Here’s why you should never skip product research

Whether you’re buying a bagel or booking a vacation, your choices tend to be better when they’re guided by insight — and that’s exactly what product research offers.

Product research is the art of getting to know your users incredibly well so that when you design something, the finished product helps them accomplish their goals to a tee.

The same goes for websites and apps. A product designed to meet a specific group’s requirements will always be more popular than one that isn’t.

The alternative? Making a product or feature that no one needs or wants, or only getting things half-right. You’ll also waste time and resources trying to fix things. Definitely not ideal!

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what product research is. Then we’ll dive into how you can make it an integral part of your product design process — whether you’re creating something new or redesigning something that already exists. Let’s dive in!

What is product research?

Product research is a broad term that basically means ‘getting to know your users.’ Essentially, it places the user right at the center of your design universe. Every decision, solution, and evaluation is made with their needs in mind.

Product research encompasses a variety of methods, all of which fall into two categories: quantitative research and qualitative research. Let’s unpack these terms.

Quantitative research

Quantitative methods involve measuring user behavior in a way that can be used for statistical analysis. The results are usually numerical. For example, how many users like the color green or what percentage of respondents use a certain social media platform.

You gather user information indirectly (e.g. via surveys), which makes it possible to collect large sample sizes. This differs from methods like interviews, which require more hands-on facilitation.

Here are some popular quantitative research methods:

• Surveys: These are structured questions sent out to your target audience. They’re often low-cost and can be an effective way to gather large data sets relatively quickly.
• Web analytics: Website analytics sites, like Google Analytics, gather user data. This allows you to see how users interact with your website. It gives you valuable insights, including how users move through the site and where they drop off.
• A/B testing: This method lets you compare two different versions of a web page, so you can see which one has the higher conversion rate. Once you know that, you can see which design your users prefer. It’s a great way to test things like button placements, colors, and banners.
• First click testing: This is a test designed to help designers uncover which element on a web page a user clicks on first. You can run it on an existing site, or at the wireframing stage.
• Eye-tracking: This tracks user gaze, so designers can see where their eyes go while interacting with the site. It can help with things like button placement and menu arranging.
• Heat mapping: A cheaper alternative to eye tracking, heat mapping shows where users click on a site or prototype.

Qualitative research

Qualitative methods are more abstract and in-depth. Or in other words, they don’t yield simple numerical results.

Interviews are one such example, because answers are long and non-quantifiable. Usability testing is considered a type of qualitative research because it’s explorative and gives deeper insight into the audience’s behavior.

Here are some popular methods:

• Interviews: One-on-one conversations that follow a set of predefined questions that encourage the user to open up about their thoughts and experiences with the product or service.
• Card sorting: Participants group cards into logical criteria that make sense to them. This should, in turn, give designers insight into how their typical user will interact with the site and its hierarchy.
• Focus groups: Groups are led through an open discussion. During the session, participants can participate in activities or tasks, then share their thoughts with the leader and wider group.
• Guerrilla testing: This low-cost method involves asking strangers what they think. It’s often carried out on the street, in the field, or using online usability testing tools.
• Field studies: This method involves recording observations while the user interacts with the product or service in their own environment.
• In-lab testing: Users are invited to interact with the product or service in a controlled lab setting where their thoughts and actions are recorded for later analysis.

There are pros and cons to all methods, so it’s best not to rely too heavily on just one. Obviously, the type of project, along with time and resource constraints, will define how much you can do. But generally speaking, the more, the better.

Why should you do product research?

Product research helps you design a product that answers your audience’s needs. The better it does that, the more they’ll use it.

If you’re working in a commercial environment, then this could give you a competitive advantage. It makes it easier for users to accomplish their goals without needing your support. You’ll also be able to innovate and prioritize better, because you know what your audience wants.

According to the Interaction Design Foundation, user research (a part of product research) essentially does three things. It helps you:

1. Create designs that are relevant to the user

The main reason for doing user research is so you can find out how to make designs your users want. If your design isn’t relevant, it will fail due to a lack of interest, and all your hard work will be for nothing. If it’s relevant, it’ll get plenty of use and help you stand out from the crowd. Good news for your bottom line!

2. Make designs that are easy and enjoyable to use

If your user experience isn’t good, people will move on to a different website or app. Making sure you have a product that’s a pleasure to use will help you achieve commercial success.

3. Understand the return on investment (ROI) of your design

You can’t always prove users will love your product until it’s out in the wild — and by then, it might be too late. If it misses the mark, it’ll need redesigning, which means lost time and money.

Still, product research often gets sidelined. It’s not as instantly visible as bug fixes, and when budgets tighten, it’s usually the first thing to go.

That’s why showing its value is key. Track the impact of every change — did you increase conversions? Boost revenue? When you measure what matters, you prove product research works.

