Evaluating human connection with Google Beam
Timeline
Oct 2025 – Apr 2026
Role
UX Researcher
Org
Methods
Rolling research, Moderated studies, Usability Metrics
MY MISSION
Building a rhythm for continuous learning with Beam
As a UX Researcher, I helped build a rolling evaluative research program that helped teams continuously learn, validate decisions, and improve experiences before launch.
Beam introduced me to an environment where research was already deeply embedded into product development. My role became learning how to operate within that system, scale its impact, and help teams move confidently from questions to decisions.
Beam in 30 seconds
Beam is Google's attempt to make remote conversations feel less like a video call and more like sitting across from another person.
Instead of focusing only on audio and video quality, Beam focuses on something harder to measure: the feeling of being present with someone. That meant our research wasn't just evaluating whether features worked, it was evaluating how interactions felt.
WHAT I DID
Anatomy of the rolling research program
Shipping a product built around presence and human connection meant even small interface decisions could alter how natural conversations felt.
My role wasn’t just to evaluate features individually, but to help teams build a shared understanding of what “good presence” actually meant across the system.
..where research operated in two modes..
EXPLORE NEW FEATURES AND INTERACTIONS
Understanding how new interaction perform against Beam’s key value indicators.
VALIDATE EXISTiNG FEATURES AND INTERACTIONS
Stress-testing how existing software and hardware interactions perform before launch.
…while feeding insights back into future product decisions.
This system allowed me to continuously balance discovery and confidence as Beam evolved towards launch
Special thanks!
"I brought Ambika onto my team to support research for Google Beam. Ambika was instrumental in establishing and scaling our rolling research model, a structured program that continuously generated insights to support our fast-moving product decisions. Her ability to run these research cycles at pace was critical in ensuring our design and engineering teams remained data-informed throughout the development process. Ambika did a great job of bridging the gap between research and product direction. She effectively connected insights from her research to team priorities and communicated them clearly to a wide range of stakeholders across design, engineering and product management. I can recommend Ambika as a great researcher who can perform disciplined research execution while clearly communicating insights."
Wanna hear more?
Please email me or enter the password from resume submitted to view the full case study.
