Untile Open Days: How UX research fuels business strategy & drives innovation

“No research without action, no action without research.” — Kevin Lewin

Untile Open Days are born from our commitment to deliver value in every initiative we set our minds and hearts into. As we glimpse into the future, it becomes crucial to show our ways of thinking and what guides us through new realities, emerging technologies and fleeting trends.

To kickoff the first Open Day, we set a roundtable to share thoughts and experiences on our most recent beloved topic: UX Research and Business: A Strategic Partnership. Because research practice is often neglected by organizations, but when it’s deeply integrated into product and business decisions, the impact is evident.

Once we officially incorporated UX and user research as a recurrent practice, our value perspective shifted completely and we couldn’t wait to share it with the community, first hand!

So, let’s dive into this impactful day, shall we?!

Insight of the day

If we had to describe this day in one insight, we would articulated it as:

“A room was full of tech professionals gathered to discuss UX research’s role in innovation, business alignment, and measurable success.”

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Data on our speakers

The roundtable featured:

Beatriz Teixeira (UX Researcher) – experience at Millennium, Itaú, and PagBank.

Joel Sadio (Innovation Consultant) – expertise in corporate innovation and product launches.

Andreia Pais da Cunha (Moderator) – digital product designer passionate about UXR.

Roundtable highlights

We believe the following quote states perfectly how our discussion went by:

“How do I explain what I do at a party? The short version is that I say I humanize technology.” — Fred Beecher

But let’s dive in a little more into the topics highlights:

UX research as a business enabler

Early-stage research is critical for de-risking innovation. Before development, businesses must validate whether an idea truly solves a user problem. When done correctly, UX research helps teams prioritize features, define product-market fit, and avoid costly pivots. Successful companies integrate research early on, rather than waiting for the launch phase, to build with confidence.

During our discussion, we emphasized how UX research drives innovation, particularly through frameworks like the Double Diamond, which helps turn assumptions into testable hypotheses. This makes research a foundational decision-making tool, not just a final usability check.

Bridging the gap between research and business goals

For UX research to have a real impact, it must be implemented from the start and align with business objectives. Insights should translate into actions and must be tied to key metrics, such as conversion rates, retention, and revenue. We can ensure this alignment with the Opportunity Solution Trees (OST) approach, connecting research findings to business goals, helping teams focus on high-impact opportunities rather than chasing vague “innovative” ideas.

During our discussion, someone asked whether we can create needs or only identify them. The answer it’s both yes and no. We don’t create needs from scratch, but we can uncover intrinsic needs and develop solutions that evolve into new user expectations. By incorporating continuous discovery as an operational mindset, we enable businesses to foresee customer needs and market shifts.

Overcoming common challenges

Limited budgets, stakeholder skepticism, and fast-paced product cycles often make it difficult to integrate research effectively. Our discussion highlighted strategies to tackle these barriers, including strong storytelling, quick wins, and close collaboration with leadership.

When to conduct UX research to boost revenue

UX research is still viewed as an optional step, but it drives revenue by optimizing experiences that convert and retain users. Its impact on customer acquisition, retention, and lifetime value is undeniable and it should be embedded in critical moments:

• Pre-launch: Validating demand and usability before development.
• Post-launch: Measuring adoption and identifying barriers to engagement.
• Scaling phase: Understanding retention drivers and uncovering new opportunities.

Measuring the Impact of UX Research

A recurring challenge for UX researchers is demonstrating ROI. While qualitative insights are invaluable, pairing them with quantitative metrics—such as engagement levels, NPS, and revenue impact—makes the business case stronger. When research directly influences product and service decisions, its value becomes undeniable.

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Our takeaways

Our takeaways? We can definitely say, we came out with fresh perspectives, more knowledge on actionable insights, and a renewed commitment on turning research into an influence on strategic business decisions. Because UX research isn’t just about making products user-friendly — it’s about making innovation work. The most successful organizations embed UX research, continuous discovery, and experimentation into their core processes, ensuring that every new initiative is grounded in real user insights and business value.

Companies make better data-driven decisions by incorporating customer knowledge earlier in the product development lifecycle. Research is most impactful when it builds a deep understanding of customer needs, driving business decisions about what to build, and that’s when the magic happens and companies see significant ROI in terms of product-market fit and revenue growth.

This reinforces a key theme of our conversation: UX research is not just about understanding existing behaviors — it’s about anticipating shifts in user needs and shaping the future of products and services.

Here’s our short breakdown:

• Conduct continuous research, not isolated studies.
• Evangelize research findings within organizations to drive action.
• Own research as a primary task and get quick small insights that make a major impact.
• Turn insights into action by aligning findings with business goals.
• Involve stakeholders early to foster buy-in and ensure research has a real impact.
• Combine qualitative and quantitative data to create a complete picture of user needs.
• Create a culture of experimentation, where research fuels innovation and adaptability.

How to elevate your approach

As we integrate this practice deep into our processes, we’re following the path of continuous research learning, and we want to share with you some tools, advice and books that might help us make an impact together.

Anticipate requests, because waiting means we’re already falling behind. Instead, we must expect what decisions are coming up and proactively pitch research studies tied to business goals, align research to metrics these stakeholders care about like: revenue, retention and risk.

Chase for opportunities, gain real-buy and ask the right questions. Start by simply shifting the question from “what do you need?” to “here’s what we should study" leading to critical insights that are impossible to ignore. Position research as a business advantage, turn a reactive service into a proactive and strategic role.

Drive action with data, when it’s time to move from research to execution, Alberto Savoia’s "Build the Right It" whose framework is invaluable. By designing lean, high-impact experiments, we test whether a solution has real demand before scaling development. This reduces wasted resources and ensures teams build solutions with proven market fit.

Turn research into a on-going function, taking the lead of another great approach by Teresa Torres book “Continuous Discovery” — making sure UX research isn’t a one-off activity but a weekly habit. By continuously testing ideas, gathering insights, and refining solutions, teams stay aligned with real user needs instead of relying on internal opinions.

"If you do user research well, you will always find something surprising. No matter how much research we do or how much time we spend with our customers, we can’t completely know them." – Teresa Torres

Wrap up

“Research has been called good business, a necessity, a gamble, a game. It is none of these — it’s a state of mind.” — Martin H. Fisher

This roundtable reinforced the importance of UX Research as a business driver, not just a usability function. As organizations continue to mature their research practices, fostering a strong connection between UX and business strategy will be crucial in delivering user-centered and commercially impactful products.

The power of UX Research lies in its ability to reduce uncertainty, align teams, and create products that truly resonate with users. As businesses become more user-centric, research will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of digital experiences.

Looking ahead, we aim to continue these conversations, exploring other topics in more depth.

In the meantime don’t forget that UX research drives action when it’s accessible, connected, and an influence. Remember to shift your mindset towards the problem, not the solution.

Until our next Open Day!  Stay connected :)

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Recommended reading

Lastly, we couldn’t say goodbye without leaving you some recommendations, or we wouldn’t be pro research, would we?!

To take a pick on the following reading materials:

• “Continuous Discovery Habits”, by Teresa Torres, with a focus on integrating continuous research into product teams.
• “Build It Right”, by Alberto Savoia which touches on ideas validation before investing in full development.
• “Just Enough Research”, by Erika Hall, a quick reading on practical approaches to research, even in fast-paced environments.
• “Impact”, by Nikki Anderson, as an easy and friendly guide on creating a user research practice at organizations.

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