RAPID RESEARCH
Defining and implementing a rapid research program at Cisco to cut down time-to-insights.
Role: Lead Researcher, Program Manager
Company: Cisco
Timeline: ~1 month for model creation, <2 weeks for execution thereafter
Research Method: Varies
Research Type: Rapid
CONTEXT
Up to 2023, our team was conducting only large-scale research projects taking a month or more each. There was no method for time-sensitive research questions that needed fast answers, and/or smaller topics that did not justify months of work.
For example, what if we were building a product this week for launch next week, and needed a single question answered by customers before then?
GOALS
Define a rapid research model that can turn out insights as fast as possible.
Implement the rapid research model into existing workflows.
APPROACH
First I defined what is appropriate for the rapid research approach:
Time-sensitive questions.
Bite-sized topics.
Lower-impact efforts.
Early, exploratory work to provide direction for a larger-scale study.
Follow-up work to provide clarity on questions raised in previous projects.
Then I evaluated our existing research timeline and identified multiple areas that could be modified, including:
Recruitment: we spent a lot of time recruiting in our own channels, which could be saved if we utilized a third-party recruitment platform like UserTesting.
Scale: smaller-scale studies would mean less time spent writing plans, building tests, analyzing results, and presenting findings.
Execution: restricting rapid research to mostly unmoderated formats meant less time spent sitting in sessions.
Templatizing: we were spending a lot of time each study rewriting screeners, demographic questions, introductions, and recruitment standards, all of which could be standardized and built into UserTesting and Qualtrics as templates.
Generative AI: Cisco's internal, GPT-powered generative AI tool empowered us to create study guides and recruitment copy at a faster pace than ever. Given its closed-system design, it is secure enough to take in confidential data, so can also assist in trend-spotting during analysis and writing copy for the report.
Next, I defined the timeline (see above) for a single rapid study, estimating <10 working days from discovery to handoff, depending on project scope.
I validated the model and timeline through a proof-of-concept pilot, then documented the entire process in our team knowledgebase and led a training session so that all our researchers could execute rapid research.
IMPACT
The rapid research model compressed a months-long process into 10 business days or less, becoming one our team's core research approaches. This model has worked for unmoderated tests, surveys, and even moderated usability testing.
Since inception, I owned our rapid research practice and I have completed 12+ studies, which have impacted decisions like:
the elimination of two projects, preventing unnecessary resource allocation and time on programs customers didn't want (see left).
the definition of global date and time format standards.
the naming of a new type of product documentation.
Note: Cisco has strict confidentiality terms for customer data, so this case study is intentionally vague with respect to results and impact to ensure I meet those guidelines.