How I
Advocate for
user research
An organisation’s digital maturity affects how much UX designers need to advocate for user-centred design (UCD). Even when UCD is adopted, internal stakeholders may not fully understand or value it. The approach needs to be tailored to the audience to gain buy-in.
Stakeholder approach to research…
Key stakeholders felt their view was the users view.
Challenges
🔶 Joined Wheatley 2.5 years into a digital transformation project
🔶 Leadership and frontline staff had no experience with digital transformation
🔶 User research was deprioritised - leadership believed they already knew customer needs
🔶 Focus was on procuring third-party solutions rather than validating user requirements
🔶 Project managers lacked skills to support digital product development.
My approach_1
Leadership Buy-In
🧲 Encouraged leadership to think like user researchers by asking:
⛽️“Think of an app you used to love but eventually stopped using. What made you leave?”
⛽️“If you were a UX researcher for that product, what study could have prevented that churn?”
🧲 Connected UCD to business value, explaining how research prevents costly mistakes and de-risks digital investment
🧲 Used Gartner reports to show how UCD led to success in other digital transformations.
🧲 Made it relevant to their work, asking:
⛽️“What do you wish you knew about our customers that could improve their experience and reduce frustration?”
🧲 Developed a research plan based on leadership’s questions, increasing their investment in user insights.
My approach_2
Showed Quick Wins
🧲 Ran a small usability study on the online repairs system, uncovering unexpected pain points
🧲 Invited leadership to observe live usability sessions, helping them see first-hand how residents struggled with digital services
🧲 Demonstrated that low-cost research delivers high-value insights and strengthens customer relationships.
Integrated Research into Decision-Making
🧲 Ensured research findings were regularly presented at leadership meetings, making them central to decision-making
🧲 Collaborated with project managers to rewrite requirements based on user insights, ensuring research had a direct impact.
Outcomes
🎱 Increased leadership engagement & buy-In started seeing user research as a strategic asset rather than an optional step.
🎱 Increased awareness & adoption of UCD
⬛️ Leadership attended usability sessions, which made user challenges real and relatable.
⬛️ Quick wins proved the value of research, making UCD an integrated part of decision-making.
🎱 Greater Stakeholder Collaboration
⬛️ Open discussions bridged gaps between teams, reducing resistance to digital transformation.
Lessons learned
☄️ Start interactive workshops earlier and introduce the approach at all levels of the business.
☄️ Spend time with Housing Officers to learn from their frontline experience and position them as key voices for customer needs.