Efficiently Scaling Research as a Team of One
Summary
In this Q&A session, you'll hear how former clinical researcher and PhD scientist, Clemens Janssen, is running research at 15x speed, supporting the needs of Nutrisense, an health tech company. As the first researcher, Clemens will share how he's built a research culture with training, standardized processes, and templates.
Key Insights
-
•
Transitioning from academia to corporate research is driven by the desire for faster impact despite adapting to a new pace.
-
•
Ad hoc research without formal processes limits organizational buy-in and impact.
-
•
Gaining buy-in from leadership is key to securing budgets, tools, and resources for research.
-
•
An ops-first approach to UX research helps scale research activities and onboard new team members efficiently.
-
•
Empowering product managers and other teams to conduct quality research increases overall research throughput.
-
•
Training and interactive mentorship ensure scientific rigor and consistent research quality when delegating research tasks.
-
•
Storytelling with real user learnings helps shift perception of research from ad hoc to essential and pattern-driven.
-
•
Research proposals framed around saving time and reducing iterations resonate well with leadership.
-
•
Building a shared codebook and involving interview teams in coding fosters consistent qualitative data analysis.
-
•
Even with a single researcher, implementing research Ops can enable multiple parallel research tracks.
Notable Quotes
"I transitioned out of academia because I wanted to work faster and create immediate impact rather than slow, layered processes."
"Research is actually a sales role – you have to show off a little to get buy-in from the top."
"People started asking if a pattern we'd seen in one user occurred in others, and that led to formalizing qualitative analysis."
"Without buy-in, you can’t get budgets approved or tools put in place to grow research practices."
"Ops-first means standardizing processes so we can scale and onboard new team members quickly."
"I can’t work 24 hours a day; efficiency and empowering others to do some research is how I stay effective."
"Before giving someone access to research tools, we do a 60-minute one-on-one training to cover the essentials."
"It’s like knowing how to drive a car doesn’t mean you can drive a semi; research has do’s, don’ts, and methodologies."
"If we test now, we’ll save two or three iterations waiting for organic user feedback later."
"Creating shared coding schemes and having teams do first-pass coding helps maintain consistency in qualitative analysis."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Flow principle reminds us to accelerate both the customer and the users to get their work done effectively."
Yunyan Li Anna Le Jen KimUX Best Practices
June 11, 2021
"Showing a clickable prototype beats still wireframes and style guides where people have to copy hex codes."
Allan LowsonRehashing the Double Diamond: Collaborating across functions with AI-assisted prototyping
June 9, 2026
"Every day is a chance to check: is this how I want to be? This is a long-haul, marathon effort."
Denise Jacobs Nancy Douyon Renee Reid Lisa WelchmanInteractive Keynote: Social Change by Design
January 8, 2024
"Research is seen as an adjunct to design, often missed in road mapping and strategic planning."
Renee BouwensLanding Product Impact: Aligning Research as a Foundational Driver for Delivering the World’s Best Products
December 15, 2023
"Democratization requires intentional investment; you can’t just add it as a bullet point on someone’s to-do list and expect it to work."
Jemma Ahmed Steve Carrod Chris Geison Dr. Shadi Janansefat Christopher NashDemocratization: Working with it, not against it [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
July 24, 2024
"Sometimes you’re too early. Don’t fear. File this away and keep your powder dry."
Sam LadnerHow Research Can Drive Strategic Foresight
March 9, 2022
"Designers adhere to standards not scientific ones, but design rigor tailored to dealing with complexity."
Yoel SumitroActions and Reflections: Bridging the Skills Gap among Researchers
March 9, 2022
"If you want to grow good grapes, you need to manage the vineyard well—but every vineyard has different demands due to its context."
Dave HoraResearch in the Face of Complexity: New Sensibility for New Situations
August 27, 2025
"Human beings understand graphical user interfaces as composed of objects and actions—this grammar is key to AI design."
Daniel J. RosenbergDesigning with and for Artificial Intelligence
August 11, 2022
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
How can designers validate AI tools to ensure they do not cause harm or misinterpretation by users?
What role can familiar communication channels like WhatsApp play in deploying AI tools in resource-limited settings?
Is there a plan to integrate third-party UX content or futures thinking into Rosenverse?