Summary
Overcoming stakeholder objections and positioning qualitative data as an input to business and product strategy. When stakeholders have access to real-time data about millions of user interactions, how can qualitative researchers articulate the value of small-sample studies for product and business strategy? In this case study, we’ll show how we used our insights chops to understand stakeholder motivations and concerns, and get qualitative research a seat at the table shaping Google Assistant’s 2020 strategy. We’ll share learnings about how human-centered researchers can effectively collaborate with functions like data science and business strategy, and how to persuade analytically-minded stakeholders to embrace rich qualitative data about people’s needs and motivations as an input to business strategy.
Key Insights
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Taking calculated risks is essential for qualitative researchers to secure influence in organization-wide strategy discussions.
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Small qualitative sample sizes can still deliver powerful impactful insights when paired with quantitative data and trust building.
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Inviting stakeholders to interact directly with unfiltered qualitative data (e.g., video diaries) fosters genuine curiosity and advocacy.
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Physicalizing data, such as printing quotes and charts in a shared workspace, promotes team engagement and collaborative sensemaking.
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Converting one respected analyst into a research evangelist can change the conversations and perceptions of entire peer groups.
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Low-stakes, incremental experiments to share insights reduce resistance and create momentum for organizational change.
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Qualitative research offers deep understanding of user motivations and needs that quantitative data alone cannot provide.
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Researchers’ empathy skills are strategic tools to understand and influence stakeholders’ fears, incentives, and motivations.
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Successful qualitative efforts depend not just on methodology rigor but on bravery, leadership, and cultural positioning.
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Embedding qualitative insights into yearly planning cycles can shift research from an add-on activity to a core strategy input.
Notable Quotes
"If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair."
"We decided to jump off the wall—that scary leap to prove qualitative insights can change strategy."
"The surveys and logs data tell us the what, but qualitative research tells us the why."
"One converted analyst became our research associate, and his enthusiasm was contagious."
"Getting the data out of laptops and onto the walls made the research physical and accessible."
"It’s not about the methodology, it’s about bravery and leadership."
"Find those curious partners who will evangelize the value of your insights to their peers."
"Researchers are experts at empathy and understanding motivations, which are superpowers beyond just interviewing users."
"Small experiments, planting seeds over time, can shift hearts and minds more effectively than big radical changes."
"Our insights became pillars of the 2020 product strategy and qualitative research earned a reserved seat at the table."
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