UXPA 2023: Managing UX Research Vendors for Success

©2022 Discover Financial Services
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Li Wen Huang
Discover Financial Services
Managing UX Research Vendors for
Success

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Agenda
Introduction
Finding the Right Partners
Evaluating Fit
Setting Up Yourself and Vendors for
Success
Friction Points
Questions

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About Discover
We provide banking and credit products that
help people achieve their goals. In payments,
our networks connect banks, cardmembers and
merchants around the world with innovative
commerce solutions.
• Credit Cards
• Checking & Savings
• CDs, MMAs, IRAs,
• Loans: Personal, Student, Home Equity
• Discover Global Network, Diner’s Club
Our Operating Model
• Outsource design, research and dev work
‒ Internal team manages outsourced work,
set strategy & business goals

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About Me
• Been with Discover for 15+ years focused on UX research
• Proposed and started UX Research and Digital Voice of the Customer programs in
E-Business supporting credit card portfolio business
‒ Identified and onboarded UXR vendors and continue to expand our capabilities
‒ Manage ongoing relationships with vendors
‒ Started with 2 projects in 2008, peaked at managing 46 projects/year
• Moved to Consumer Insights in 2015 and began supporting the entire enterprise
‒ Focused on external customer and consumer facing experiences
‒ Managing 2 UX researchers
‒ Part of CI team of 15 who support market research, brand tracking, ad/media tracking, competitive research, behavior
insights & UXR
• Things to know about me:
‒ I’ve been called a force of nature in performance reviews
‒ Internal teams and design agencies seek me out for help; I’ve gotten projects from internal word of mouth

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Disclaimer
Everything presented here are my own personal views and experiences
and I am not speaking on behalf of Discover Financial Services.

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Why are you here?
• Who are you and what you want to know/learn?

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Finding the Right Partners

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Why Outsourcing UXR Works
• Politics
‒ Vendors are a neutral 3rd parties and you need the research to come
from an independent source
• Special expertise
‒ Access to experts and resources focused solely on UXR, including
difficult recruits, etc.
‒ Can engage multiple vendors/agencies with different strengths and
capabilities
‒ Can train new/internal team members on UXR methods and best
practices
• Bandwidth
‒ No need to find and hire UXRs
‒ Can expand and contract with ebb and flow of work
‒ Projects that are too big or too small for internal teams

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B2B Dating Game
Before You Start, Define What You Want
• What does your company need?
‒ Full service vs. self-service
‒ Types of research or specific UXR activities (i.e.,
recruiting)
‒ What’s your process (agile, waterfall, etc.)
‒ Timelines
‒ Do you have budget?
‒ Contractual or other business requirements

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Full-Service UX Vendors
Pros
• They do everything from scoping, screening/recruiting
users, discussion guide, moderation, report writing and
highlight clips
• Can do very specific audience targeting and balancing
of recruit
‒ May be able to handle customer lists
‒ Access to multiple panels/international panels, etc.
• May be able to conduct types of research that are
more complex or beyond self-service capabilities:
ethnography, multi-method research, etc.
• You can give them access to self-service platforms to
set up run research for you, when allowed
• High-level of expertise, experience and knowlege
Cons
• Often more costly than self-service model
• May not be as fast as self-service
• May not be able to work with same researchers for
each project
• Will likely need to briefed on how your process and
industry works
• Smaller agencies may not have the bandwidth you
need
• May not be good at certain types of research vs.
others

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Self-Service UX Vendors
Pros
• DIY research platforms have their own panels and
research can be completed in hours
‒ Unmoderated usability session videos are available
for sharing after sessions are done
• Research platforms can provide access to multiple
tools, for one-stop research
• Can set up many people to run research on their own
• Can be very cost-effective depending on how the
subscription is set up
• Provide training for users and tech support
Cons
• You need to take the time to set up, run, and review
results and write your own reports for the fastest
results
• Professional services can set up research for you, but
may not be 100% dedicated to you and take longer
than self-service
‒ May only provide general insights, since they are
not familiar with your industry or experience
• Participants are more likely to lie to get into research
and may not be your real target (check YouTube)
• Garbage in = garbage out
‒ Even with templates and guides, you can do a lot of
bad research

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Specialized Vendors: Recruiters, User Panels, Tools
Pros
• Provides the service you need without all the other un-
needed frills
• Can be very cost-effective
• Some vendors may not need to be “onboarded” and
services can be purchased via credit card
Cons
• You may still need to go through vendor onboarding
and periodic compliance assessment process, even if
you only use them occasionally
• If it’s a self-service tool, you still need to have the time
and resources to set up and manage

