← Back to Case Studies

Starz internship overview

Role: UX Researcher Intern
Responsibilities: Usability testing, problem definition, documentation, presenting user pain points and recommendations.

Introduction

STARZ was a foundational experience for me as I explored what it truly means to work as a UX researcher. At the time of my internship, I was deeply interested in software development and building interactive systems. What I discovered at STARZ, however, was that I was even more energized by understanding the people behind the screens: their motivations, frustrations, and decision-making and translating those insights into thoughtful design recommendations. This internship helped me confirm that UX research was not just a complementary skill to development, but the direction I wanted to pursue fully as I prepared to enter a master’s program focused on Human-Computer Interaction and UX Research.

What I learned Overall

During my time at STARZ, I gained hands-on experience conducting end-to-end UX research within a real product organization. I worked closely with UX leadership, designers, product stakeholders, and fellow researchers to:

• Frame research questions that aligned with business and product goals
• Design studies using both qualitative and quantitative methods
• Analyze behavioral data to uncover actionable insights
• Communicate findings clearly to inform product decisions

Across multiple projects, I learned how research scales, from focused usability questions to broader foundational studies, that inform long-term strategy.

Skills & Methods Gained

• UX Research Methods
  • Unmoderated usability testing
  • Surveys and structured interviews
  • Foundational research and persona development
  • Visual attention analysis (eye-tracking with Feng-GUI)
• Analysis & Synthesis
  • Task success and completion metrics
  • Thematic qualitative analysis
  • Translating research findings into product insights
• Collaboration & Communication
  • Stakeholder alignment and research planning
  • Presenting findings to cross-functional teams
  • Time management across multiple concurrent projects

Manager feedback

Kira entered her internship with a baseline understanding of usability research after conducting an independent website analysis of CU Boulder’s web services. This allowed her to hit the ground running and start completing independent work in her second week. She completed 6 research projects, including a large foundational project in which she defined 3 user personas based on marketing data and 3 rounds of user interviews. Kira is hardworking, motivated, and driven, and it was a pleasure to work with and get to know her.

Selected Projects

Below are three core projects that represent the range of research I conducted at STARZ. Each case study highlights a different scale of UX research, from focused usability evaluation to foundational work.