Product Manager Things User Researchers Should

User researchers working with product managers should keep several key considerations in mind to ensure effective collaboration and alignment with product development goals. Here are the top 10 things user researchers should know and ways to keep them in mind while conducting research:

1. Product Goals and Objectives:Understand the product manager's vision, goals, and objectives for the project. Align research questions and methodologies with product goals to provide actionable insights.Example: If the product manager's objective is to increase user engagement, focus your research on understanding what motivates users to interact with the product and identify any barriers to engagement.
2. User Personas:Familiarize yourself with user personas created by the product team. Use personas as a reference when recruiting participants and framing research questions.Example: When conducting user interviews, target participants who closely match the persona of a typical user, such as "Samantha," a tech-savvy millennial interested in fitness and wellness apps.
3. Product Roadmap:Stay informed about the product roadmap and upcoming features. Align research efforts with the product's development timeline to provide timely insights.Example: If the product roadmap includes plans to introduce a new payment feature, prioritize research on user preferences for payment methods and security concerns.
4. User Needs and Pain Points:Collaborate with product managers to identify key user needs and pain points. Prioritize research topics that address these critical user concerns.Example: Discover through user surveys that users struggle with the current onboarding process, leading to high dropout rates. Highlight this pain point to guide product improvements.
5. Feature Prioritization:Understand how product features are prioritized. Highlight the impact of user research findings on feature prioritization and development decisions.Example: After usability testing, you find that users struggle with the current navigation menu. Present your findings to the product team, influencing them to prioritize a menu redesign.
6. Validation and Iteration:Recognize that research is not only for validation but also for iterative improvement. Share insights that guide both initial design and ongoing enhancements.Example: While conducting usability tests on a prototype, you identify issues with the checkout process. Share these findings early to ensure iterative improvements before the product launch.
7. Communication:Maintain open and regular communication with product managers. Share research plans, findings, and implications throughout the research process.Example: Maintain regular meetings with the product manager to provide updates on research progress, such as sharing insights from recent user interviews or usability tests.
8. Quantitative and Qualitative Data:Combine quantitative data (analytics, surveys) with qualitative insights (interviews, usability tests) to provide a holistic view. Help product managers understand the "why" behind user behavior through qualitative research.Example: Combine quantitative data showing a drop in user engagement with qualitative insights from user interviews, revealing that users are dissatisfied with the current feature set.
9. Competitor Analysis:Stay informed about competitors' products and user experiences. Use comparative research to identify opportunities for differentiation.Example: Conduct a comparative analysis of similar mobile apps, noting how competitors handle user onboarding, and use this analysis to inform your own onboarding improvements.
10. Risk Mitigation:Collaborate on risk assessment and mitigation strategies. Identify potential usability or adoption issues early in the product development cycle.Example: During usability testing, you identify a critical usability issue that could lead to user frustration. Work with the product team to prioritize and address this issue to mitigate the risk of poor user adoption.

Incorporating these considerations into your user research activities can enhance your partnership with product managers and ensure that your research findings are actionable and aligned with the overall product strategy. Effective communication and a shared understanding of goals are key to a successful collaboration between user researchers and product managers.