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Summary
Three of your research colleagues discussed and defended their respective positions (below) on what UX research can learn from other research practices. Participants engaged with them in a discussion and Q&A, facilitated by Brianna Sylver. "UX research is inherently future-oriented. An anthropology of the future can offer more distinguished and nuanced ways to explore the meaning of users' expectations, anticipations, hopes, and speculations." – Nicole Aleong "UX research should learn more from market research, a larger and more mature field in which it has roots. Market research is a multidisciplinary field with an extensive collection of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies that have been used to support product development decisions to deliver business outcomes for decades—no need to reinvent the wheel." – Michaela Mora "UX research is often viewed as cute, charming and 'nice to have.' For that perception to change in the market, we need to learn from those charging millions of dollars for their strategic research skills: management consultants." – Prayag Narula
Key Insights
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UX research can increase strategic influence by adopting management consultants' positioning and communicating value in C-suite language.
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Market research is a mature, multidisciplinary field with valuable methods UX research can learn to connect broader business context.
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UX research often focuses narrowly on digital product interactions, missing broader user experience dimensions like brand, price, and channels.
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Futures anthropology helps UX researchers distinguish between users’ expectations, anticipations, hopes, and speculations about the future.
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Many UX researchers spend time on tactical research at the cost of strategic, higher-impact work.
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Management consultants sell problem solutions, not research, which gives them greater perceived value and resources.
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Integrating market research, UX, and other research functions into unified research teams can break down silos and improve insight quality.
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UX researchers should confidently claim their proximity to customers as a unique expertise to gain influence and drive business decisions.
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Emotions triggered by research findings can guide researchers on what steps to take next in their professional growth.
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Foresight methodologies and futures anthropology complement each other, offering different emphases on understanding potential futures.
Notable Quotes
"Why do management consultants get to present directly to the board despite basic research? Why do they get seven-figure projects while research teams struggle for resources? - Pag"
"Market research is a hundred-year-old multidisciplinary field with extensive methodologies that UX can learn from to support business outcomes. - Micella Mora"
"User experience includes interactions with purchase channels, brand messages, and customer communications—not just product features. - Micella Mora"
"We tend to blend users’ expectations, hopes, anticipations, and speculations about the future into one stew, but futures anthropology helps us separate those out. - Nicole"
"Research that is tactical and templated stunts learning and reduces the impact of insights in organizations. - Micella Mora"
"Management consultants don’t sell research; they sell solutions to problems, and that’s why they command large fees. - Micella Mora"
"We need to think of our role not just improving workflows but acting as strategic leaders bringing real customer knowledge to the C-suite. - Pag"
"No one research discipline knows everything about a customer; UX research focuses on digital but must connect with other business insights. - Micella Mora"
"Integration is coming—market research, UX, and other disciplines will collaborate as equals rather than remain siloed. - Micella Mora"
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate but that we are powerful beyond measure—UX research holds untapped potential. - Nicole"
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