Do you need a UX research intake form?
UX research intake forms: When they work and when they don’t
Many UX teams find it challenging to handle incoming user research requests while prioritizing and completing projects with limited resources. To address these difficulties, some teams introduce UX research intake forms, but they are just one of many possible solutions. Misapplied, intake forms can create unnecessary friction or fail to deliver desired results. Whether or not a request form is the right solution for their practice will depend on many factors.
In this article, we will explore scenarios where using an intake form can increase a UXR team’s efficiency and situations where it is less likely to be a viable solution. UX researchers can use this guidance to determine the most suitable approach for their team and plan accordingly.
What are UX research intake forms?
UX teams use intake forms to manage requests for user research within their organization. Typically, they are online forms shared with stakeholders who request user research. These forms collect information like project name, background, research questions, and relevant user groups that help a UX team quickly understand the stakeholder’s context and objectives. They provide a structured method for collecting the information a team needs to understand, plan, and prioritize research efforts.
Beyond helping collect the information UX teams need to wrap their heads around research requests, intake forms also help build a research backlog — potential research efforts your team could be working on that aren’t ongoing or scheduled. By using intake forms, UX teams hope to achieve benefits including:
Operational efficiency - In theory, an intake form should simplify the process of requesting UX research services and reduce the need for time-wasting back-and-forth communication by collecting all the essential information upfront.
Roadmap prioritization - Generating a backlog of user research needs can provide a UX team with a starting point for building a flexible roadmap.
Standardization, Consistency, and Transparency - By providing a standardized intake process, a form promotes consistency in how research needs are articulated by stakeholders and evaluated by UX researchers. It also creates documentation that can be an important aspect of providing visibility into how research priorities are set.
Intake forms are not a one-size-fits-all approach. Many factors will impact whether or not a UX research practice will achieve the intended benefits of using an intake form. To decide whether an intake form suits your team’s needs, let’s review the contexts where they are most beneficial and where they might be less useful.
When to use a UX research intake form
Generally speaking, intake forms may be more effective for teams with these characteristics:
Centralized team models - In a centralized model, all UX professionals work within a unified team that ultimately reports to a single UX manager or executive. Teams in this model work on an as-needed basis, managing projects from various departments across the organization. Intake forms provide a valuable centralized location for stakeholders to submit their requests.
A diagram of a centralized UX group - Nielsen Norman Group Stakeholders proactively request user research - The most important factor in determining whether introducing an intake form will be successful is whether stakeholders are already asking for user research. If they aren’t currently making requests, introducing a form is unlikely to change that behavior.
There is a surplus of research needs - Many mature UX teams have more research requests than available resources to execute them. In this context, roadmapping is crucial for triaging which projects to prioritize and which to defer. An intake form helps create a centralized backlog of research needs that can be reviewed and prioritized.
Increased standardization is desired - Some teams aim to make their UX research practices more consistent, so they introduce standardization to their processes. If this is the case in your UX org, a request form can be a part of standardizing the earliest stages of the research process by ensuring that all research needs are articulated and assessed in the same format.
Stakeholders have some baseline research literacy - Finally, you’ll want to consider if the stakeholders who engage with UX research can articulate their needs. Filling out an intake form requires basic familiarity with research. If your stakeholders understand research concepts, they can likely complete the form independently.
After reviewing the considerations above, you might feel that an intake form is a good fit for your team, in which case your next step should be deciding how to build it. We will cover this more in an article next month.
When to skip a UX research intake form
On the other hand, introducing an intake form might not deliver the intended results in situations like these:
Embedded team models - Where intake forms make sense for centralized UX teams, they might not be necessary for embedded teams. In an embedded UX organization, UX staff are distributed within specific product teams. Any given UX researcher or designer will consistently work on the same product, with the same developers, project managers, and product owners. In these instances, informal ongoing communication or specific review meetings often replace the need for formal research requests.
Nobody directly asks for user research - It should be said again, that if stakeholders don’t proactively ask for user research, an intake form won’t be a viable method for creating a backlog of requests. In these situations, UXR should take a more proactive role in identifying areas where research is needed.
When stakeholders need extra support to define research needs - Teams unfamiliar with UXR might find forms intimidating or confusing, leading to poorly defined or no requests at all. In these situations, a more collaborative and direct approach is generally more effective. You might consider holding live meetings with stakeholders to walk through the process of articulating their research needs together.
A culture that strongly resists formal process - You might work in an anti-bureaucracy — a workplace that values speed and flexibility over process, common in early-stage companies. In companies like this, any added process might be perceived as a blocker. Consider whether introducing an intake form will face resistance and hinder research efforts.
Research plans face frequent pivots - If you find that your research plans and priorities are constantly changing, introducing an intake form might add unnecessary workload, requiring constant change to form submissions to stay current with shifting goals. Before implementing a request form, determine why plans change so frequently and consider process improvements and change management to reduce the need for rework in the planning stages.
If you determine that an intake form isn’t the right fit for your current situation, there are alternative means for building your organization’s research backlog. These include documenting future study ideas at the close-out of every project, keeping up regular check-ins with key partners to uncover potential research gaps, and actively participating in planning sessions to identify research opportunities for upcoming releases. Additionally, you might consider hosting research office hours for stakeholders to discuss their needs or reviewing product analytics, support tickets, and customer reviews to uncover pain points and spot areas where further research may be needed. Ultimately, a combination of these methods is usually more effective than relying on just one.
The bottom line
A UX research intake form can be a valuable tool for collecting and managing research requests across an organization, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. There are a variety of context-dependent factors that will determine how effective a request form will be for a given team. Alternatives like stakeholder meetings, project closeout procedures, regular check-ins, or even office hours can also help UX teams document research needs.
Evaluate your team’s current situation against the set of considerations above. If you feel an intake form could work, start by designing a simple version for a pilot period and iterate based on feedback and observations. If intake forms don’t fit your needs, there are plenty of other methods for capturing your user research backlog. Regardless of whether you use an intake form, using a combination of these methods will yield the most comprehensive results.
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Depth is produced by Drill Bit Labs, a leading research and digital strategy consulting firm working side-by-side with UX and product design leaders to elevate their digital strategy, delight their users, and outperform business goals.
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