How do you advocate for user research and validation within your organization and industry?
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One of the most effective ways to advocate for user research and validation is to show how they align with and contribute to the business goals and vision of your organization and industry. You can do this by linking your research questions and validation methods to the key metrics and outcomes that matter to your stakeholders, such as revenue, retention, satisfaction, or growth. You can also demonstrate how user research and validation can help you avoid costly mistakes, reduce risks, and increase efficiency and quality by validating your product decisions with data and feedback from real users.
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Pretty much any business activity that isn't aligned with the organisation's business goals is of likely dubious value, and this is no exception. So be clear about which of the organisation's goals are the most relevant, and demonstrate how user insights can directly contribute to achieving these goals. Examples (fairly general ones) may include increasing customer satisfaction, reducing churn, or improving conversion rates. Conducting user interviews or surveys using tools like UserTesting or SurveyMonkey can help you identify user pain points and preferences. Feed this into product development - and into marketing as well.
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Ideally in the corporate world, product managers would need to build/enhance products that would roll up to the organizational goals. On the other hand, in the startup culture, sometimes you would try many things quickly and go with what works better. Whatever may it be there is a need for research and analysis. I have had scenarios where I had to use the user metrics to convince executive leadership to agree to changes which would have been very unlikely if I did not have substantial numbers to showcase my hypothesis.
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In my experience, advocating for usеr rеsеarch and validation is crucial to aligning with business goals as it еnsurеs that product dеvеlopmеnt and management is customеr-cеntric. By understanding usеr nееds and prеfеrеncеs, organizations can crеatе solutions that rеsonatе in thе markеt, drivе usеr satisfaction, and ultimatеly contributе to businеss succеss. Usеr rеsеarch mitigatеs risks, еnhancеs product-markеt fit, and fostеrs innovation in a way that aligns sеamlеssly with ovеrarching businеss objеctivеs.
Educate and involve your stakeholders in the process and the benefits. You can do this by communicating clearly and frequently about the purpose, scope, methods, and results of your user research and validation activities, and using storytelling, visuals, and examples to make them engaging and memorable. You can also invite your stakeholders to participate in or observe some of your user research and validation sessions — such as interviews, surveys, usability tests, or prototypes — and encourage them to ask questions and share their insights and feedback. This can help them gain a deeper understanding of your users and the value of user research and validation.
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Make it a collaborative effort by involving stakeholders in the research process, using tools like Miro or MURAL for virtual workshops. Empower them to see firsthand how understanding users leads to better products and outcomes.
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Advocate for user research еducate stakeholders on its pivotal role in mitigating product risks and еnhancing usеr satisfaction. Usе compеlling usеr storiеs, highlight thе potеntial impact on ROI, and involvе stakеholdеrs in thе rеsеarch procеss to cultivatе a sharеd undеrstanding of usеr nееds. Dеmonstrating thе corrеlation bеtwееn usеr insights and businеss succеss is kеy to fostеring a culturе of usеr-cеntricity.
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Stakeholders will more naturally want to be involved and informed if you have done the work to relate user research back to broader product and business goals. Some suggestions that have worked well: host workshops or "lunch and learn" sessions to educate others in the organisation about the methods and benefits of user validation. Often you will have some interesting stories and anecdotes from your testing, so be sure to use some of the more memorable (and relevant!) ones. Invite interested stakeholders to participate in user testing sessions or analysis of user feedback - they may well learn things of relevance to their specific roles too (example tools: Mixpanel, Hotjar). Also, share user research findings via presentations.
Leverage the existing resources and networks that you have access to within your organization and industry. You can do this by seeking out and collaborating with other teams or departments that are already doing or interested in user research and validation — such as design, engineering, marketing, or customer support — and sharing your learnings and best practices with them. You can also tap into the external sources of user research and validation knowledge and expertise — such as online communities, blogs, podcasts, books, or events — and use them to learn new skills, find inspiration, or connect with other advocates.
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Engage with industry forums, attend conferences, and network with professionals to gather insights and best practices. Leverage internal champions and stakeholders to emphasize the importance of user-centric approaches. Encourage cross-functional collaboration to integrate user feedback into product development processes effectively.
Experiment and iterate with different approaches and techniques, and measure and showcase their impact. You can do this by starting small and simple, and using low-cost and low-fidelity methods — such as interviews, surveys, or paper prototypes — to test your assumptions and hypotheses with a few users or segments. Use agile and lean principles — such as MVPs, sprints, or feedback loops — to iterate and improve your product based on user research and validation results. You can then use quantitative and qualitative data — such as metrics, analytics, or testimonials — to show how user research and validation have helped you deliver better products that meet your users' needs and expectations.
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Great product organisations have a culture of continual learning through experimentation and iteration. Always be an advocate of this in your company! Encourage teams and leads to adopt a lean, agile approach to product development, where user validation is integrated into each stage of the process. There are tools like Optimizely or Google Optimize that can help with A/B tests and multivariate tests on content, features, and design. Important: share case studies of successful experiments, what you learned, and how these led to improved user experiences and business metrics (again, related back to outcomes of importance for the company overall).
Be persistent and proactive in your efforts and actions. Set clear and realistic goals and expectations for your user research and validation activities, and track and report your progress and challenges regularly. Seek out and act on opportunities to promote and share your user research and insights with your organization and industry. You can also anticipate and address potential objections or obstacles — such as time, budget, or scope constraints — and propose solutions or alternatives that can help you overcome them.
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If you are always learning and testing, you will always have new and interesting insights to share. Keep looking for opportunities to integrate user insights into product decision-making processes. Be proactive as well in identifying areas and times where user research can add the most value, such a before launching a new feature or entering a new market. You should manage a backlog of research questions and prioritise them based on potential learning and impact (useful tools for this: Trello, Airtable).
Build a culture of user research and validation within your organization and industry. Foster a mindset and attitude of curiosity, empathy, and learning among your colleagues and peers, and encourage them to adopt user research and validation practices in their own work. Create and maintain a repository of user research and validation data and insights — such as personas, journey maps, or reports — and make them accessible and usable for everyone. Celebrate and reward the successes and failures of user research and validation, and use them as opportunities to learn and improve.
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