Stretched Thin - Tips for Growing Your UX Research Team (2019)

As UX Research teams mature, they typically start to engage in more up-front, formative and generative research. The result of that tends to be a shift in collecting findings to collecting insights. The evaluative research which produces surface-level understanding of problems and solutions which ultimately has a short shelf-life gets replaced with a deep understanding of user behavior agnostic of a user interface, brand, or even specific product. The real insights that are gained from this research end up having a longer shelf-life because these real-world behaviors don't change as often as UI patterns and conventions. For example, the findings from a usability test from 2014 that showed confusion around a hamburger menu aren't relevant anymore because the hamburger menu has become a convention that most people understand. On the other hand, an insight into the process of purchasing a home from 2014 is probably still pretty relevant. Some of the online tools and details have changed, but there still exists a process of narrowing down neighborhoods and homes, putting in offers, getting a loan, and filling out a lot of daunting paperwork.

There are a few ways that research teams get to this point—bottom up, which involves building trust, asking more questions, and showing value—or top down, which can come through new company initiatives or new upper or middle management.

Something that I've learned lately is that even if all of those things fall into place—you've developed your up-front research techniques, you've gained the trust of your stakeholders, you're involved earlier on in the process—there's still one thing that can hold you back from really committing to that up-front research. And that thing is resources.

When you’re stretched thin, the work of being a strategic partner can quickly collapse back into being a service provider. The bandwidth it takes to plan and execute formative research, synthesize findings, and drive alignment often gets cannibalized by the immediate need for fast usability tests and quick-turn feedback. The challenge is that even if everyone agrees on the value of deeper research, the day-to-day demand for tactical validation can eat up all the air in the room.

So what do you do when you don’t have enough time, people, or energy to do it all?

1. Do fewer projects—and do them well.

2. Automate evaluative research wherever possible.

3. Find partners with a propensity toward research.

Do fewer projects—and do them well.
This is some of the best advice I’ve ever received, and also the hardest to follow. The instinct when you’re short on resources is to spread yourself thinner, to say yes to more in hopes of staying visible or helpful. But focusing on fewer, higher-quality projects almost always creates more lasting impact. The quality of the insights, the strength of your relationships, and the clarity of your recommendations all increase when you have the space to go deep. It can be easier to do this in some organizations than others—especially those that already value quality over quantity—but when you pull it off, it tends to build confidence in the research function. That confidence, in turn, becomes your best argument for more resources and a larger team.

Automate evaluative research wherever possible.
If you’re spending too much time running usability tests on small UI changes, it might be time to automate. Tools like UserTesting, Maze, or PlaybookUX can handle unmoderated testing for prototypes or live experiences, both pre- and post-launch. These approaches won’t replace a seasoned researcher’s judgment, but they can cover a lot of ground efficiently and free up your time for more strategic work. For quick feedback, platforms like Mechanical Turk or UsabilityHub can provide discount validation methods—just make sure you’re using them for the right kind of questions. The key is to offload repetitive, lower-risk evaluative tasks so your human expertise is applied where it really matters.

Find designers (and others) with a propensity toward research.
One of the easiest and most sustainable ways to expand your bandwidth is to identify people around you who have a natural curiosity and an instinct for research—and empower them. Designers are often the most obvious candidates, but PMs, content strategists, and even engineers can play a role. When you invest in helping others ask better questions and interpret findings more effectively, you’re not just multiplying capacity—you’re spreading a culture of evidence-based decision making. Over time, this can create a virtuous cycle: the more non-researchers see the impact of good research, the more they want to participate. Sometimes this requires a bit of nudging (and some support from leadership to make space in people’s workloads), but it pays off in the long run.

When resources are tight, you can’t manufacture more hours in the day, but you can make deliberate choices about where your time and effort will have the most lasting effect. The goal isn’t to do everything—it’s to make sure that what you do has enough depth and rigor to move the organization forward.