Dialing for Research: How to Reach the Unreachable
Summary
Key Insights
-
•
Razorpay’s design team integrates research ownership into designers and product managers to enable autonomy and faster decisions.
-
•
They hire design candidates based on first principles problem-solving abilities rather than classical design vocabulary or processes.
-
•
The Indian SME market often operates offline with limited digital readiness, making phone calls a more effective user research channel than Zoom or email.
-
•
Razorpay evolved from rigid, uniform research processes to flexible checklists and guidelines that prompt designers to consider risks and perspectives.
-
•
A core cultural value at Razorpay is user obsession enabled by empowering teams to directly speak to users and own insights.
-
•
Support or NPS feedback triggers prompt direct phone outreach to users, shifting from immediate problem-solving to broader research conversations.
-
•
The company encourages humility and self-awareness about unknowns to surface open-ended questions and holistic product understanding.
-
•
Research calls vary in length from a few minutes to over an hour depending on context and user availability.
-
•
While effective in smaller or early-stage products, direct calling methods face scalability challenges for larger product lines.
-
•
Embedding research philosophies into documentation and communication processes serves as constant reminders for designers to maintain rigor.
Notable Quotes
"If you are building a product for someone, there's always context loss when problem identification and solutioning are done by different teams."
"We prefer candidates who might not have traditional design vocabulary but can think about problems from first principles."
"The Indian business ecosystem is very diverse and many are not tech or internet ready, so phone calls end up being the best way to engage users."
"Initially we asked designers if they followed the process, but now we give them checklists as perspectives to consider rather than strict rules."
"The checklist starts with: have you checked if this is an actual problem, and how are users currently solving it?"
"Most users want a quick resolution, so many calls start as problem-solving and then transition to open-ended research conversations."
"Founders are hard to recruit for research, so showing genuine interest by solving their problems helps turn them into advocates."
"Scalability is a concern; this direct calling approach works best in early-stage products with smaller user bases."
"The focus is on helping teams take better decisions, not handholding them through every step."
"Embedding our design philosophies into our communication docs acts as a constant reminder to designers."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Scaled Agile felt at first like a step backwards—design looked like just the finishing touch, not a key ingredient."
Erin HauberDesign is Not the Frosting on the Scaled Agile Layer Cake
October 24, 2019
"The more senior you become, the more focus shifts from methodology to interpersonal qualities like empathy and bravery."
Megan KiersteadYou Are a Badass at UX: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
March 10, 2021
"We maintain structured flexibility so we can move people where the work is regardless of politics or whatever else is going on."
Maggie DieringerCreating Consistency Through Constant Change
January 8, 2024
"Avoid too much upfront discovery that delays value and traps you into a fixed plan."
Meaghan Waters Fotina KoutropoulousLack of Product Thinking will Doom Your Legacy Modernization
June 9, 2021
"User research is answering bigger questions now — not just if it works, but what we should build and who we should target."
Jemma AhmedBringing together market and user research
October 17, 2019
"Knowledge management solutions must focus on both the explicit knowledge that can be documented and the tacit knowledge that resides in people’s experiences."
Maria TaylorKnowledge is Power: Managing the Lifeblood of the Design Org
October 3, 2023
"Getting accessibility integrated into all company processes is essential because accessibility is a culture change."
Sam ProulxUnderstanding Screen Readers on Mobile: How And Why to Learn from Native Users
June 6, 2023
"We created a decision tree to help junior staff decide which stakeholder requests to triage and which to respond to directly."
Catherine BlizzardUsing Integrated Insight to Drive Growth
March 10, 2022
"I hadn’t realized that we were both going to need that advice."
Randolph Duke IIWar Stories LIVE! Randy Duke II
March 30, 2020
