Summary
In this Q&A session, we'll hear how Liza Pemstein, Research Operations Manager at Clever, built a robust research practice at one of the fastest-growing EdTech companies. Identifying the friction in the process experienced by design, product, engineering, and marketing, Liza has streamlined and scaled research. She'll share how she got started, what she's learned and what she's excited about in 2023!
Key Insights
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Clever operates research with no dedicated UX researchers, relying on designers and product managers to conduct studies supported by research operations.
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Liza Pennstein’s background in customer solutions helped her spot opportunities to improve research feedback loops and participant management.
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Introducing a single managed payment method for participant incentives significantly reduced complexity and increased efficiency.
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Building a centralized participant database simplified recruitment and lowered barriers for anyone in the company to conduct research.
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The research ops role at Clever evolved from organizing fragmented efforts toward enabling high-quality, standardized research practices.
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Liza created the ROKS program (Research Ops Knowledge Share) to break down silos and share methods and templates across teams.
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Fostering researcher confidence and excitement was a priority before focusing on raising research quality and best practices.
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Clever balances guidance and intervention with a hands-off approach to allow teams to experiment and develop skills gradually.
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There is an acknowledged limitation to not having dedicated UX researchers, with an eventual desire to hire them as research matures.
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The next steps involve training, workshops, building a research repository, and experimenting with new methods like unmoderated research.
Notable Quotes
"Research is a sales role at heart—delivering value to people drives sustainable growth."
"I wasn’t an expert UX researcher; I’m an operations person who listens and solves problems and removes friction."
"Let me take the incentive management off your plate—just file a Jira ticket, and I’ll handle it."
"Everyone was doing research differently and reinventing the wheel; my job was to organize and support."
"We want to build confidence first, then focus on increasing quality and best practices."
"Research is a group project; learning is a group project—you don’t have to be an expert to contribute."
"If people aren’t catching fish, then maybe it’s time to help them learn better techniques."
"Start small and test the waters, then be decisive and lean into your hunches and decisions."
"Sometimes the most annoying small problems are the best places to start to build momentum."
"We want to get people excited about trying new methods, like unmoderated research, so they can do more with limited headcount."
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