Dana SmithamAnaconda
Research, within reach.
Designing Pulse to make research-backed knowledge useful in the moments teams make decisions.
Screens and interaction examples below come from a portfolio recreation. Its responses are simulated. The original internal tool was grounded in Anaconda’s research, with guardrails and monthly evaluations.
Our researchers had become the search engine.
At Anaconda, I noticed researchers fielding repeated questions in Slack: where to find a study, what we knew about a user group, and how a persona might respond to a product idea.
People wanted to use research. But a readout, a recording, or a folder full of decks still left them with the work of finding the relevant insight. Each question could send them back to the research team.
I saw an opportunity to make existing knowledge discoverable in the moment a decision was being made.
The next question starts the same loop. Research access depends on a person’s availability.
Routine discovery becomes self-directed. Unanswered questions create a reason to return to researchers.
Make the knowledge useful. Keep the evidence close.
Start with existing research
The internal Pulse tool connected research-backed personas and archetypes to Anaconda’s research database. New research could update the grounding.
Bring it into everyday decisions
Give teams a way to explore needs, question assumptions and examine PRDs or designs before deciding what to investigate with users.
Keep human research essential
Persona feedback helps generate hypotheses. Interviews, surveys and usability testing continue to establish what real people need and do.
Meet the person. Then explore the question.
Pulse Personas & archetypes screen · Click to enlarge
Click the image again to return to the compact view.A recognizable entry point into user needs.
Six illustrated persona cards combine role, archetype, working context and the need that matters most. A profile opens without losing the surrounding workspace.
From profile to perspective.
The Data Scientist profile brings goals, a typical workflow, working habits, pain points and decision criteria into one detail panel. “Chat with Maya” opens Persona lab with that perspective selected.
The lab keeps the selected persona visible alongside suggested questions, conversation and related research links.
Actual Data Scientist detail panel in Pulse · Click to enlarge
Click the image again to return to the compact view.Suggested prompt or typed message → simulated response → related research
PRD review or Design walkthrough → choose file → review with selected persona
Pulse reviewing an illustrative Markdown PRD with detected mentions and potential gaps · Click to enlarge
Click the image again to return to the compact view.Turn a proposal into better questions.
This walkthrough uses an illustrative Markdown PRD about notebook environment context. Pulse returned requirements to check, potential gaps, adoption concerns and a suggested acceptance test.
In this live demonstration, text and Markdown use local keyword inspection. Images, PDFs and Word files receive persona heuristics without parsing their contents. These outputs are synthetic feedback, not participant evidence.
Several ways in. One connected workspace.
The navigation gives research, people and exploration distinct homes. This map reflects the current app’s visible structure.
Overview
Research coverage Signals worth acting on Fresh perspectives
Research library
Study discovery
Personas & archetypes
Six profiles Persona comparison Four behavior patterns
Persona lab
Perspective selection Conversation PRD / design review
Connected insights
Dedicated navigation destination
Submissions
Research submission entry
Organized around the decision.
A task map connecting the research-access problem to the product’s observed entry points and the next human decision.
A workspace with a human pulse.
The actual screens carry the visual language: charcoal surfaces, lime actions, rounded panels, illustrated people and compact context labels. The board below uses crops from those captured screens.
Actual persistent sidebar navigation · Click to enlarge
Click the image again to return to the compact view.Persistent navigation
A stable workspace frame across profiles and exploration.
Actual illustrated persona card · Click to enlarge
Click the image again to return to the compact view.Persona identity
Character, role and archetype make each perspective recognizable.
Actual review input controls and primary action · Click to enlarge
Click the image again to return to the compact view.Contextual actions
Review type, chosen file and selected persona stay together.
A new way to reach what we already knew.
Pulse came from watching where our team’s time was going. I designed and shipped an internal tool to make research-backed knowledge available beyond a live presentation or a link to a recording.
My contribution was recognizing the access problem, shaping the product idea and designing how people could engage with personas and research in their daily work.
The value I was pursuing was more space for researchers and better questions from the rest of the company. Demonstrating that value would require tracking repeated requests, discovery success and the quality of follow-up research questions. I’m not claiming measured gains from this demonstration.
The original internal-tool account describes research grounding, guardrails and monthly accuracy reviews. The live app shown here is a simulation with local review heuristics. Its screens illustrate interaction design, not verification of that production architecture.
Your next challenge.
Our next conversation.
Let’s talk about your team and what comes next.