How product research varies across roles and phases

Product research isn’t one-size-fits-all. Different roles use it in different ways, and how you apply it will shift depending on whether you’re building something brand new or refining an existing product.

Researchers

These are the go-to experts for choosing the right methods and digging deep into user motivations. They translate raw data into insights the rest of the team can act on. In early stages, they’re essential for foundational discovery work — later, they help test specific hypotheses, uncover usability issues, or track satisfaction over time.

Product owners

This role relies on research to prioritize features that solve real user problems.

Rather than get involved with the research process, they’ll use insights found by researchers to balance business goals with customer value, and to advocate for the user when making trade-offs in the roadmap — especially in tight sprint cycles or when tough decisions need justification.

Product managers

Managers are more involved in research than product owners. They use it to shape the overall product strategy and reduce risk. In early stages, they want to validate market demand and understand user pain points. For established products, they’re looking to identify optimisation opportunities and uncover areas for innovation.

Product designers

These people embed research into every part of their workflow. Early on, it’s about understanding context and behaviour to shape user journeys and prototypes.

Later, they lean on usability testing to fine-tune interaction and layout, and ongoing feedback to ensure the product continues to meet user expectations.

New products vs existing products

For new products, research is all about discovery and validation. You’re exploring the problem space, testing assumptions, and identifying a clear product-market fit before going too far down the wrong path.

With existing products, research becomes more iterative. You’re listening closely to how users interact with what you’ve built—what they love, where they get stuck, and what they’re asking for next. It’s about optimization, retention, and staying relevant as user needs evolve.

Tips and tricks for getting the most out of product research

Here’s how to make sure your efforts pack a punch.

Choose your testers carefully

Take care when choosing the people you run your tests on. Make sure they’re the right type of person (i.e., your intended audience) and can provide reliable, well-thought-out answers. Check out usability.gov for some advice on things like candidate screening.

Now, you might want to use people on your team to save time and money. That’s fine for initial tests, but it has major limitations.

People who have worked on the project (or hung out with those who have) will know what it’s about and probably have the same blind spots you do. Using a person who’s never seen the product before will be able to spot things you may have otherwise missed.

Cognitive walkthroughs are a fast, straightforward way to put yourself in your user’s shoes and are definitely worth the investment.

Ask the right questions

To get good answers, you need to ask the right questions.  Vague, leading, or overly complex questions can steer people or shut them down. Instead, go for short, open-ended prompts that invite honest, detailed responses.

Questions like “What did you expect to happen here?”, “Can you walk me through what you were thinking?”, or “How did that make you feel?” help uncover struggles, motivations, and unmet needs that users might not articulate on their own.

The goal isn’t just to confirm your assumptions, so don’t be put off by ‘negative’ responses — it’s to surface new information you hadn’t considered. Listening deeply and following up with curiosity can often reveal the real story behind user behaviour.

Watch out for groupthink

When people get together, the opinions of some might influence others. Or you may find that more outspoken people dominate the group while the quieter voices go unheard. There are a few ways you can avoid this scenario from happening.

The K-J Technique helps participants reach an objective group consensus while brainstorming games — both in-person and run remotely — can yield good answers if carefully managed.

Run competitive and comparative analysis

Looking at your product in isolation only gives you part of the picture. Run a competitive analysis to understand how your product stacks up in the market — what others are doing better (or worse), and what gaps you could fill.

Comparative research also helps uncover user expectations. If they’re used to, like or dislike a particular feature or interaction elsewhere, it can shape how they experience yours. This kind of analysis helps you identify opportunities, avoid common pitfalls, and build something that feels familiar (but better).

Use neutral data methods

To get meaningful insights, your data collection needs to be as unbiased as possible. Leading questions, small or skewed sample sizes, and assumptions baked into your tests can all compromise your results. Choose methods that reduce bias — like anonymised surveys, moderated usability testing with open-ended prompts, or A/B tests with clear control groups.

Always question how your setup might influence the outcome, and aim to observe real behaviour over stated opinion wherever possible.

Take advantage of existing research

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Internal research from other teams, past projects, or customer support logs can all offer valuable clues — especially when you’re short on time.

Meanwhile, external sources like industry benchmarks, academic studies, and market reports can help you quickly get up to speed with broader trends or niche topics. You can buy access for a few dollars, and they’re worth their weight in gold.

Re-using and cross-referencing existing research helps you make smarter decisions faster, and helps you build on solid ground rather than starting from scratch.

Segment your results

Raw data rarely tells the full story without context. By segmenting your results — whether by user type, behaviour, location, or lifecycle stage — you can uncover patterns you’d otherwise miss.

One feature might frustrate new users but work fine for power users. Preferences might vary by region or job role. Without segmentation, you risk making changes based on the average experience, which could end up serving no one particularly well. The more tailored your insights, the more targeted your improvements can be.

