DRC is Dave Hora's independent consulting entity. I work with leaders and teams who want a better handle on product work and direction. We focus on constructive awareness, manageably-scoped efforts, and learning through deliberate action.
About Dave
I started work, briefly, as a developer and then a designer. I spent 10 years building the user research function into forward-thinking product organizations. It forced me to understand and adapt existing processes across traditional functional lines, with a deep look into design, operations, product, and strategy.
I'm fascinated by the creative process and the notion of skill, individually and collectively.
- How do we make good things?
- How does that work when groups of people are involved?
- What does it mean to master a craft?
- How do we teach and share our understanding well?
My perspective is built from an HCI and Cognitive Science background, the process of learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu as an adult, wide-ranging reading, and continual inspiration from architect Christopher Alexander's approach to the complexity of living structure.
I reflect and write about what I learn in Loops and Cycles and occasionally post longer-form articles on the site. Each year I hold time for a craft-sabbatical — wine harvest or sake season — and a good, long walk.
Talk and Workshop Index:
- Rethinking Interviews: Two Perspectives on Navigating Conversations Talk with Dr Lisa Koeman — April 2025, UXInsight Festival
- The Future of UX Research Podcast with Judd Antin and Christiana Lackner — June 2024, Awkward Silences
- The evolution of user research Podcast — April 2024, The Optimal Path
- Navigating the future of UX research Podcast — April 2024, Insights Ulocked
- Our Discomfort with Research Democratization Podcast — October 2023, Scaling Research
- Re-integrating Research into Product and Design — Miro Design Talk (private), August, 2023
- Research That Influences Workshop — Rosenfeld Media Advancing Research, March 2023
- Advice for Establishing Research — December 2022, Rosenfeld Media Advancing Research
- Research Ops: Research Skills Framework Workshop— May 2022, UX LX Conference
- A Research Skills Evolution — March 2021, Rosenfeld Media Advancing Research
- The Research Skills We Need to Succeed — February 2021, UXRConf Anywhere
- The Power of Pattern Language — September 2020, EuroIA Conference
- Working with the Research Skills Framework workshop — September 2020, UXinsight Festival (with Tomomi Sasaki)
- Tools for the Trek — February 2020, Interaction 20 Milan (w/ Tomomi Sasaki)
- Shaping Effective Research — October 2019, IXDA Berlin
- Elevating Design: Create a strategic plan to increase your impact — September 2019, EuroIA 19 (w/ Alissa Briggs)
- Considering Research: function & impact — June 2019, User Research London
- Research: Goal, role, having an impact — June 2019, Strive UX Research
- Lean Learning: Applied UX Research — October 2018, Develop Denver
- "Maps & Markers: enacting a strategy to transform your design team" — August 2018, Adaptive Path UX Week (w/ Alissa Briggs)
- Lean Learning: Applied Product Research — May 2017, NASDAQ's "The Center"
- UX Research for Live Products — January 2015, ConveyUX
