering product improvements, Maegan worked diligently to inform the entire company. Any company would be fortunate to have her!”

“Maegan was everything I could have asked for in a manager and more. As the sole UX Researcher at Instawork, she fearlessly pursued opportunities to deeply understand our users and created the infrastructure to share those learnings across the company. A part of that work was building my ResearchOps role from the ground up to strengthen and accelerate research at Instawork. She struck the perfect balance of positive and constructive feedback to help me continuously refine my outputs, prioritize my workload, and strengthen my communication skills. Moreover, she guided me in documenting the impact of my work and actively encouraged my growth in the ResearchOps position. I have learned a tremendous amount from working alongside Maegan. She consistently draws powerful connections and asks nuanced questions about our users that demonstrate her depth of experience in the field, and drive informed decision-making. If you are looking for a powerhouse of a researcher, a cross-functional ally, or a holistically supportive manager, you've found your person.”

“Maegan was one of the most valuable cross-functional team members in our group. Though we never worked directly together, I frequently saw her insightful contributions aligning our teams on product vision and removing ambiguity. She was also vocal about calling attention to problems we were facing, both technical and organizational, and was often a key contributor for getting important changes into practice. She's also simply a delightful person that brings a lot of positivity, creativity, critical thinking, and energy to everything she engages in. 🙂”

“Maegan is so incredibly dedicated and systematic in her work. It was amazing to watch her tackle spinning up UX Research as a new function at Instawork and masterfully tackle countless large challenges. Maegan was instrumental in gathering, analyzing, and publishing an incredible amount of data our company never had access to before. Our ability to make critical decisions as a company and product/design orgs impacted in a massive way.”

“I had the pleasure of working with Maegan as my project manager while volunteering for visiShare/supportVisuals. Her professionalism and positive attitude made her an exceptional leader and I learned a great deal from her during my time there. The project was about creating an accessible database of visual resources for neurodiverse populations. I served as the brand designer, and I worked with Maegan to develop a brand that aligned with best practices and the research we conducted. Maegan was able to give me insightful feedback and guidance every step of the way. She showed a deep understanding of the research material, and her leadership skills were essential to making the project a success. For these reasons, I strongly recommend Maegan as an outstanding project manager. I am confident that she will greatly benefit any organization that she contributes to.”

“Maegan and I have worked together at a fast moving, concept stage, mission driven organization for about a year. She regularly contributes in the form of product knowledge and objectives, as well as intuitively formed user stories. Her knowledge and experience in developing a business and instituting processes have been invaluable. Maegan teams up well with the engineering team, performing all tasks within the system and finding great solutions. She is a great addition to any team.”

“I had (and still have) the pleasure of working with Maegan on an important new platform to help nonprofits. Maegan started on my team as a user researcher and analyst. Maegan not only performed these responsibilities beyond my expectations but also stepped up to take on more responsibility where she saw it needed. Maegan has become a reliable and necessary member of the team that has driven, and continues to drive initiatives and results. She is a team leader as well, helping ensure project progress continues and tasks are fulfilled. She has the ability to see the 'big picture' while also keeping eyes on day to day elements. I feel lucky to have her on my team and would recommend her in a heartbeat to any new prospective employer who is considering adding her to their team.”

“Maegan is an interdisciplinary strategic thinker, Behavioral Scientist, and UX Researcher who excels in utilizing research to bridge gaps, align teams, and develop research objectives based on product vision, strategy, and short/long-term goals. She is highly skilled in cross-functional collaboration, using her experience as an educator to communicate clearly and effectively. She has created internal artifacts and processes to facilitate collaboration. Maegan advocates for the user at every step of the way by being user-centric and focusing on why user behaviors occur. I've enjoyed working with Maegan as I appreciate candidness, ambition, and scrappiness when working in startups and Maegan possesses all of these traits.”

“Maegan is a strategic thinker and skilled in research, strategy and relationship management. I've seen how Maegan navigates complex UX and business problems that fosters cross-functional collaboration and inclusive participation of teams involved. Working together on a volunteer project, I've also appreciated how Maegan communicates with clarity and professionalism and shows up for her team when it's time to tackle our objectives and accomplish our tasks at hand.”

“I've worked with Maegan on the supportVisuals project at UX Rescue. She is a highly talented UX Researcher specializing in behavioral analysis. I got to see her expertise especially in the research phase of the project where she mentored the researchers and led the team in the right path to gather insightful data on the needs and preferences of disability communities. I would highly recommend Maegan as a skilled UX researcher.”

“Dr. Pisman is a talented behavior analyst and an incredible advocate for the children and families she works with and the field at large. She has done a phenomenal job with increasing the accessibility of services within her community and across multiple countries using her extensive experience providing behavior analytic services via telehealth. Her dedication and passion for the dissemination of behavior analysis have resulted in successful collaboration across many disciplines. I highly recommend her as a service provider, mentor to new behavior analysts, consultant to behavior analytic companies, and as an educator in the field of applied behavior analysis.”

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Maegan on a project focused on helping nonprofits. She always shows up with a positive attitude and pushes to make our project better through data driven insights. Not only is she well versed in myriad UX research methodologies, she helps the team distill complex ideas to digestible points. She would make a great addition to any team. ”