When Uber laid off almost half its user researchers in 2019, the message was blunt: research had come to be seen as a blocker to shipping. You avoid that fate by making research fast when it needs to be fast, and by being more than a report-writer.

“Four moves make a UX researcher indispensable: split your work into foundational research (slow, strategic, on its own timeline) and directional research (quick, day-to-day, on the product timeline) so you stop treating minor decisions like major studies; get involved in strategy instead of just handing over insights; upskill colleagues to run their own directional research; and demonstrate ROI with short retrospective reports that tie research to real decisions and outcomes.”

In September 2019, Uber shocked employees by announcing they would lay off almost half of their user researchers globally.

A spokesperson from Uber told TechCrunch:

““Our hope with these changes is to reset and improve how we work day to day - ruthlessly prioritizing, and always holding ourselves accountable to a high bar of performance.””

The company told those laid off it intended to rely on rapid A/B testing to make decisions, not on traditional user research.

Elsa Ho, one of the researchers laid off then, wrote a thoughtful reflection on her experience. The sudden news made her question the value of user research and go looking for answers.

It was only when a PM friend from another company shared the following story that Elsa began to understand Uber's sudden decision:

“Once I wanted to change the way certain things look on the web navigation, my researcher said no because it would affect user experience. He would need to run a study first. I asked how long it would take. After a careful calculation he said at least two weeks. That immediately blew up my mind. I stared at him for a minute, almost looked into his soul. Eventually, I said: ‘My engineers and I can build this in two hours, can’t we just build it and make decisions based on data?’”

Elsa understood then that user researchers have a problem: they're seen as a hindrance to progress, an unforgivable sin in fast-scaling tech companies.

But it doesn't have to be that way. UX researchers can become an indispensable partner to the product team and speed progress up. It just takes a few small steps.

🙌 Solve the quick-versus-quality debate

"Quick Research" versus "Quality Research" is one of the most common debates in tech. It's the familiar stand-off between "good research is essential and takes time" and "we don't have time for research."

Instead of picking a side, resolve it.

Organise the research function to serve both: split research into work you can finish on the product timeline and work that needs its own timeline. Think of these as foundational research and directional research.

Foundational research makes the big strategic decisions about a product's core functionality and direction. It shapes decisions long after the study ends, so it's too important to rush. It usually starts with methods like in-depth user interviews and ethnographic studies that dig deep into users' perspectives, then combines them with quantitative methods for rich mixed methods data.

Directional research is the day-to-day work: quick answers to specific questions. It's often called "quick and dirty", and it leans on usability tests and rapid mixed methods research with tools like OpinionX.

	Foundational research	Directional research
Purpose	Big strategic decisions about core functionality and direction	Quick answers to specific day-to-day questions
Timeline	Its own timeline; too important to rush	The product timeline; "quick and dirty"
Typical methods	In-depth interviews, ethnographic studies, mixed methods	Usability tests, rapid mixed methods (tools like OpinionX)
Use it for	Core direction and strategy	Minor, fast decisions

A big reason UX researchers get seen as blockers is that they treat directional research like foundational research: they insist on slow, textbook-perfect studies for minor decisions.

To increase your value, distinguish foundational from directional occasions. Make time for slow, methodical foundational research AND run fast directional research. For more, see Ben Ralph's "How to Stop UX Research being a Blocker".

🤔 Become a strategic UX researcher

Many user researchers see research as their only job. They report impartial insights back to the team and stay out of company-strategy conversations beyond their own projects. It feels like the safer route, but it makes building a research culture much harder.

Skipping those strategic conversations keeps UX researchers on the edge of the product team. It makes them look less useful to product peers who want a research expert to brainstorm with. Product people want a partner to bounce ideas off, someone who gives them the confidence to make a call.

To be more valuable, adopt the mindset that research is more than a transactional internal service. Shaping the company's strategic vision means knowing the product well and getting into roadmap conversations.

Interested in quantifying your users' biggest problems? OpinionX lets you stack rank customer problems and understand what matters to them most. Try it for free.

💪 Empower your colleagues

The best companies no longer see user research as the sole job of people with UX in their title. They know involving everyone in research promotes a user-centric culture and builds empathy for the end user.

That's a chance to become even more valuable. Upskill your colleagues so they can run directional research projects on their own. Run internal workshops to share your expertise, and give a little of your time to internal consulting.

Use that time to help colleagues represent the voice of users in their own decisions. That extends your role beyond research and puts you in charge of building a research culture that gets why the end user's voice matters.

🤑 Demonstrate ROI

One of the biggest findings from our "User Research in 2021" case study was that user researchers struggle to demonstrate the ROI of their work to leadership. Research often looks intangible compared to other functions.

But it doesn't have to. Showing the value of UX research is simpler than it seems.

Write regular retrospective reports to leadership about the impact research has had on decisions. Keep them short and tell a story. Here's a simple template:

The research problem.
The insights you found.
How those insights changed a decision.

Even better, follow up a few months later with the bottom-line impact of the release your insights informed. Highlight your part in each win.

It might feel unnecessary, but writing these reports makes sure research gets the credit it's due.

Frequently asked questions

How can a UX researcher become indispensable? Make research fast when speed matters and become more than a report-writer. In practice that means four moves: split work into foundational and directional research so minor decisions get quick answers; get involved in company strategy instead of only reporting insights; upskill colleagues to run their own directional research; and demonstrate the ROI of your work with short retrospective reports.

What's the difference between foundational and directional research? Foundational research makes big strategic decisions about a product's core direction. It's slow, thorough, and runs on its own timeline. Directional research answers quick, specific day-to-day questions on the product timeline, the "quick and dirty" work. The mistake that gets researchers labelled blockers is treating directional questions like foundational studies.

Why are UX researchers sometimes seen as blockers? Because they often insist on slow, textbook-perfect research for minor decisions that need a quick answer. When a product manager can build and test something in two hours, a two-week study for the same call looks like an obstacle, not help.

How do you demonstrate the ROI of UX research? Write short retrospective reports for leadership: the research problem, the insights you found, and how those insights changed a decision. A few months later, follow up with the bottom-line impact of the release your research informed.

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How to Become an Indispensable UX Researcher