Use the right tools

From wireframing to user story mapping and collating quantitative data, cloud-based diagramming software can be a huge help.

A user story map made in Cacoo 

Choose a tool that comes with pre-made templates that save you time, and look out for features like version control and shared commenting features that make it easier for the team to collaborate.

The more organized you are with your research data, the easier it is for everyone to focus on the user and their goals.

Match the research approach to your project

Time and budget will always influence your research choices, but that doesn’t mean compromising on quality. The key is choosing the right method for the job.

Ideally, aim for a mix of qualitative and quantitative research. These approaches complement each other: qualitative research helps you understand the why behind user behaviour (like their needs, motivations, and struggles) while quantitative research gives you the what, the how many, and the how often.

For example, let’s say usability tests reveal that users struggle with your onboarding flow. You can back that up with funnel data showing drop-off rates. That combination of human insight and hard data makes a much stronger case for change — and helps get stakeholder buy-in.

Build on facts, not assumptions

Great products aren’t built on hunches. Skipping research might seem like a shortcut, but it usually leads to costly missteps. When you rely on assumptions instead of evidence, you’re gambling with time, budget, and user trust.

User research isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s non-negotiable. Even a small amount of insight can steer you toward better decisions and stronger outcomes. Empathy is at the heart of good design, and research is how you get there. The more you understand your users, the more likely you are to create something they actually want — and love.

Match the research method to the product phase

Product research is an ongoing loop of listening, testing, and refining. The questions you ask (and the methods you use) should shift depending on where you are in the product journey.

• Before you build: Get clear on what your users actually need with generative research. Use qualitative approaches to discover insights, which will help you work out whether there’s a demand you can fill.
• During development: As you test new versions, gather feedback to see what resonates — and what falls flat. Understanding user reactions helps you refine and improve with every iteration.
• Soft launch phase: Release a pared-back version to a small group (an MVP). This is your chance to see how the product performs in the wild, catch any early issues, and make smart tweaks before the big reveal.
• After launch: Keep learning. Use real-world usage data to track what’s working, spot areas for improvement, and keep evolving the product based on user behaviour and satisfaction.

Make research ongoing

Speaking of ongoing research, great product design should be iterative in approach, and never really be finished.

Testing helps you see whether your design worked and highlights areas for improvement. Once you’ve made changes, run more tests to assess their impact. A bit like an athlete fine-tuning their diet and training approach for peak performance.

Repeating this process means your product will continually improve — something that’s vital if you want to compete in a busy marketplace. Because even if you’re the best now, new players are never far behind.

How to measure the success of your product research

Product research isn’t just about gathering information — it’s about making a tangible impact on what gets built and how users respond.

A successful research initiative should lead to better decisions and stronger alignment between what the team builds and what users actually need. It should reveal opportunities and help you avoid expensive missteps.

Ideally, it should be able to prove its value to stakeholders who may not immediately see the benefit.

Ask yourself:

• Did the research shape a decision?
  Did it inform the roadmap, validate a hypothesis, or highlight a risk that you avoided?
• Were user insights clearly communicated and understood?
  Did stakeholders engage with the findings and reference them in discussions?
• Did it lead to a measurable improvement?
  Did the changes made as a result of the research improve user experience, engagement, or retention?
• Did it uncover something unexpected?
  Great research doesn’t just confirm what you already knew — it reveals new opportunities or challenges you hadn’t considered.
• Was it timely and relevant?
  Was the research delivered early enough to influence outcomes? Was it aligned with the product’s current phase and priorities?
• Are the insights being reused?
  Research that continues to inform multiple teams or future work is a strong sign of lasting value.
• Was it done efficiently?
  Did you strike the right balance between depth and speed, considering your constraints?

To go one step further, you can also track research ROI through metrics like reduced development rework, task success rates, or improved customer satisfaction scores. Even if you can’t see the results right away, making sure your product decisions match up with what users actually want is a solid sign of success.

Turn research into diagrams, fast

Good research is only useful if you can make sense of it. After all those interviews and surveys, you’re often left with a messy pile of insights. That’s where diagramming tools come in. They help you organise and visualize your findings, so you can spot patterns faster and turn insights into action.

Diagramming tools like Cacoo are more than digital whiteboards — they’re research powerhouses. With built-in templates for user journey maps, stakeholder flows, and customer personas, they help you lay out what users do, feel, and need at every stage.

You can cluster insights with sticky notes, map dependencies, and co-create in real time with collaborators. These tools make it easier to turn raw research into structured understanding. So you’re not just gathering data, but making sense of it. Ready to take Cacoo for a spin? Try it for free today!

This post was originally published on January 31 2021, and updated most recently on May 9, 2025.