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Aaron Levisohn
Principal User Experience Researcher at PagerDuty
Professional Background
Aaron Levisohn is a highly experienced User Researcher and Design Strategist who brings a wealth of knowledge in understanding the dynamics between people and the technology they engage with daily. Currently serving as the Principal User Researcher at PagerDuty, Aaron employs his expertise in user-centered design to drive innovative solutions and enhance user experiences. His previous roles have seen him excel at renowned organizations, including Scotiabank, Eastman Kodak Co., and Samsung Information Systems, Inc., where he has successfully conducted research utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Aaron’s versatile skill set encompasses usability studies, the implementation of software, hardware prototypes, and sophisticated research design that address complex design problems.
His strong academic background, complemented by practical experience, enables him to navigate various facets of the development cycle, from initial ethnography through to the final implementation. His keen interest in design thinking methods drives him to explore imaginative solutions to “wicked design problems,” ensuring that he utilizes his talents for research, ideation, and prototyping effectively.
Education and Achievements
Aaron's educational journey reflects his dedication to comprehending the intricate relationship between technology and human interaction. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) with a focus on embodied cognition and movement-based interaction from Simon Fraser University in 2014, where his research contributed significantly to the understanding of how physical movement influences interaction with technology. His foundational studies began with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder, which laid the groundwork for his analysis of visual narratives and user engagement in digital spaces.
He further honed his expertise by pursuing a Master of Science degree in Human-Computer Interaction/Interactive Design and Technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This educational pathway not only provided him with a robust technical foundation but also refined his understanding of user-centered design principles across various interactive mediums.
Notable Experiences
Throughout his career, Aaron has held several significant positions that exemplify his ability to blend research with practical application. As a Senior User Experience Researcher and Senior Design Strategist at Scotiabank, he was instrumental in developing strategies that enhanced the user experience across various digital platforms. His hands-on approach to user testing and research allowed him to produce valuable insights that informed design strategies and product development.
At The University of British Columbia, Aaron held the role of User Experience Design Researcher, where he utilized his research skills to improve the usability of various educational technologies. His time at Simon Fraser University included roles as Games Researcher, Project Manager, and Interaction Designer, focusing on integrating movement into interactive design, further showcasing his diverse talents in the field.
His work as a UX Researcher and Hardware Prototyper at Samsung underscores his capacity to bridge the gap between theoretical research and tangible user solutions, pushing the envelope in user experience within technological innovations. Through this wide array of experiences, Aaron has cultivated a holistic understanding of product design and user interaction, equipping him to solve complex design challenges creatively and effectively.
Skills and Expertise
Aaron Levisohn boasts a comprehensive skill set that positions him as a leader in user research and design strategy. He is proficient in a multitude of research methodologies, including:
- Usability Testing: Evaluating products by testing them with real users to observe and analyze their interactions.
- User Interviews: Conducting in-depth interviews to gather insights into user behaviors and motivations.
- Heuristic Evaluation: Identifying usability issues in user interface design through expert assessments.
- Contextual Inquiry: Gathering data about users in their natural environment to draw meaningful insights.
- Task Analysis: Studying how users perform tasks to inform design improvements.
- Card Sorting: Assisting in the organization of information architecture through user feedback.
- Persona Development: Creating detailed user profiles to guide design decisions and user experience.
- Rapid Prototyping: Quickly creating prototypes to test concepts and gather early feedback.
- Quantitative and Qualitative Research Design: Crafting studies to gather usable, actionable data.
- Descriptive Statistical Analysis: Analyzing data to support findings and conclusions.
- Ethnographic Research: Immersing in user environments to understand cultural and social contexts.
- Journey Mapping: Visualizing the user journey to identify pain points and opportunities for improvement.
His well-rounded abilities make him a valuable asset to any organization seeking to enhance user experience through informed design decisions and empathetic research practices.
Conclusion
In summary, Aaron Levisohn is a multifaceted User Researcher and Design Strategist driven by a profound passion for technology and its impact on user interaction. His educational achievements, combined with robust professional experiences across leading companies, reflect his commitment to advancing user-centered design practices. As he continues to adapt and grow in an ever-evolving technological landscape, Aaron's innovative contributions promise to shape the future of user experience for years to come.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.