So you’ve completed your customer interviews - but now what? How do you make sure that you’re creating the right insights based on all of your data? How do you advocate for your findings across product development, especially when they conflict with business objectives? In this presentation, Jess will share how to set yourself up for success in the most important part of the user research journey - After Research. Learn how to effectively synthesise your qualitative data, create reusable and actionable insights & advocate your research across your team.

1. After Research
Jess Nichols
Creating Useful & Well Executed Research Outcomes
Slido: #afterresearch

2. My big f*** up.

3. Research is less about the act of research,
and more about how you share it.

4. Before During After

5. Before During After
What outcomes do you need to achieve to ensure your research has impact?
Are there OKRs or strategy to guide your research outcomes?
What knowledge gaps exist?

6. Before During
Synthesis - Analyse data to create
insights
Share - Create artefacts and
narratives to distribute what you
learned.
Impact - Ensure research is
in
f
luencing outcomes.
After

7. Synthesis can be
challenging but is worth it.

8. “If I had asked people what they
wanted, they would have
said faster horses.”
- (not) Henry Ford

9. “What people say,
what people do &
what they say they do
are entirely different things.”
- Margaret Mead

10. Insights are from patterns of
behaviours or attitudes.

11. I went to a single customer
interview and they said we should
change this feature…
so we should change it!
🧑💻

12. I went to a single customer
interview and they said we should
change this feature…
so we should change it!
🧑💻

13. I went to a single customer
interview and they said we should
change this feature…
so I attended more research sessions and looked
at the existing data & research we have and
found that it has been consistently
mentioned so I think we should
change it!
🧑💻

14. I went to a single customer
interview and they said we should
change this feature…
so I attended more research sessions and looked
at the existing data & research we have and
found that it has been consistently
mentioned so I think we should
change it!
🧑💻

15. Focuses on having a structured
information architecture and
f
inding insights that
f
it within an
existing mental model.
Having a prede
f
ined information
architecture can constrain you from
discovering novel insights.
Focused on organic analysis
and the a
ff
inity of data to
f
ind
their insights.
An organic process requires a
more extended timeframe to
conduct your analysis.
#TeamSpreadsheet #TeamStickyNote
You can also blend these two options.

16. #TeamSpreadsheet #TeamStickyNote

17. Orange Rose Petunia Lime
Tulip Emerald Pineapple Ruby
Apple Green Lily Lilac
Diamond Yellow Daisy Sapphire
How would you group these?

18. Orange Rose Petunia Lime
Tulip Emerald Pineapple Ruby
Apple Green Lily Lilac
Diamond Yellow Daisy Sapphire
Colours?

19. Orange Rose Petunia Lime
Tulip Emerald Pineapple Ruby
Apple Green Lily Lilac
Diamond Yellow Daisy Sapphire
Fruit?

20. Orange Rose Petunia Lime
Tulip Emerald Pineapple Ruby
Apple Green Lily Lilac
Diamond Yellow Daisy Sapphire
Flowers?

21. Orange Rose Petunia Lime
Tulip Emerald Pineapple Ruby
Apple Green Lily Lilac
Diamond Yellow Daisy Sapphire
Gemstones?

22. There is no single right
way to analyse your data.

23. Use OKRs, research questions or
journey
f
lows as your north star.

24. Be comfortable with con
f
lict.

25. Groups should be equally MECE.

26. Combine the what with the why.

27. Use quantitative trends to identify
qualitative research opportunities.
Quantify what you learn
through a survey.
Scope Generalize
Match behavioural data with
your customers’ perspectives.
Validate
Qualitative + Quantitative

28. Insights are the
sticky stories you
want to tell about
your customers.

29. Answer your original research
questions.
Advocate for your customers’
needs that may not have
been considered.
Answer Advocate
Make it clear to your teams
how to action what you’ve
learned about your customers.
Action
Creating Insights

30. You will always have bias.

31. When your participants will
agree with everything you say.
Friendliness Social Desirability Habituation
Bias in your participants
Source: https://www.quirks.com/articles/9-types-of-research-bias-and-how-to-avoid-them
When participants will try to
respond with the “right” answer
rather than what they think.
When your participants
provide the same answers to
questions that are worded in
similar ways.

32. Bias in your analysis
Source: https://www.quirks.com/articles/9-types-of-research-bias-and-how-to-avoid-them
When you form a hypothesis or
belief and use respondents’
information to con
f
irm that belief.
Con
f
irmation Culture Halo Effect
When you make assumptions
based on your, or your
participants’ cultural lens.
When you see something in a
positive (or negative) light
because of a single data point.

33. The
f
irst time you Share should
not be at the end of your project.

34. Take teams on your
research journey.

35. “Tell me and I forget,
teach me and I may remember,
involve me and I learn.”
- Benjamin Franklin

36. Get on your team’s level.

37. Put yourself in
your team’s shoes.

38. Share early and often.

39. Sharing throughout the journey
Slack channels for status
updates, team visibility and
help to unblock.
Invitations for stakeholders to
join research sessions through
shared calendars.
‘Watch Out’ preview sessions
with key stakeholders to remove
any controversial insights.

40. Be your research’s
biggestadvocate.

41. Advocating for your research
Who else in your team is excited
about your research and can
amplify what you’ve learned?
People Process Platform
How can you bring traceability
to your
f
indings through product
development processes?
How can you store your research
in an async, accessible and
personalised way?
• User Stories
• Requirements Documents
• References in Designs
• Designers
• Marketing & Product Marketing
• Other Product Managers
• Researchers
• Share on Internal Wikis
• Creating team Looms or
presentations
• Bite sized insights on Slack

42. How I’ve advocated for my research
Different presentations
for different teams
Loom to summarise
f
indings async
Comments & conversations
across the team.

43. Creating research Impact is a
marathon, not a sprint.

44. Direct impact explicitly
connects to a business
outcome.
e.g. quantitative research, evaluative approaches & experimentation.

45. e.g. qualitative research, foundational or generative approaches.
Indirect impact in
f
luences
decisions for business
outcomes.

46. Know your lifespan & in
f
luence

47. The outcomes of the research
won’t change signi
f
icantly with
product changes.
E.g. User Needs, JTBD.
The outcomes of the research
will change signi
f
icantly with
product changes.
E.g. Usability Testing,
Product Requirements.
Evergreen Expiry

48. Desirability
Feasibility Viability
User Research
answers this
User Research does
not answer these

49. Desirability
Viability
Is solved by Understanding the Market
(e.g. SWOT analysis, market trends, competitive analysis)
Is solved by Understanding our Users
(e.g. user needs, JTBD, usability testing)

50. Expect
Tension.
What trade offs can you
make that still enable
the product experience
to meet the user needs
you have identi
f
ied?
Desirability
Feasibility Viability

51. Celebrate your impact,
no matter how small.

52. TL;DR
To create useful & well executed outcomes:
• De
f
ine how you want to create research impact at the start of your project.
• Use OKRs, research questions or journey
f
lows as your north star - there is no
one right way to analyse your data.
• Your insights should be sticky stories that you want to tell your customers.
• Take your teams on the research journey - there should be no surprises.
• Be your research’s biggest advocate - look for people, process & platform
opportunities to in
f
luence.

53. AfterResearch
Q&A
jess@jessnichols.com
@jessnichols
(Twitter / LinkedIn)
jessnichols.com
Slido: #afterresearch