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Types of research you need and what they can provide
For full-service vendors:
• How often or how much experience
do they have with a type of
research
• Cost and timelines for research
meet your expectations
‒ Compared to industry standard
costs

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How to Find Vendors
• Word of mouth
‒ If you have colleagues in the field who use vendors or know
people who work with UXR agencies, it’s a good way to find who
is out there and who is good
• Online directories
‒ Can identify companies that your connections may not know or
used
• Conference exhibitors
‒ Can meet to discuss capabilities with company reps
• Google

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Evaluating Fit

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Evaluating if they are a fit
• Size and capacity
• Financial stability/viability
• Focus of their business: are they competitive research or
market research with a UXR add-on? Or are they UXR only?
• Example reports and case studies
• Demos/mock sessions
• Pilot research/proof of concepts
‒ Some vendors will do a free pilot of proof of concept
‒ Others may allow for a trial period to evaluate and allow
either party to walk away free
• Referrals and references
‒ Definitely check references

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Your Process vs. Their Process: Don’t Assume Anything
• Ask for concrete examples of what they have done
and what they can accommodate
• Confirm your internal processes can also
accommodate the vendor’s process
• What data are you allowed to share with a vendor?
Can the vendor securely handle your data?
‒ Do you have specific procedures they need to
follow? Clarify and validate with risk, compliance
and legal
• Are they familiar with any rules and regulations that
affect your industry

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Corporate Culture
• Have similar or acceptable viewpoints about
customers
• Have similar or acceptable viewpoints about
research
• Expectations on the working relationship

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Contracts should be built for Worst Case Scenarios
• Build in flexibility that works both ways
‒ Timelines and dates can shift if you’re not ready or the vendor
needs more time to adjust to scope changes
‒ You’re not locked in or obligated to pay future work that may not
move forward
‒ Ability to credit pre-paid work towards different projects
‒ Fair payment terms (50% at signing, 50% on completion). Pay
100% up front only for trusted partners
• For new partners, consider a proof-of-concept or trial period, which
gives you the ability to back out if it doesn’t work out as expected or to
move forward if it does
• All appropriate laws, regulations, etc. are outlined
• Be Fair!
‒ Don’t get a bad rap by trying to make it one-sided

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Setting up Yourself and Vendors for
Success

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Put a process in place
• Develop a process, document it, share it
‒ What can run in parallel, what cannot
‒ Much of planning of UX research such as recruiting,
discussion guide development, etc. can be done in
parallel
‒ Do you want vendors to use your report template or
are you okay with theirs
‒ Provide any procedures that vendors may need to
follow before you begin (customer list handling,
NPI, etc.)
• Start small and grow it
‒ Refine as you go; work via e-mail vs. meetings, etc.
‒ Highlight clips vs. verbatims
• Track projects, so you can get a sense of timing

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Set expectations for internal teams and keep reinforcing them
• The role of customers and consumers in research
‒ Ensure internal teams understand consumers are not here to
solve your problem; they’re here to provide feedback (and not
all feedback is valid or appropriate)
• Role of research team/vendor
‒ Vendor should outline all tasks, timelines, etc. and what they
need from you
• Role of company teams
‒ Building prototypes
‒ Approving screeners/discussion guides, etc.
‒ Attending live research sessions
‒ Reviewing recorded sessions (watch parties)
‒ Incorporating changes

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You are the expert on your industry, brief your vendors
• Translate your insider lingo
• Explain how processes work—don’t assume they know it
• If you don’t understand the process or project, get the
background or make sure the product owners can explain
it in laymen’s terms
• Explain what is considered good vs. bad “This really
sucks!” – vacuum cleaner manufacturer = good; everyone
else, probably bad!
• Provide typical scenarios, representative data,
• If you’re testing edge cases, communicate this to your
vendor

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Get the right information from the start
• Goals and key performance indicators for the project
• Who is their audience/target
• What do they already know (analytics, past research, etc.)
• What they want to understand or learn
‒ Is this something that research can answer?
• Work in progress designs/flows
‒ What user/customer problem will this solve
• When do they need research results

