#13 User Research as Risk Management: Aligning with Decision-Makers
"You know we would like to do tests and research, but there is no time right now.”
Jan Andresen recently followed up on my post about trusting the process. He asked how I handle situations where decision-makers want to skip the research and move straight to implementing a solution. The answer is surprisingly simple: I talk about risk.
Every product decision carries uncertainty. As a decision-maker, the more you assume, the greater your risk. When you skip research to speed things up, you commit time and money to a bet. If the feature doesn’t meet user needs? That’s not just a sunk cost—it’s also a missed opportunity to build something truly valuable.
User Research as Risk Management
So, when faced with the question of whether to “skip” research, how do you respond? I usually start by asking: How much are we willing to risk? It’s not about slowing things down or complicating the process. It’s about protecting the investment—ensuring the time and resources poured into a product lead to something valuable.
Sometimes, talking in terms of costs resonates. How much money is at stake if a feature isn’t used or a redesign doesn’t hit the mark? Shifting to this perspective can help decision-makers understand that research is the path to smarter, more informed action.
Three Key Questions to Guide Decision-Makers
Once you have their attention, frame the discussion with these three critical questions:
- How confident are we that this will work?
- What are the consequences if we’re wrong?
- How much would it be worth to find out?
Note. It’s absolutely crucial to approach this in a collaborative spirit. It’s not about who’s right and who’s wrong. You’re all on the same team, working to deliver as much user and business value as possible, quickly and efficiently.
How Confident Are We That This Will Work?
By asking how confident you are that a solution will work, you encourage everyone to take a step back and reflect on their assumptions. Confidence often comes from intuition, personal anecdotes, or “gut feeling”—but how solid is that foundation? Is it built on reliable user feedback, market research, or tested ideas?
The less confident you are, the more critical research becomes.
What Are the Consequences If We’re Wrong?
If a feature is built and doesn’t work as expected, what’s truly at stake? Sometimes, it’s more than wasted development hours—it can mean lost revenue, negative user experiences, or a hit to your brand’s reputation. Rolling back or redesigning a live feature is often expensive and time-consuming. Understanding the potential ripple effects of an incorrect decision is absolutely essential.
Say you launch a new onboarding flow to reduce Time to First Value (TTFV) for your online service. Without research, it could backfire—confusing new users, causing drop-offs, and frustrating your support teams. The cost of skipping research isn’t just measured in development hours; it’s measured in lost users, wasted marketing efforts, and potential customer churn.
The higher the consequences, the more critical research becomes.
How Much Would It Be Worth to Find Out?
Given the uncertainty and potential consequences, what’s the value of reducing that risk through research? It’s really about balancing the investment in research against the potential cost of not doing it.
Not every feature needs in-depth research; some are low-risk enough to move quickly. For features that are important to your product or require notable investment, a little bit of research can go a long way. A quick usability test, a handful of user interviews, or a prototype walkthrough are small investments compared to the full development cost but can prevent significant missteps. And if we’re talking about areas where we’re highly uncertain and the consequences would be severe if we get it wrong, that’s where we really need to invest.
Focus your research investments where confidence is low and consequences high.
Aligning the Conversation
When you frame research as risk management and use these three guiding questions, the conversation shifts to a shared goal: delivering the maximum user and business value as efficiently as possible. By aligning on this focus, teams can collaborate on the most efficient path forward—balancing speed with informed decision-making. Not every decision needs extensive user research; some can proceed with minimal validation, while others may benefit from a deep, dedicated effort. The key is knowing and agreeing on the difference.
So next time you hear, “There’s no time for research,” pause and ask: How much are we willing to risk?