Strategic Consulting: Increasing UX Influence and Impact

A Fortune 500 company asked us:

How can we increase our influence in the organization and scale our UX team?

We answered:

A client came to us with concern that their team wasn’t getting the respect or credibility they needed from stakeholders within the organization to truly influence product development with insights from research. With a team that needed guidance in how to yield more actionable results, the client asked for our advice in how to scale their team to become more effective researchers that would be able to have influence in the organization.

Through our conversations, we came to understand they needed the following:

1. Guidance from our skilled research team on how to run complex, strategic qualitative studies
2. Assistance managing research logistics to improve their internal processes
3. Guidance and mentorship in scaling their UX research practice to maturity

Outcome:

Our approach brought in the expertise of our senior research team, guidance from our project management practice, and strategic consulting around UX influence and educational training for their researchers. After developing a deep understanding of the product, AnswerLab ran a handful of studies end-to-end for their team and subsequently provided consultative support on studies led by their own researchers.

To support their team during this engagement, AnswerLab:

• Helped with project planning, scoping, and recruiting
• Observed research sessions alongside stakeholders
• Coached their team through the reporting process to help them create a self-sufficient, sustainable research process.

Improving Research Operations and Participant Recruiting

One area the team was able to significantly improve was recruiting as they often struggled to find the right participants for their studies. It was clear that their vendor relationship needed a tune-up. In addition, a lack of clear communication with stakeholders on what the key recruiting criteria should be for specific studies was also hindering their ability to get the right people through the door.

AnswerLab’s project managers oversaw all aspects of recruitment and field logistics for several projects to ensure they ran smoothly and efficiently while mentoring their research team on these best practices in the field.

Mentorship and Education Opportunities

Throughout this engagement, we emphasized mentorship and educational opportunities for their team. To help elevate their researchers to a position of influence and UX maturity, we held trainings on key topics in UX research in addition to observing sessions and advising them during the research process. With topics from reporting techniques to tips on presenting to stakeholders, these workshops were done in context over the course of several real-world studies. By doing this professional development training in conjunction with the research, the team was able to build their in-house capabilities and apply their learnings to future research.

Want to learn how to maximize your UX influence? Take our UX Influence Quiz and glean key tips and recommendations on what to do next.