Research After UX
Summary
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
"We have to be advocates for growth mindset and process improvement because people fall back on old ways even in times of change."
Greg PetroffSoftware as Material—A Redux
June 6, 2023
"Participation is one way to minimize loss of control and allow people to exercise their agency and autonomy."
Sarah FathallahA Typology of Participation in Participatory Research
March 28, 2023
"Crisis is an opportunity, and user research must claim a louder, prouder voice on brand leadership."
Neil BarrieWidening the Aperture: The Case for Taking a Broader Lens to the Dialogue between Products and Culture
March 25, 2024
"It is not our job to know all the answers, but to make sure the right questions are asked."
Jay BustamanteNavigating the Ethical Frontier: DesignOps Strategies for Responsible AI Innovation
October 2, 2023
"It needs to be a strong structure, not necessarily super pretty, but the foundation your team sits upon and the roof above its head."
Cassandra PiesterDeveloping and Deploying Your Design Operations Strategy
September 24, 2024
"The poetic and humanistic aspects of design are getting squeezed out by prescriptive delivery models."
Uday GajendarThe Rise of Meta-Design: A Starter Playbook
May 19, 2022
"A centralized model for design systems can be problematic because it distances the team from end users."
Dan DonaldDesign Systems as a Vehicle for Systemic Change
June 1, 2023
"The design ops menu is not a buffet; teams cherry pick what they actually need."
Brennan HartichCommunicating and Establishing DesignOps as a New Function
November 7, 2018
"Mini apps might not be useful for you, but they are for someone, and now those people can have them."
Matt WebbContext Window: Five Futures for AI
June 11, 2025
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
What are the challenges of demand charges in residential solar rate plans and how can they be managed automatically?
What practical steps can researchers take to reframe their contributions and build allies?
What strategies help reframe the difficult business development work when going independent?