My Research Process

Iterative, collaborative research.

 

I tailor my research process to meet the unique goals, timelines, and constraints of the stakeholders I’m partnering with. Although every project is different, I generally utilize the following approach:

  • 1. Discovery & Definition

    To understand the business goals of the teams I’m partnered with, I conduct upfront discovery work to properly scope my research and align my methods with desired outcomes. I also use this time to understand the problem space I will be exploring. Depending on how well-defined the team’s goals are, I often accomplish this through:

    - Stakeholder interviews

    - Alignment workshops

    - Literature review

    - Document review

    - Review of industry reports

    - Product roadmap assessments

  • 2. Research Planning

    Leveraging information gathered during my discovery and definition sessions, I begin research planning and identify the best approach for uncovering desired insights. I believe research planning should be iterative and collaborative, so I include stakeholders throughout the process to generate buy-in and alignment on my proposed approach. This generally includes:

    - Identifying project objectives, research questions, and hypotheses to test

    - Selecting research methods based on desired outcomes, timeline feasibility, and business objectives

    - Defining user groups to target for our research

    - Creating a screener and recruiting participants

    - Creating a research plan and project timeline

  • 3. Conduct Research

    Since no study ever goes completely according to plan, I believe in adopting an iterative approach when conducting research. As I conduct a study, I regularly evaluate whether the format I am using is working and make changes to my plan accordingly.

  • 4. Analysis & Synthesis

    I select my data analysis and synthesis approach based on the type of data and fidelity of insights we need to make decisions.

    One of my strengths as a researcher is my ability to balance rigorous research practices with business constraints. I will adopt a scrappier synthesis approach with more informal reporting if I am working on a short timeline where my stakeholders need rapid directional results. If the team needs more robust findings and has a longer timeline, I will utilize a more methodical, systematic approach.

  • 5. Make Insights Actionable

    Research insights are only valuable if they can be understood, socialized, and utilized by the teams taking action on them. As a result, I work closely with stakeholders early on to understand the outcomes they are hoping to achieve utilizing data from my research. I use that knowledge to shape how my findings are presented and the types of deliverables I build towards.