02Global
Making customer research faster—and trusted again.
A new research system, direct customer cohort and shared repository that moved insight into the rhythm of product delivery.
- My role
- Lead Product Designer
- Industry
- Media & entertainment
- Focus
- Research operations, Team capability
- Scope
- Research practice, tools, repository and team development
The short version
The case in three moves.
- Challenge
- With no dedicated research team, designers were running inconsistent studies, rarely reaching customers directly and struggling to earn stakeholder confidence.
- Leadership
- I introduced practical guidance, tools, training, a direct research cohort and a Notion repository connected to customer-feedback sources.
- Outcome
- Analysis dropped from two weeks to 4–5 days, customer cohorts tested at 86% accuracy and research began influencing product decisions more consistently.
01 / Context
Research existed, but the organisation could not rely on it.
Product Designers were expected to conduct research alongside delivery, yet most had limited formal training. Without a shared process, studies could be biased, customer contact was rare and valuable feedback already held by the business went unused.
The process could take up to two weeks. By the time findings arrived, they were difficult to fit into agile delivery—and stakeholders had lost trust in the quality of the evidence.
02 / System
Build capability, not just a repository.
I reviewed previous studies and created practical guidance for choosing methods, reducing bias and documenting work consistently. Research competencies were added to the team’s career framework so improvement became part of each designer’s development.
The toolset evolved from UserZoom to Maze, while the repository moved from Dovetail to Notion for flexibility and AI-assisted synthesis. Templates covered plans, fieldwork and analysis; Appbot feedback flowed into Notion through Zapier; and a budget plan protected tools and incentives.
03 / Customers
Create a dependable route to real people.
Using Global Player’s customer archetypes, I identified cohorts in the existing user data and tested those assumptions through surveys. The cohorts achieved an 86% success rate.
Working with CRM, we created email groups for general and archetype-specific studies. That gave designers repeatable access to contextual insight instead of relying on convenience samples or second-hand feedback.
04 / Impact
Insight moved at the speed of the product team.
Analysis time fell from two weeks to 4–5 days. Designers could act within development cycles, and stakeholders began trusting and adopting research-led recommendations more frequently.
The team also became more confident at running studies. Clear guidance, shared tools and regular feedback turned research from an occasional specialist activity into a more sustainable product capability.