Insights Activation Roundup: How to Make an Impact with Your Findings
Delivering insights brings you to a pivotal, make-or-break moment—will your research have real influence? We help you stack the odds in your favor.
Contrary to popular belief, the job of a user researcher is much more than just "doing" studies. While conducting research is one very important aspect of the job, translating user data into insights—then sharing with stakeholders to provoke action—is the mark of a pro.
Here's our guide to get you launching, analyzing, compiling, and sharing insights better. Because nobody puts baby (or your insights) in the corner.
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Analyzing and synthesizing data
Before you can deliver a dazzling presentation, it’s important to have a clear understanding of the data behind your insights. Peruse these articles and bookmark whatever speaks to you, from quant to qual.
| Link | Description | Format(s) |
| From Chaos to Clarity: How to Prioritize Your Qualitative Insights | If the post-research, “What do we do next?” question frequently trips you up, it might be time to do some mixed-methods research. | Article |
| Use These "Quick Quant" Research Methods to Back Up Your Qual Findings | You can't actually "quantify qual." But pulling in quant data to support you qual findings may make your results more impactful. | Article |
| Insights, Enhance! Using Product Analytics to Supplement Qual Research | Use these two approaches to support your qual research with the quant data most important to your stakeholders. | Article |
| Prove the Value of Your UX Research Insights with a Benchmarking Study | Benchmarking studies let you know how (and if) your insights are improving user experience. Here's how to conduct one. | Article |
| Stuck? Here are 9 Ways to Analyze User Research for Meaningful Takeaways | A research pro shares a few tricks for energizing your research synthesis—even if you’re not excited about your qualitative data. | Article |
Telling stories with user data
Whether it's with a lot of numbers or a lot of diary entries, storytelling is the foundation of impactful insights. These resources help you weave together the threads of aligning stakeholders, writing compelling insights, and working on implementation.
| Link | Description | Format(s) |
| How We Can Tell Better Stories | Telling a good story is more than a beginning, middle, and end. Meg Ferrill of The Moth and Nimbly breaks down the fundamentals of storytelling. | Q&A |
| 8 Workshop Ideas to Activate Insights & Align Stakeholders | Eight UX-perts share their preferred workshop formats to generate new ideas, stretch what’s possible, and determine marching orders. | Article |
| How Might We Statements: A Powerful Way to Turn Insights into Opportunities | How Might We statements translate your insights into actionable design solutions. Here's how to use them. | Article |
| How to Write Actionable User Research Summaries (With Checklist + Examples) | Want a great way to provide colleagues and stakeholders a quick, actionable snapshot of your research insights? Here’s how to create summaries that do just that. | Article, checklist |
| How to Write Compelling User Research Insights in 6 Steps | We're often reminded of the importance of "sharing insights." But advice for how to define an insight—and how we should be writing them—is vague at best. | Article |
Crafting powerful, participatory presentations
The spotlight is on you. But don't worry about stage fright—with the right preparations in place, all that data synthesis leading to unique insights has laid the groundwork for a powerful presentation.
| Link | Description | Format(s) |
| How to Write and Present a Winning UXR Case Study | Learn how to tell your project's story—all while showing off your own skills. | Article, outline template |
| How to Present Your Research So That Stakeholders Take Notice and Take Action | Use these 10 tips to keep your research reports actionable, informative, and fun. | Article |
| 7 Ways to Ensure Your Research Insights are Heard and Acted Upon | If your insights are shared in a report, but no one is there to read it, does it even make a sound? Use these tactics to guarantee your findings are met with "wows" and action instead of "huhs?" and "mehs." | Article |
| Share Findings on the Fly with Spontaneous Talks Frameworks | Sometimes neither you nor your stakeholders have the time for a full presentation. These hacks allow you to present information on a short timeline. | Article |
| Weave Storytelling into your UX Presentations | Storytelling is a persuasive tool. Leveraging it in the right way can compel your team to take meaningful action. | Article |
| 8 Collaborative (and Fun) Ways to Communicate Insights Remotely | Times have changed—and so should the way you share insights. | Article |
| 12 Research Deliverables and When to Choose Them | The right research deliverables let your team act on research insights. Here's how to get the most out of them. | Article |
Giving legacy projects the love they deserve
There is little worse than toiling on a project for months, only to have the insights disappear into obscurity. These resources help you keep the spirit of your studies alive, for many months and years to come.
| Link | Description | Format(s) |
| The IMPACTS Framework: Activate Your Insights and Keep Your Research from Being Shelved | Use this seven-part framework to ensure your work lives beyond your final shareout. | Article, downloadable PDF and checklist |
| Have Research Insights Collecting Dust? Here's How to Activate Them | Sharing research insights doesn't mark the end of your UX journey. See how to activate those insights and make a real impact. | Article, template |
| Maximize Impact in Your Org with a Monthly UXR Newsletter | It's easy for your valuable insights to get lost in the shuffle. Creating a monthly newsletter is one way to stand above the noise. | Article, template |
| 6 Common Research Implementation Roadblocks—And How to Move Past Them | We asked leading researchers at Target, Google, and Even how they go from "distilling great insights" to "getting something done about them." Here are their top tips. | Article |
| A Change of Pace with Brooks Running | Connor Skutches of Brooks takes us through how his Run-Sight Lab leveraged dscout to elevate their remote research and connect with customers. | Case study |
Kris is a content creator and editor based in Chicago.
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