When Too Much Research Meant No Clear Direction

Mar 11

Context

A mid-stage SaaS team had spent months gathering user data (interviews, surveys, feedback loops) but they were stuck. Leadership was overwhelmed. Nothing was landing. They didn’t need more research. They needed clarity.

Role & Approach

I stepped in as a Principal UX Researcher to audit what they’d already collected. Instead of rerunning the same questions, I dug into what was missing between insights and action. What I found was a pattern: everything was true, but nothing was prioritized. The team was caught in a cycle of indecisiveness that no amount of new data could fill. The key to moving forward was verifying what was still valid and reconnecting it to the team’s business context.

Key Moves

Surfaced 3 critical user needs that were buried in lower-priority decks
Connected previous research to current roadmap goals in a single brief
Ran a short readout to reframe what “good enough” looked like

Outcomes

The team re-centered on a clear narrative, adjusted two feature priorities, and finally moved stalled initiatives into motion. The audit didn’t add noise. It helped them hear themselves again.