Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Landing Product Impact: Aligning Research as a Foundational Driver for Delivering the World’s Best Products
Summary
Rather than spend all our time validating product decisions late in the development lifecycle, researchers can (and should!) drive innovation. This interactive discussion will set researchers up with tools and product knowledge to impact change in roadmaps. Participants will hear real-world examples and learn how to drive a research roadmap against business strategy goals and KPIs and create stronger partnerships with Product.
Key Insights
-
•
Current market turmoil and AI emergence make demonstrating research impact crucial for job security.
-
•
Lack of visibility and CEO buy-in heavily limits research influence in product organizations.
-
•
"Agile fall" describes organizations that follow agile ceremonies superficially but skip true test-and-learn practices.
-
•
Product managers and requirements engineers often conduct research inadequately, introducing bias and devaluing insights.
-
•
Embedding researchers within product teams builds trust and domain expertise but is vulnerable to shifting priorities and leadership noise.
-
•
Strong collaboration with product owners is essential for research to influence prioritization and roadmaps effectively.
-
•
Aligning research activities explicitly with business KPIs and outcomes increases organizational impact.
-
•
Using diverse research methods—not just usability testing—tailored to the right stage improves insight quality and timing.
-
•
Maintaining accessible, updated research repositories tied to KPIs helps increase team and organizational awareness of research value.
-
•
Researchers must be nimble, scrappy, and proactive advocates to position themselves strategically in complex organizations.
Notable Quotes
"The sum is greater than the parts—how qualitative and quantitative research play together."
"I think the world we’re in is definitely not antagonistic to research, there’s a huge opportunity right now."
"We’re capturing requirements usually without research, design has to be 100% baked before development starts."
"It’s either too late in the product cycle and we’re wasting money because we find usability issues after development."
"Product managers are often prioritization focused, so they can bias themselves in research decisions."
"At Meta, one product partner said quality doesn’t matter because we’re bringing in $90 billion a year."
"Research is seen as an adjunct to design, often missed in road mapping and strategic planning."
"Every report should say this research is tied to this KPI, here’s the outcome we want to address."
"Analytics and research should work closely to explain what is happening and why it is."
"Being nimble means sometimes you have to throw out academic rigor and just do what’s practical at the moment."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"In jazz, the structure is head, I solo, you solo, then back to head—repeated often and universally."
Jim KalbachJazz Improvisation as a Model for Team Collaboration
November 6, 2017
"Evergreen content needs a strong perspective on why the topic matters along with practical examples on how to apply it."
Louis RosenfeldCoffee with Lou: Should You Write a (UX) Book?
March 7, 2024
"Propose new IC roles like a design problem: identify the need, gather research, and try it as an experiment with retrospectives."
Catt Small Micah Bennett Brian Carr Jessica HarlleeWhat's Next for ICs: Exploring Staff and Principal Designer Roles
February 22, 2024
"You might find that spending the most time getting people interested in collaboration is where the work really happens."
Marieke McCloskeyUser Science: Product Analytics & User Research
March 11, 2021
"User recordings are your most valuable asset but have become riskier due to biometric privacy laws."
Llewyn Paine[Demo] Deploying AI doppelgangers to de-identify user research recordings
June 5, 2024
"Synthetic controls create counterfactuals using historical data when no suitable control group exists."
Joshua NobleCasual Inference
October 6, 2023
"We need to think about who we’re sharing with, how they might react, and what motivates them."
Sara LogelYour Colleagues are Your Users Too
March 29, 2023
"Learning is a marathon, not a sprint, especially in the context of online conferences."
Bria Alexander Louis RosenfeldWelcome
January 8, 2024
"Timely interactions that log users out without saving progress cause abandonment, especially for people with disabilities."
Sam ProulxOnline Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience
June 7, 2023
