Building a Research Program

My UX practice was always rooted in research. When it became clear that knowledge gaps were stifling design and product development progress, I knew the solution was to set up centralized Research Ops. 

System map of the new feedback processes

DELIVERABLES

Presentation Decks, Journey Maps, Flow Charts, System Map

METHODS

Stakeholder Interviews, Co-Design, Contextual Inquiry, Needs & Constraints Assessment

ROLE

Lead

 

Objective

As a team of one, kickstart two new processes: Begin qualitative research and create a Research Ops framework.

Why Research Ops was needed:

  • Pain points were going unaddressed

  • Feedback wasn’t centrally cataloged or fully utilized

  • Departments were unaware of each other’s insights

  • Overlapping and off-brand requests were overtaxing our email list (noted in feedback)

 

Execution

I led a co-design session with the CCO to define the scope for executive leadership.

Needs assessment:

  • Validation and discovery via qualitative methodologies

  • A recruitment processes

  • A repository available to the entire company

 

Collaboration

I shadowed teammates from each department to understand what tools they use and their qualitative data needs.

 

Impact

The process resulted in system map to help each stakeholder team easily initiate, allocate resources, compile and share research data across the company.

  • Better, universally accessible tools

  • Actionable insights on demand

  • Customer outreach with a unified brand style, tone, and voice 

 

Reflection

Contextualize the need - It took two tough presentations to sell this program. Like our users, our leaders were also med students once. They had broad insights but didn’t appreciate the granularity of data needed by UX, marketing, and engineering.