Research After UX
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
"Some managers felt undermined because they were part of the delivery team rather than just overseeing it."
Catherine BlizzardUsing Integrated Insight to Drive Growth
March 10, 2022
"Consent is ongoing; check in repeatedly during interviews about participants’ comfort and willingness."
Uday Gajendar Rachael Dietkus, LCSW Dr. Dawn Emerick Dawn E. Shedrick, LCSWLeading through the long tail of trauma
July 7, 2022
"One of the best parts is seeing people from Ops, recruiting, marketing and product interacting together in Slack."
Roy Opata OlendeHow Zapier Uses ‘All Hands Research’ to Increase Exposure to Users
August 6, 2020
"We need to work on relationships with stakeholders because that’s how things get done in complex systems."
Boon Yew ChewMaking Sense of Systems—and Using Systems to Make Sense of the Enterprise
June 6, 2023
"Splitting people’s allocation across different teams created work-life balance issues requiring more oversight."
Alicia MootyDesign Staffing Models
September 30, 2021
"Discomfort is literally part and parcel of the design process and a core practice for trauma-informed practitioners."
Ashley Cortez Devika Menon Nidhi Singh Rathore Danita J. Reese Mari NakanoShifting Toward Community-Led Innovation in Local Government
December 8, 2021
"AI is not naturally testable in the same way as code; service design will become even more important."
Samuel ProulxInvisible barriers: Why accessible service design can’t be an afterthought
December 3, 2024
"It’s dangerous to believe everything AI says or to believe nothing. We must find a balance."
Tina WeisserWhen AI Agents Meet Reality. Service Design Lessons from a Pilot
February 26, 2026
"It is everyone’s job to care about and contribute to making our workplaces an inclusive environment for all."
Pippa LomasPaving the Path for Neurodiversity in Design
October 4, 2023
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
How do you ensure a product vision is grounded in customer pain points and business opportunities?
How can UX practitioners build influence within healthcare organizations where clinical outcomes dominate decision-making?
How do organizations integrate customer feedback, survey data, and interview transcripts into a single research repository?