As a UX researcher, you know how important it is to deliver valuable insights on time. But managing deadlines can be tricky, especially when you have multiple projects, stakeholders, and uncertainties. You might be making some common mistakes that can jeopardize your research quality, credibility, and impact. Here are some of them and how to avoid them.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a UX researcher is not defining the scope of your research project clearly and realistically. Without a clear scope, you might end up wasting time and resources on irrelevant or redundant questions, methods, or participants. You might also face scope creep, where the expectations and requirements of your project change or expand over time, making it hard to meet your original deadline. To avoid this mistake, you need to align with your stakeholders on the research goals, objectives, questions, methods, deliverables, and timeline. You also need to document and communicate your scope clearly and frequently, and negotiate any changes or trade-offs as soon as possible.
There are six key things to answer with your stakeholders when planning a research project: - What business problem are you trying to solve? - Who are the stakeholders' stakeholders? - What are the constraints of any solution that comes out of the research findings, and are they negotiable? - What are the risks of the program or solution itself, including likelihood, impact, and how to mitigate them? - What has been done before in terms of discovery or design? - What is the desired timeline, Getting these answers upfront sets a foundation for manageable, meaningful, and actionable outcomes and impact.
To solve the business problem, identify stakeholders and their reach. Assess the negotiability of solution constraints. Evaluate risks (likelihood, impact) and mitigation strategies. Review past discovery/design efforts. Clearly define the desired timeline for effective project planning. Regularly review and adjust the project plan as needed, involve stakeholders in decision-making, and foster a collaborative team culture.
Another common mistake you can make as a UX researcher is not prioritizing the tasks that are essential for your research project. Without a clear sense of priority, you might end up spending too much time on low-value or low-impact tasks, such as polishing your presentation slides or tweaking your survey questions. You might also miss some important tasks that are critical for your research quality, such as recruiting the right participants, conducting a pilot test, or validating your findings. To avoid this mistake, you need to use a prioritization framework, such as the Eisenhower matrix, to categorize your tasks based on their urgency and importance. You also need to set realistic and measurable milestones, and track your progress and performance regularly.
Involve stakeholders in prioritization. Do this with the simplest of questions, such as "If you could have only one of these two studies done, which would it be?" You may be surprised at how quickly priorities emerge and nice-to-haves drop off. This works best by showing only two, three, or four asks at a time, requiring dropping at least one. Know that this can be hard for researchers to do, because we are such helper and high-achiever types that we want to do it all! In most cases disciplined prioritization like this results in better quality work, higher sense of ownership on your part, and greater respect from stakeholders who see you model making high impact choices through this process.
A third common mistake you can make as a UX researcher is not delegating the work that can be done by others. Without a good delegation strategy, you might end up doing everything by yourself, which can lead to burnout, stress, and poor quality. You might also miss some opportunities to leverage the skills, perspectives, and feedback of your team members, collaborators, or external partners. To avoid this mistake, you need to identify the tasks that can be delegated, such as scheduling interviews, transcribing recordings, or creating reports. You also need to choose the right people to delegate to, based on their availability, expertise, and interest. You also need to provide clear instructions, expectations, and support, and monitor the outcomes and results.
A fourth common mistake you can make as a UX researcher is not managing the risks that can affect your research project. Without a good risk management plan, you might encounter some unexpected issues or challenges that can derail your research process, such as technical glitches, participant dropouts, or stakeholder disagreements. You might also lose some valuable data, insights, or opportunities that can enhance your research impact. To avoid this mistake, you need to identify the potential risks that can threaten your research project, such as data loss, ethical breaches, or methodological flaws. You also need to assess the likelihood and severity of each risk, and develop some mitigation and contingency strategies, such as backups, alternatives, or buffers.
A fifth common mistake you can make as a UX researcher is not communicating the status of your research project to your stakeholders. Without a good communication plan, you might create some confusion, frustration, or mistrust among your stakeholders, such as your clients, managers, or users. You might also miss some feedback, input, or approval that can improve your research quality, relevance, or alignment. To avoid this mistake, you need to communicate the status of your research project regularly and effectively, using the appropriate channels, formats, and tones. You also need to share your progress, challenges, findings, and recommendations, and invite questions, comments, and suggestions from your stakeholders.
Depending on the project and team, syncing up with stakeholders is very important. Scrum calls, daily or weekly standup calls, daily task documentation is important along with JIRA/confluence tickets. If not provided by your manager, you can create your own to keep tabs of tasks completed, pending, not done on a daily basis. Also, add blockers/questions for the team so they get sorted well before time. Communication is the key but also documentation.
In my experience, providing visibility of how you project is going (regardless of the insights themselves) is key. Having frequent touchpoint with stakeholders to update them on the # of interviews conducted, the first results, the problems you might encounter... has many benefits. First, if you are on track, it will show them that you'll meet the deadline. Second, if you are running late (for whatever reason), you give them the opportunity to anticipate and organize themselves to remedy the situation. Finally, it creates some kind of momentum and generates enthusiasm for your insights presentation !
Common mistakes for UX researchers managing deadlines include: Underestimating Time: Failing to accurately estimate research duration leads to rushed work and compromised quality. Overcommitting: Taking on too many projects simultaneously results in stretched resources and missed deadlines. Ignoring Flexibility: Not accounting for unforeseen issues or changes in project scope leads to deadline delays. Poor Prioritization: Failing to prioritize tasks can result in focusing on less critical aspects, impacting crucial deliverables. Lack of Communication: Inadequate communication within teams leads to misunderstandings, affecting timelines.
All of the above !! They are all true and hold equal importance. Lack in either of them can cause the team to be demotivated or project to be at loss. At the commencement of the project itself, ask the client about requirements, stakeholders, pain points, and possible timeline. Create your own UX timeline as per that and get approvals. and communicate to the team and client of every possible hiccup or achievement or requirement. Effective communication solves most issues !!