Summary
Everyone is talking about democratization of research–distribution of research across teams. That's not new. The conversation has shifted from whether to democratize, to how, and how much. In this panel we'll talk about different approaches to holding on, and letting go, to UXR in an org. We'll cover: Pros and cons of different approaches Lessons learned the hard way How to think about a model that works for your org And more!
Key Insights
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Small centralized research teams can enable distributed research by empowering product managers, designers, and marketers to conduct their own user research.
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Recruitment, especially for B2B user research, is a major blocker that limits democratized research uptake.
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Providing detailed, step-by-step training and tools is crucial to help non-researchers execute and manage research effectively.
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A hybrid model combining centralized strategic research and decentralized project-level research work well in practice.
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Many stakeholders in democratized research struggle with writing briefs, recruiting, and moderating without support.
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Decentralized research often faces challenges with incomplete analysis and reporting, threatening insight quality and organizational learning.
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Note-taking grids and templates with taxonomy help reduce bias and standardize analysis across multiple independent researchers.
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Affinity mapping is a challenging but teachable skill critical for cross-participant synthesis in distributed teams.
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Embedding research into early product planning and quarterly cycles helps balance reactive requests and strategic initiatives.
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Recruitment fatigue among repeat user participants requires centralized coordination and planning to minimize outreach.
Notable Quotes
"If we can't provide that as a service, then we need to make sure the teams are equipped to do research on their own."
"Two researchers can't come close to digging into the customer problems across 17 product teams."
"Recruitment is so difficult, especially for B2B where we need to speak to very specific customers."
"People will do research, or at least talk to customers, whether you want them to or not. It's about making it better for everyone."
"Our biggest challenge was that stakeholders weren't ready to write their own briefs or run the recruitment independently."
"I worry about analysis after the fact because that's when the bias really can come in — is it observation or assumption?"
"We try to create note-taking grids with taxonomy so people can code and reduce bias during synthesis."
"Affinity mapping looks easy but is actually a very difficult learned skill that requires iteration and coaching."
"Embedding research planning into product cycles lets us better match bandwidth to requests and reduce redundancy."
"Many democratized studies get launched but never get reported on, which is a big challenge for building benchmarks."
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