Summary
When research is siloed it can lead to duplicative research of variable quality. In this talk, Andy explores the benefits (and challenges) of having a unified research & insights function, based on his experiences leading teams at Airtable, Instagram, and Dropbox. Further, Andy presents practical strategies to align diverse insight-generating functions, offering guidance even in situations where forming a unified team may not be possible. Through a detailed examination of real-world scenarios and Andy’s professional journey, attendees will gain valuable lessons and recommendations aimed at fostering a cohesive and effective research ecosystem.
Key Insights
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Research is conducted by many functions, not just UX researchers—termed insight-generating functions including customer support, data science, marketing, and finance.
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The main challenges in organizational research are duplicative studies, inconsistent research quality, and research noise from disconnected teams.
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Awareness across insight-generating teams prevents duplicated efforts and increases organizational efficiency.
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Quality gaps in research reduce trust in insights overall, leading executives to disregard who conducted the work.
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Customer connection is a better term than research democratization to empower non-researchers to engage meaningfully without lowering rigor.
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Creating a unified insights function helps set a clear bar for research craft and offers a coherent voice across the organization.
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Research reviews and centralized project trackers promote peer feedback, learning, and transparency.
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Insight primers synthesize market data, customer problems, and potential business impact to inform strategic planning.
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Insights councils foster cross-functional collaboration, reduce duplicated work, and encourage holistic thinking about customers.
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Starting small with close collaborators and proving value before scaling unified efforts is more effective than trying to unify all at once.
Notable Quotes
"Everyone does research, but not everyone does research with rigor."
"Research is more than just interviewing or having a conversation."
"Research is research to an executive—they don’t care which team did it."
"I much prefer customer connection over research democratization."
"We have all these different people throwing insights over the wall, and it's too much."
"What if we could create awareness of what each insight function was working on?"
"No more duplicative research, no more variable research quality, no more research noise—just a coherent voice."
"Start small, pick your closest collaborator, provide and prove value before trying to scale."
"You’re doing research for the company and the customer, not empire building."
"Research reviews improve quality, increase awareness, and provide learning opportunities."
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