January 2026
It’s a familiar phenomenon in the world of product delivery. Deadlines start to loom, budgets get tighter, panic ensues and then, suddenly, you hear those fateful words: “We don’t have time to do user research”.
Cue the collective gasp of horror from every researcher and designer in the room.
Why teams fall into the trap
I wholeheartedly believe no-one makes cuts to their understanding of users as a first choice but, time and time again, I see “stop the research!” being used as a survival mechanism when things get tough. Teams look at what seems to take up too much of their precious (and often limited) time, and find ways to reduce it – or cut it altogether.
But here’s the thing: when delivery starts to get tough, and there’s no clear way forwards, that’s exactly when you need to “get going” to understand your users most. Because when you’re under pressure, you need to know which corners can safely be cut, and which ones will cause the whole thing to collapse. Without user insight to guide these decisions, you’re basically guessing.
What it looks like
- Short-term panic mode. Delivery gets perceived as spreadsheets, not stories. Research can look fluffy when compared to burn-down charts and release metrics.
- “We already know our users” Assumptions quietly creep in and take the wheel, leading you in the wrong direction, with a reassuring (yet false) sense of security.
- Speed theatre. Teams confuse activity for progress, favouring delivering anything over learning what truly needs to be delivered.
- Metrics myopia. When you’re being judged on velocity, empathy starts to feel like a luxury you could live without.
The result? A product team sprinting in the wrong direction, faster than ever.
I like to think of it as trying to save time on a road trip by ignoring your Sat Nav and sticking to the roads you know. You might get there faster… or you might end up in hours of traffic that you could’ve avoided if you’d just stuck to the original plan. Research helps you to avoid the traffic jams, potholes or unexpected fallen trees on the road, by looking ahead and telling you where you might go wrong.
The hidden cost
There’s no denying that user research takes time, and time is money. But you know what else costs money? Delivering a product that leads to limited (or no!) value, and wasting your already precious time on running down rabbit holes.
You might save a few weeks and a fair bit of money by abandoning research in the thick of it, but you’ll pay it back, with interest. Without that connection to real needs, products find a way of drifting. They meet the brief, but miss the point… and six months later, someone’s quietly funding a “Phase 2” to fix what should’ve been caught in Phase 1.
How you can climb any (research) mountain
In the immortal words of Billy Ocean… “I’m gonna make you stand and deliver [the things your users need]”. Even when things are tight, there are ways to keep users at the heart of your work, without compromising your timelines:
- Build in just enough user contact every sprint. This could be in the form of pop-up testing, quick interviews, or even five minutes with a real person over nothing at all.
- Keep insights alive in dashboards, walls, Slack threads – anywhere they can shape decisions. Personas or short, simple user needs can work really well for this.
- Continually revisit what you do know, and be honest about where you’re guessing. Even the simple act of calling out an assumption can help you to identify areas for quick, impactful research.
- Remind stakeholders that user-centred design isn’t about aesthetics. It’s about risk management. Remind them that the cost of not learning whether you’re pushing in the right direction is even greater than the cost of doing quick research.
Final thoughts
When the going gets tough, user insight is worth it’s weight in gold. Cutting user insight might make you look better this month, but it almost always costs more later – instead, try refining your approach and doing just enough research.
Remember, your user insights are your headlights. Turning them off doesn’t make the road ahead any clearer.
