Product Experience Practice Maturity Project -
Research Democratization Program Development

Context

During my time in Research Operations, the Product team was growing relative to the UX Research team - more designers, content strategist and product managers. The need for more research was evident. With the support of our UXR leader and across the Product Experience leadership, I kicked off discovery.

Approach

I have a FIVE(5) P’s framework that helped us go from start-up to scale.

  • Plan - I led secondary research gathering articles and perspectives from my LinkedIn network, sources like Nielson Norman Group, downloaded with other UXR folks, reviewed conference talks, etc. See below for a helpful visual to understand product gaps.

  • Policies - Understanding what worked in tech was great, yet, working in a regulated industry - health care - added complexity. I brought in a fellow team member to the team. We decided intentional guardrails were key and setup an initial proposal of unmoderated research only.

  • People - It wouldn’t be a UXR program without input from key stakeholders — I setup interviews with the research team and designers and content who expressed initial interest. A valuable outcome gained was learning about the key needs from both perspectives.

  • Partnership - With little time to make it all perfect, we moved forward with our own MLP (Minimum lovable program) which dovetailed nicely with an existing tool partnership. Following a few discussions, realized they had a training program and it was a fit. Budget was secured to try it - win! Following up on the policies - I developed a brief program guide, set a schedule and lined up the first cohort.

  • Progress (AKA party!) - One cohort in, the research started. I led an progress-check-in study to inform what worked well, what needed improvement, and informed ways to track impact. Two cohorts, over 50 people equipped to do research, and doubling our research impact…a little celebration was nice!

Reflections

It was a win to stand-up this initiative. It didn’t come without its hiccups, but it was a value-add for the Product team. The program was even recognized by our company and UserTesting. While research democratization efforts had once been controversial, I learned that the reality — these programs can be valuable assets for many teams. I witnessed a full program evolution and gained those lightbulb learning moments among the team.

  • Lead Content Strategist Testimonial

    “Christina is a gem. She shines bright, exudes warmth and always shows up with a smile on her face.

    In the time I spent with her at Teladoc Health, Christina led several large team meetings. She’s eloquent and engaging and has a wonderful way of bringing people together and captivating her audience.

    She led the Research Empowerment and Democratization program, which provides UXR training to non-research colleagues. With Christina at the helm, it was a well-oiled machine. The training was comprehensive and flexible. Christina provided a plethora of resources. She scheduled training sessions with vendor partners. She offered office hours and ample time to discuss research projects and ask questions.

    Christina kept us organized and she kept us moving, reaching out to check on our progress and motivating us to achieve our certificate of completion. With Christina, there is no ego. She took the time to share her team’s expertise with colleagues and empower them to learn new skills and conduct their own quality, ethically sound UXR.

    Christina is the epitome of a team player and a company culture advocate, and I am grateful I had the chance to work with her.”

  • Lead User Experience Research Testimonial

    “Christina is a versatile and agile product researcher, a champion of culture, an operational expert, and a natural public speaker.

    Christina co-launched and maintained a research democratization program, which helped scale our user research capacity immensely. She champions partnerships and effortlessly wrangles stakeholders. She led regular advisory board meetings to gain insights from our providers, working with PMs to prioritize questions and frame activities.

    In addition to her many accomplishments, her deep healthcare domain knowledge and empathic nature make her a valuable asset in many environments.”

Previous

Quant-focus UX Research Study
Next

Publications & Media