Summary
Moving the research function out from UX can transform how insights influence product-making in an organization. In this talk, Nalini explains how and why she led this shift for her team at Salesforce, as well as the move’s effect on their work and impact. Nalini will also share lessons learned in the process - “the how to’s” and the “absolutely how not to’s” - that may inspire and guide leaders and individual contributors alike.
Key Insights
-
•
Decoupling research from UX can provide researchers with more agency to frame broader business problems beyond design.
-
•
Identity work is a fundamental challenge when moving research out of UX, requiring careful leadership attention.
-
•
Playing the long game through persistent business case building and internal socialization is essential for organizational change.
-
•
Research teams positioned alongside product management, engineering, and data science gain higher visibility and influence.
-
•
Measuring research impact becomes more complex but broader, shifting from simple metrics like study counts to influence and strategic involvement.
-
•
Research operations functions are crucial infrastructure that enable scalable, efficient research beyond UX.
-
•
Control over budget and headcount advocacy improves significantly when research reports outside UX.
-
•
COVID-19 amplified issues around identity and belonging for team members during organizational transitions.
-
•
In B2B companies like Salesforce, much product decision-making happens before UX, necessitating research involvement earlier in the lifecycle.
-
•
Providing reassurance and support for new research skills helps ease team anxieties during structural changes.
Notable Quotes
"What happens if research does not report into UX? What might happen if we uncouple research from UX?"
"We made this move in January 2020 — our research and insights team moved out of UX but stayed within product organizations."
"Conscious uncoupling is about identity — how one thinks of oneself defines oneself and how others define you."
"I believed we could do more — more for the company, customers, stakeholders, and ourselves if we had more agency."
"Our research practice was perceived largely as design testers, empathy vehicles, and policing functions — a narrow, reactive role."
"After the move, our work had more impact, more visibility, and we're present across the entire product life cycle."
"Research operations is the spine of any successful research and insights group."
"For the first time, I was able to advocate for funding directly for the research function at high executive levels."
"I underestimated how much identity our team tied to UX and how scary that loss felt to many of them."
"Our shift is structural, not because of personalities — it was needed to influence earlier, more business-centric decisions."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Mastery is a core human motivator; people want to understand and feel competent in what they do."
Cheryl PlatzEmbrace Your Fun Factor: Game Development Best Practices for Product Design
January 9, 2026
"Jazz has those rules of engagement."
Jim KalbachJazz Improvisation as a Model for Team Collaboration
June 4, 2019
"We are all more service design facilitators, bringing the right people together to create the right outcomes."
Shreya Dhawan Victor Udoewa Xènia Viladas Florian VollmerMaking service tangible: the fastest path to higher performance
November 19, 2025
"We cut the claims editing process in half—four pages and 10 steps down to one page and four steps."
Jen CardelloStandardizing Product Merits for Leaders, Designers, and Everyone
June 15, 2018
"Collective consciousness cannot be asked to happen overnight; it’s a game of patience."
Jacqui Frey Dan WillisPanel Discussion: Integrating DesignOps
November 7, 2018
"We need to be mindful and sniff out whether the small data we’re using is still fresh or already expired."
Iulia CornigeanuQuantQual Book Club: Small Data
March 8, 2024
"Simple word-list based filters can easily be tricked by misspellings or slight variations in prompts."
Ian JohnsonLatent Scope: Finding structure in unstructured data
June 11, 2025
"If you’re not doing anything about accessibility, you’re discriminating against your future self."
Elana Chapman Li Wen Huang Divyen Sanganee Annabel WeinerGetting started with accessibility research
February 20, 2025
"Fight to communicate your passion in a way that is digestible for other people."
JD Buckley Margot Dear Jim Kalbach Janaki KumarCOMMUNICATE: Discussion
June 14, 2018