Research Strategy: Connecting Insights to Outcomes
Summary
User research is more than answering questions—it’s about driving real business impact. But how do we ensure that our work doesn’t just inform but truly influences decision-making? Too often, research teams focus on the “research ask” without fully aligning with the deeper business need. In this session, Dr Nikki Smith, Experience Research Manager at Enterprise Mobility, will explore how experience researchers can act as the connective tissue between insights and action, ensuring that research isn’t just a function—but a strategic driver of business decisions. She’ll discuss how to build business thinking into research practice, collaborate across teams, and communicate impact in ways that resonate with stakeholders. Drawing on real-world experiences from Enterprise, she’ll cover how research teams can shift their role from reactive support to proactive leadership, ensuring their insights don’t just land but lead.
Key Insights
-
•
Researchers frequently feel misunderstood, mishandled, and misused due to a disconnect between research language and business expectations.
-
•
Defining outcomes solely by KPIs can limit researchers because they rarely own all metrics relevant to stakeholders.
-
•
A strong research narrative clarifying what questions research answers helps align expectations within organizations.
-
•
Senior leaders often categorize research work into discovery (what is the problem) and evaluation (did we solve it).
-
•
Showing connective tissue and partnership across cross-functional teams enhances the strategic influence of research.
-
•
Researchers should position themselves as consistent strategic partners who contribute evidence-based decision making.
-
•
Making research rigor relatable requires simplifying complex findings into clear, customer-centered stories relevant to business priorities.
-
•
Visual storytelling and clear snapshots of problems and expected outcomes make insights more accessible to non-researchers.
-
•
Authentic company objectives can be discerned by observing organizational conversations and collaboration across teams.
-
•
Asking the right questions—understanding objectives, assumptions, and expected use of insights—is crucial for effective research impact.
Notable Quotes
"Researchers feel misunderstood, mishandled, and misused—no one really knows when to come to us or what questions we can answer."
"We’re never gonna know all the metrics important to all stakeholders unless we only work on one product, but we deliver outcomes in a different way."
"Senior leaders think about research in two buckets: discovery, telling me what the problem is, and evaluation, telling me how to solve it."
"The best partnerships depend on a mere common goal but a shared path of equality, desire, and no small amount of passion."
"You cannot start and you cannot end this without the talent that research teams bring to the table."
"Sometimes our research can feel intangible and inaccessible—not because answers aren’t there, but their impact isn’t clear."
"Just tell me what you’re telling me—executives want clear and simple narratives, not complexity and jargon."
"When you know yourself, you are empowered, you accept yourself, and you are invincible."
"I can tell when something is real when multiple teams are talking about it and planning together."
"The only thing harder than figuring out what you’re gonna do is figuring out why you’re doing it."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Trust takes time, hard work, and consistency to build, especially in times of change when time is a luxury we don't have."
Kim Holt Emma Wylds Pearl Koppenhaver Maisee XiongA Salesforce Panel Discussion on Values-Driven DesignOps
September 8, 2022
"Delivery gets missed at the right time often; sequencing, deployment, and adoption planning are critical."
Sean McKayWhole Product Thinking: Expanding beyond problem and solution space thinking
March 14, 2024
"I kind of use headings to get an overview of what's on a page, like a table of contents."
Samuel Proulx Laur BaekInclusive Research: Debunking Myths and Getting Started
March 12, 2025
"The hyperbolic discounting bias means researchers prefer immediate gratification over deferred rewards from reusable knowledge."
Ben Davies Matt Duignan Andrew Michael Dr. Emily DiLeoExpert Panel: The Principles of Research Repository Design
March 11, 2022
"In a team of two supporting 35 researchers, we planned a roadmap to focus on a few ops pillars at a time."
Marjorie Stainback Molly Fargotstein Stephanie MarshWhat Research Ops Professionals Have Learned from COVID-19
July 16, 2020
"You have to design for throw away ability because the majority of experience gets thrown away."
Bill ScottLean Engineering: Engineering for Learning and Experimentation in the Enterprise
May 14, 2015
"Design Operations is a massive force multiplier on your design team—it can increase output by at least 25 to 30 percent."
Bob BaxleyLeading with Design Operations Past and Present
December 19, 2019
"Screen readers let us jump directly to content, replicating visual skimming of a web page."
Sam ProulxSUS: A System Unusable for Twenty Percent of the Population
June 9, 2021
"Engagement at hiring, onboarding, and growth stages prevents talent churn."
Dante GuintuHow to Crush the Talent Crunch
September 8, 2022
