Project 3: Enabling Research at Scale - Autonomy

The second pillar of the Enablement Program fostered a culture of autonomy and trust, equipping participants with the skills and confidence to lead their own research.

This shift empowered teams to drive cross-functional studies, strengthen decision-making, and champion user-centered practices across projects.

The context

ADP’s Structure

ADP structure: with ~200 UXD vs ~50 UXR, Researchers cannot currently fulfill all the research needs.

Therefore, there is a necessity to enable designers and content writers to conduct some of their own studies.

These studies should be identified as low risk for the business but still necessary from a design perspective.

After creating, curating, and synthesizing knowledge in a format tailored for designers, the next step of the program was to empower UX and Content Designers with autonomy to conduct their own studies.

Objective

To support teams throughout the rollout, I introduced a four-pillar framework designed to strengthen both capability and impact.

  • Pillar 1: Knowledge — focused on equipping teams with the research skills necessary to generate meaningful insights.

  • Pillar 2: Autonomy — ensured teams could confidently conduct independent research across functions and projects. This pillar represents the primary focus of the current project.

  • Pillar 3: Support — provided centralized resources and consistent guidance to streamline research efforts.

  • Pillar 4: Influence — established a continuous, inclusive research program that fostered collaboration and ensured that research had a lasting impact across the organization.

The remaining pillars will be explored further in Projects 2 and 4, as outlined below."**

Meet the Team

This Program was led by me overseen by my manager Dan, head of UX Research


  • Lead UX researcher

    Lead the Enablement program

  • Head of UX Research

Providing Templates and Standardized Processes

  • Streamlining Research Activities

    I created templates for the UX Research Plan, the Read out to simplify the initiation and execution of research. It allowed teams to work more efficiently and effectively.

  • Enhancing Consistency

    Standardized processes ensure uniformity across different projects, leading to reliable and comparable results.

    Example: Created templates for screener, usability questions, recruitment email, all available on SharePoint.

Categorizing Research Types: Macro, Medium, Micro

The categorization of UXR type already existed in the department, we used them as a way to separate between the research that required a UXR involved heavily and the others. The main criteria was how impactful for the business the study is.

Macro Research

Strategic research focuses on long-term goals and involves comprehensive analysis to guide decision-making.

Mid-Size Research

Mid-size research balances depth and breadth, suitable for projects that require moderate detail and data.

Micro Research

Consist in less strategic research that impact design only. Essentially, minor changes in the designs that still requires a layer of UXR.

Example: Typically, a small research is a usability test or concept test for minor changes. UXD would proceed to do themselves alone.

Providing ComprehensiveDocumentation

The playbook

Each Participants to the program were handed a Playbook containing the step by step UX research process that have been shown during the workshops.

The Welcome Deck

This deck introduces the program to the participants, the purpose of the program, what they can expect from the program and is expected from them.

The Centralizing Deck

This deck was created to serve as a centralized resource for program participants, bringing all materials together in one place. It includes templates and examples of successful studies, and also functions as a communication channel between participants and myself as the program facilitator.

Outcomes

Satisfaction & Attendance

  • Participants gave the program strong ratings, with 90% reporting they were either Very Satisfied or Satisfied.

  • Workshop attendance steadily increased, peaking during the tools training session, which achieved 100% participation.

Achievements

  • 6 studies were conducted by 12 participants.

  • Four out of six studies were successfully completed by participants in the program. A study was deemed complete when the participant delivered and shared their readout with relevant stakeholders.

Rewards

  • 12 participants were recognized and awarded during the quarterly meeting.

  • Each recipient received a My Moment to highlight and celebrate their success.