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Summary
Organizations often start thinking about implementing operations support when they get to a certain size - when things start breaking or something goes massively wrong, when it becomes an imperative for existence. But there is massive benefit from building a research ops function much earlier on in your team growth. Saskia Liebenberg will explain how she's implemented research ops at Deliveroo in a team of 10 researchers, and how she's used the ResearchOps framework to build a strategy that supports the team in their specific context.
Key Insights
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Starting research operations proactively with a small team (5-10 researchers) creates big impact before complexity becomes overwhelming.
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A project manager background can translate effectively to research operations without deep prior research methodology expertise.
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Manual, hacky systems like spreadsheets and Trello boards are highly effective initial tools for tracking research projects and resources.
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Standardizing folder structures and applying project codes greatly improve data organization, retrieval speed, and GDPR compliance.
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In a small, co-located team, research Ops can be fully integrated, closely collaborating via one-on-one interviews and frequent check-ins.
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Dedicated recruitment coordinators supporting researchers with participant sourcing and logistics significantly boost research throughput.
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Research Ops roles are most effective when carefully distributing workload to avoid team burnout and keeping well-being top of mind.
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Research and design operations teams benefit from early collaboration and shared infrastructure in growing organizations.
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Scaling research Ops requires hiring specialized roles, e.g., knowledge managers and tools integrators, beyond a single generalist.
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Implementing governance and reusable processes early increases research capacity, morale, and retention within research teams.
Notable Quotes
"Proactive research Ops means starting before something breaks, not reacting when everything is already overwhelmed."
"It was daunting and controversial to rename project folders, but it helped me learn the work and improve consistency."
"If you solve the problems your users experience, they will trust you and come back to you."
"Our project codes make GDPR compliance easier and help track qualitative data context alongside quantitative data."
"Research Ops is not a one-person job; you will need more headcount sooner than you expect."
"Working embedded in a smaller team made it easier to consult the whole research team and create solutions together."
"The biggest thing I look for when hiring is someone who enjoys helping people with a self-directed and organized mindset."
"Researchers running like mad want to focus on craft, not logistics, so Ops removes that mental load from them."
"Aligning with other departments like legal is slow work, and you won’t always be a priority."
"Starting small and manageable allows rapid impact, enabling teams to move faster and be more efficient from day one."
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