The cost of skipping UX research (and how to make sure it doesn’t happen)
“My stakeholders think research is a waste of time. They’d rather ‘just build it’ and see what happens.”
👋 Hey, Miranda here! Hope you’re surviving another week.
Today, I want to share one of the biggest challenges designers face in low UX maturity organizations: convincing stakeholders that research is worth the time and effort.
A designer in our community recently shared this frustration:
“My stakeholders think research is a waste of time. They’d rather ‘just build it’ and see what happens.”
Sound familiar? If you’ve ever tried to push for usability testing or discovery research only to hear, “We don’t have time for that,” you’re not alone.
Let me tell you what I’ve seen work in my many years in this field—and how you can start changing minds too.
The "Too Late" Research Regret
Not that long ago, a designer I was mentoring was working on a product team that was excited about a new feature idea. The stakeholders wanted to move fast—no time for research, just ship it.
Three weeks of development later, the feature launched. And then… crickets. Hardly anyone used it.
Turns out, if they had run just one week of usability testing, they would have realized that users didn’t actually need this feature in the first place.
Instead, they wasted engineering time, lost credibility with leadership, and had to scramble to fix a problem that could have been prevented.
So how do you get stakeholders to see research
as a time-saver instead of a time-waster?
1. Speak Their Language (ROI, Not UX)
When stakeholders push back, it’s usually because they don’t see the value in research. So don’t frame it as “good UX”—frame it as risk reduction.
❌ "We need to do usability testing to ensure a good experience."
✅ "Spending one week on usability testing could confirm whether our assumptions are correct—before we invest three weeks of dev time building something that might not work as expected."
Business leaders care about efficiency and cost. Show them how research reduces wasted work.
Food for Thought: Let's do some quick math. A developer’s salary averages around $70,000 per year. That’s roughly $35 per hour. If a feature takes three weeks to build, with a team of three developers working 40-hour weeks, that’s $12,600 in development costs alone—without considering the cost of fixing or scrapping the feature later. Now compare that to running a usability test with five users, which can cost as little as $200. Which sounds like the better investment?
2. Start Small and Show Quick Wins
If your org resists research, don’t start with a massive study. Instead, sneak in fast, lightweight research that proves its value.
For example:
Run a quick 5-person usability test and share the most eye-opening findings.
Ask customer support what the top 3 complaints are and present that as "informal research."
A/B test a small change and show how data-driven design leads to better outcomes.
Once stakeholders see research leading to better decisions, they’ll be more open to doing it again.
3. Reframe Research as Insurance
If a stakeholder insists research isn’t needed, flip the script:
🚩 We don’t have time for research—we need to launch now!
You: I get that speed is important. But taking one week for testing could save us three weeks of rework later if we discover a problem post-launch.
🚩 We can just fix any issues after launch.
You: That’s an option, but fixing a problem in production is much more expensive than catching it early. Wouldn’t it be better to prevent costly mistakes upfront?
or
You: If you give me time to run this through testing, I can provide you with more confidence about the direction so we can prevent or minimise any rework needed.
💪 Don’t be afraid to reference previous projects that had negative results post- launch!
When framed as an insurance policy against bad decisions,
research suddenly feels like the safer choice.
Know When to Walk Away
Not every battle can be won. If leadership refuses to see the value of research no matter what, you might be in an environment where design is simply seen as decoration, not strategy. And in that case, you need to decide if this is a place where you can grow (usually it’s not).
I Challenge You
Step 1: Identify one upcoming project where research could prevent wasted effort. Step 2: Frame the research request in terms of time and cost savings, not UX.
Step 3: Run a small, quick research effort and share the impact.
Even if you face resistance at first, persistence and small wins can start shifting how your organization sees research.
💬 What’s your biggest win selling research? What’s been your biggest pushback from stakeholders? Comment and let me know—I’d love to hear your experiences!
P.S. A few more ways I can help you
I’ve created quite a few resources for UXers, take a look.
Bring your burning product & UX design questions over to one of my regular Live AMAs and get my professional advice on the spot.
Follow me on Tiktok or Instagram for critiques, advice, & how-to's focused on helping you grow in your career and land a job in this difficult market.
Join me over on LinkedIn for personal experience stories and targeted tips for experienced designers