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Showing Value - Reports
• Review reports before they are shared
‒ Make sure key questions are addressed
‒ Edit to ensure internal users understand the insights
and recommendations (user-friendly language)
‒ Incorporate additional insights from other research if
needed
‒ Stay in your lane—focus on research results and recs,
not dictating design, dev, etc.
‒ Ensure and adapt reports based on audience (tactical
team vs. executive leadership)
• Own the research—understand how it’s done, why it’s
done this way—ask questions, so you understand and
can explain it yourself
• Become a UX research expert & champion—take
classes, webinars, attend conferences, etc.
Reporting Best Practices
1. Order recommendations by descending
importance. Top rec should be most
important, such as “go/no go”
2. Don’t cite numbers when doing qualitative
research
3. Include screenshots for future reference
4. Anticipate and address questions you may
get, including supporting external data

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Proving Value
• Vendor scorecards
‒ Meeting expectations on deliverables, timing, cost, etc.
• Retrospective
‒ For redesigns, pre-launch metrics vs. post-launch metrics
• Summer Intern Project--Analysis of changes incorporated into designs
based on UXR research
‒ After launch, confirm what changes were made based on research
‒ Only include in-scope findings/recs
‒ Weight by business value/need & usability severity (H, M, L)
‒ Additional insights outside of usability

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Communicate, collaborate and compromise
• Support your vendor if they are right
‒ Don’t expect your vendors to fight your battles
‒ If they are presenting, brief them and arm them with information
that will support their position
‒ Voice your support: give credit where credit is due
‒ Don’t claim other people’s work as your own
‒ Don’t sugar coat things to win favor; be honest but be nice
• Be willing to say No nicely but firmly
‒ Scope creep can dilute your research value and increase timelines
‒ Understand that changes of directions will affect timelines, costs
and even the assigned vendor team—be reasonable
• If saying no is not an option, see where you can compromise and
clearly communicate it

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Don’t get pushed around
• It’s your research, so own it—provide clear guidance to
the vendor of what works and what doesn’t in your
organization
‒ You may need to say it multiple times or in different
ways or to different people
• Don’t compromise on things that truly matter: integrity,
values and your customers
‒ Are they willing to stake their reputation and business on
it? Or their personal salaries?
• Inaction may set a precedent for the future
‒ Address it up front

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Friction Points

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You inherited a vendor and you…
Want to change things
• Evaluate what’s working and
what’s not
‒ Build a case: feedback from
teams; be specific
‒ Get leadership POV
• Outline what changes you want to
make
‒ Get leadership alignment and
support: speak in their language
of improved business value,
expense management, etc.
‒ Share changes and set up
meeting with the vendor to
discuss
‒ Give vendor time to respond
Hate them but can’t get rid
of them
• Try to address the reason you
hate them
‒ Is it personality? Process?
Quality?
‒ Can it be worked out or
can you build a case
against them?
• Can you find another vendor to
replace them?
‒ Create a business case for
another vendor or different work
model
‒ Be willing to start small and see
if you can prove better business
value
Don’t know what you’re
doing
• Educate yourself!
‒ Ask the vendor to help you
‒ Project management training
‒ UX research training/webinars
‒ Read, network, find a mentor

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Win-Win Negotiations
• Don’t look at things from your perspective only; see it from both
sides
‒ How does this change benefit the vendor as well as you?
‒ Find common ground on where you do agree
‒ Take a step back if things get heated
• Be willing to compromise and get small wins
‒ If you’re asking a vendor to change what they do, it may
take time for them to understand your perspective
‒ Own any changes you ask for
• Agree to disagree, but don’t air it publicly

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If something goes wrong, do you know what to do?
• Does your vendor know what they need to do if something
goes wrong?
‒ Share requirements and procedures up front
‒ How do they notify you of a problem
‒ Documentation of extent of issue and impact
‒ Mitigating actions by you or vendor
• Do you know what to do if something goes wrong?
‒ Reporting, forms, etc.

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Breaking Up
• Do you terminate or just stop using them?
‒ Is there a possibility you’ll want to use them in the
future?
• Understand contract terms for termination
‒ Number of days notice
‒ How termination needs to be communicated
• You can’t avoid the awkward conversation/meeting to
discuss why
‒ Keep it professional and cordial
• What do you do if you still have projects in process?
‒ Is it better to let them finish or to walk away?
‒ Can someone else take on the work without
affecting cost and timelines?

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Questions?

UXPA 2023: Managing UX Research Vendors for Success

UXPA 2023: Managing UX Research Vendors for Success

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