CONFERENCE TALK 2022
Mobile UX London
The Secret Ingredients for Impactful UX Research Outcomes
Talk introduction
In 2019, I found myself embedded as a UX Lead at a large biotech company—one eager to invest in digital transformation but uncertain about how to do so effectively. Several months into my new role, the ask was simple on the surface: build a dashboard. But once I started asking who it was for, what it should include, and why it mattered, it became clear that no one had the answers. The green light came from a VP who liked dashboards—not from any validated user or business need.
After pushing for a more strategic approach, something nagged at me: was I actually making a meaningful impact? Even when I was conducting solid user research, I wasn't seeing outcomes that reflected the amount of effort I put into aligning with stakeholders. This mismatch between expectations and reality led me to a deeper question: how do we ensure that the time and expertise we pour into UX research actually drive results?
That’s what this talk—and much of my recent work—has centred on: uncovering the “secret sauce” behind impactful UX outcomes.
Knowing your business model
To move research from merely useful to indispensable, I had to go beyond "user empathy" and get intimately familiar with business models. At a SaaS company software, we had loyal users but stagnant growth. I realised we were actually too focused on our users—mechanical engineers—and neglecting the customers actually making purchase decisions: the companies they worked for.
This led me to a new lens: not just product-market fit, but product-market-sales fit. I embedded myself with our sales team, ran qualitative interviews with procurement managers and engineering leads, and partnered with our customer success team to better understand churn. By reframing research around customer acquisition and retention, we uncovered gaps that explained why growth had plateaued.
More importantly, tying research to business outcomes changed the internal narrative. Instead of "we need to talk to users," I was saying, "here's how this research drives revenue." Over just 3 months, this clarity enabled us to:
1) Triple our UX research budget
2) Create a brand new cross-functional research team
3) Reshape the product roadmap based on user insights
Understanding the nuances of the business model gave me credibility and leverage. It turned research from a helpful add-on into a strategic asset—and that’s when things really started to shift.
Thinking like a founder: understanding strategy
If the first mindset shift was understanding business models, the second was thinking like a founder. That meant getting strategic—seeing the big picture, understanding trade-offs, and helping clients and stakeholders do the same. One of the most powerful tools I’ve used is the Strategic Choice Cascade from Playing to Win.
When a beauty and cosmetics brand came to our team wanting a redesigned e-commerce site, the initial brief was narrow. But by applying the cascade—where to play, how to win, and what success looks like—we broadened the conversation. This wasn’t just a UX facelift; it was a post-COVID pivot from B2B to D2C. And that meant new customers, new challenges, and entirely different expectations around digital.
We guided stakeholders through a strategic reframe: identifying the right questions, understanding market dynamics, and planning research accordingly. Our work didn’t just yield design insights—it led to a coherent, 12-month roadmap aligned with their business aspirations.
I also used visual storytelling tools — journey maps, service blueprints — but I always tried to make sure those artefacts weren’t just “deliverables.” They needed to tell a story that moved people to action. That shift in mindset helped me advocate more successfully for design, and it helped our team make more strategic decisions.
Research shifted from being reactive to transformative, helping this client compete in a space that was brand new to them.
Measuring what matters
The final piece of the puzzle was measurement — not just analytics, but intentional, research-driven metrics that align with what truly matters to the business. Too often, I see organisations default to what's easy to measure, like clicks or conversions, rather than what’s meaningful. The result? Misaligned priorities and under-leveraged research.
In my practice, I separate measurements (observable change), metrics (valued change), and analytics (computer-tracked data). UX research shines when it uncovers what analytics can’t: the why behind the numbers, the unmet needs, and the blind spots in strategy.
This means we need to proactively define what impact looks like. Is it financial growth? Organisational change? Cultural adoption of user-centred thinking? I’ve worked on projects where research outcomes included the founding of new teams, the reallocation of budget, and long-term strategic alignment. These are powerful, measurable outcomes that stem directly from thoughtful, generative research.
When we measure what matters—not just what’s convenient—we elevate UX from problem-solving to opportunity-creation. And that’s where research earns its seat at the strategic table.
