Atlanta builds great software. I make sure it’s built for the right customer.

Too many product teams make their biggest decisions on gut instinct, competitive pressure, or last quarter’s sales calls. That’s expensive guesswork. I replace it with research.

Schedule a conversation UX Research Atlanta

Based in Atlanta

Built for product teams that can’t afford to build the wrong thing.

I’m Matt Wallens, a fractional research lead with 25 years of experience. I work with product teams at mid-size companies and well-funded startups across Atlanta and nationally, helping them understand their customers before they commit to building the wrong thing.

Several of my clients are headquartered right here in Atlanta: Mailchimp, Cox Communications, Cardlytics, and NAPA among them. Atlanta’s tech landscape runs deep in FinTech, logistics, and B2B SaaS, and I’ve worked across all three, with the companies building it.

What I do

Research that replaces guessing with evidence.

For product teams

Discovery Research

Understand your users and market before you build.

Learn more → For founders

Market Validation

Pressure-test a new concept or market entry point before you commit.

Learn more → For operations leaders

Journey Mapping

Map the full customer experience to find where it breaks down.

Learn more → Fractional

Fractional Research Lead

Senior research leadership without the full-time overhead.

Learn more →

Atlanta’s UX research community

The largest UX research community in the Southeast.

In 2018 I founded UX Research Atlanta, a professional community of practitioners in the metro area.

Visit UX Research Atlanta →

Est. 2018

founded & led by Matt Wallens

A community for the curious

Recent Atlanta-area work

Mapping an entire automotive ecosystem before a dollar was committed.

Field research at an automotive parts ecosystem

NAPA, whose parent company is headquartered right here in Atlanta, needed to understand the full ecosystem of their business before committing to a multi-year digital transformation. I led a nine-month, three-phase research program mapping the experience of motorists, repair shops, and parts stores across three states.

The findings unified executive stakeholders across divisions for the first time and became the foundation for the transformation program.

See the full case study →

Let’s talk

Ready to stop guessing?

Most engagements start with a short, free conversation about what you’re trying to figure out.

Schedule a conversation

Atlanta-based, other places as needed