UX Research Services
Research that replaces guessing with evidence.
Every engagement is built around one specific decision, not a generic process.
Know What To Build
Discovery Research
A clear picture of who you're building for and where the real opportunity is, before the roadmap.
- Real conversations, not a persona template
- Evidence, not the loudest voice in the room
- Proof for your next planning meeting
Find What's Broken
Journey Mapping
A research-based map of the end-to-end experience showing where it breaks and what to fix first.
- Built from what customers do, not what your team assumes
- One map, not five competing theories
- The exact moment things break, named
Get a Straight Answer
Market Validation
Validated assumptions and the confidence to move forward or pivot before you commit the budget.
- Real interviews, not another survey
- A straight answer on whether people will pay
- A go or no-go you can defend
Judgment, Not Headcount
Research Lead
25 years of senior research leadership, embedded part-time, shaping the roadmap as it's built.
- 25 years of judgment, not a junior learning on your dime
- A research practice that runs without you micromanaging it
- Fewer studies that just sit in a deck
How the work gets done
The methods behind every engagement
Every service on this page draws from the same core set of methods, sharpened over 25 years.
Contextual Inquiry & Field Research
Watching how people actually work, in repair shops, break rooms, and living rooms, not just in a conference room.
Customer & Stakeholder Interviews
Conversations built to get past the polite answer to the real one.
Usability & Concept Testing
Putting a real idea in front of real people before you've spent real money building it.
Surveys & Quantitative Validation
Confirming what interviews find actually holds at scale, not just in a small sample.
Workshop Facilitation
Running sessions that get a room to a real decision, not just whoever's loudest getting their way.
Service Design Research
Understanding how a service actually works today, and designing what it should look like next.
Where this work happens
Deep experience in a few specific places
Some industries I’ve worked in occasionally. A few, I’ve worked in enough times to actually know the terrain.
Automotive & Mobility
Years of ecosystem research across motorists, repair shops, and parts distributors for NAPA Auto Parts, including a three-phase project that became the foundation of a multi-year digital transformation program. I've also worked with AutoTrader.com, Amplify Analytics on dealer service marketing, and Passport on parking management.
Small Business-Serving Products
Twelve years on Sage’s small business accounting software, plus product work for Mailchimp, built specifically for small business owners.
Related: Atlanta Didn’t Build Enterprise Software →Enterprise SaaS & B2B Software
Engagements with Cox Communications, Dropbox, and HP: research for products already at scale, where the challenge isn't finding the idea, it's finding what's quietly not working for millions of existing users.
Healthcare
Research experience with Mayo Clinic for genomics test usability research, TOTO to study a connected toilet concept, and the National Arthritis Foundation.
Other industries I’ve worked in: financial services, consumer products, and workforce development. If your industry isn’t listed here, that’s worth a conversation, not a disqualifier.
Proof it works
A three-sided ecosystem, and no one had the full picture
A national auto parts supplier needed to understand a three-sided ecosystem: motorists, repair shops, and parts stores. Nobody had a clear picture of where the friction was or who felt it most, before committing to a multi-year transformation plan. Over nine months, I rode along with delivery drivers, interviewed technicians on shop floors, and visited parts stores and distribution centers across three states. That research became the foundation of the company’s multi-year digital transformation program.
“He digs until he finds the underlying insight that can genuinely shift a project's direction, and more often than not, it does.”
FAQ
How engagements work
How do engagements typically work?
Most start with a conversation about what you're trying to figure out. From there I scope an approach that fits your timeline and budget.
How is Discovery Research different from Journey Mapping?
Discovery Research is for something that doesn't exist yet: who are we building for and what do they need. Journey Mapping is for something live that isn't working: where is the experience breaking down and why. Teams often use both in sequence.
How does fractional research leadership differ from project work?
Project research delivers findings and hands them off. Fractional leadership is embedded and ongoing, with strategic oversight week over week, so research shapes the roadmap instead of just informing it.
Do you work with teams outside Atlanta?
Yes. Many clients are distributed across the US; I work remotely or on-site depending on what the engagement calls for.
How do I know if this is the right fit?
Usually one of three things: a major decision that needs a foundation of customer insight, research that isn't consistently influencing decisions, or the need to build a research practice without a full-time hire.
Let’s scope it
Ready to scope an engagement?
Most start with a short conversation about what you’re trying to figure out. From there I scope an approach that fits.