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
"Post-its give everyone an equal playing field, preventing dominant voices from overshadowing others in community conversations."
Justin Entzminger Terrance Smith Tracy M. Colunga Mai-Ling GarciaRisk and Reward: How to Diversify the Field of Civic Innovators and Designers
November 17, 2022
"The sponsor sessions are equal in quality and quantity as our main programming and completely free for anyone to attend."
Louis Rosenfeld Bria AlexanderDay 1 Welcome
September 23, 2024
"People work with autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Autonomy is very motivating."
Brenna FallonLearning Over Outcomes
October 24, 2019
"Machine intelligence can elevate experiences by easing frictions and amplifying human judgment and agency."
Josh Clark Veronika KindredSentient Design, AI, and the Radically Adaptive Experience (1st of 3 seminars)
January 15, 2025
"Design by means letting the people we serve lead the process and ourselves to drop our egos and let go."
Rachael Dietkus, LCSW Victor Udoewa Jennifer StricklandEverything You Need to Know about the Civic Design 2022 Call for Presentations
May 17, 2022
"Experimentation gives us the permission to innovate and is in fact an invitation to innovate."
Changying (Z) ZhengNavigating Innovation with Integrity
September 25, 2024
"I always see interviews as a two-way conversation where I’m interviewing them as much as they’re interviewing me."
Max Gadney Andrea Petrucci Joshua Stehr Hannah WickesAssessing UX jobs for impact in climate
August 14, 2024
"Testing with the tab key is important, but it has nothing to do with a screen reader user’s actual experience."
Sam ProulxEverything You Ever Wanted to Know About Screen Readers
June 11, 2021
"People may even forget why you are if you’re conversations that bring the best out of you as a human being."
Kit Unger Lada GorlenkoTheme 3 Intro
June 10, 2022
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
What are practical tools for participatory sense-making in service design?
How does the tech industry's performance calibration cycle influence career longevity and mindset?
How should service designers adapt their approach when working in different cultural and market contexts, like the US versus Europe?