Anna A and Amanda G

Cohort 2

Cohort 3

March 30, 2025 Weekends - Cohort 6

Jan 28th, 2025 lunchtime - Cohort 5

January 2025 - Weekends

Cohort 1

Advance your career and drive strategic impact by tapping into the participants no one talks about, your cross-functional partners.

Amanda Gelb

Principal Researcher

Anna Avrekh

Senior UX Research Manager

How to Uplevel Stakeholder Management for User Researchers

User Experience Researcher

Staff Researcher

UX Researcher

User researcher

Adjunct Professor, Interaction Design 

Senior Experience Researcher

UX Researcher 

Sr. UX Researcher

Here's the thing, your research doesn’t matter if your stakeholders are skeptical. Sure they hired you to conduct research, but that doesn't mean they're bought in. Do you find yourself stuck in a loop of canceled stakeholder meetings and disregarded research? Are you constantly running from one stakeholder request to "run a survey” to another? We've heard it all. So many people come to us frustrated, asking for help because yet again they... ... did user research that went nowhere ... fulfilled stakeholder’s asks only to be told “that’s not helpful” ... lack a seat at the decision-making table And that's where we come in! We believe that choosing the right method to answer stakeholder questions is what makes for impact and success, but it’s really about learning your stakeholders and their concerns that gets you there. ﻿This is not something that gets taught in boot camps or most UXR master programs. This course aims to empower you with the tools you need to lead your stakeholders along the journey of discovery and obtain buy-in, position yourself like an expert, push back with confidence, and “sell” a new approach. We'll help you: * treat your stakeholders like research participants* cut through the research request noise* obtain buy-in from the start* use your precious time well* make sure your stakeholders take your fabulous research and actually use it* position yourself as a trusted partner and expert with key decision makers We'll do this with: * an immediately actionable and applicable template for success* stories of our own experiences and learnings* a toolbox of our favorite tricks and tips* engaging roleplaying and put-it-into-practice activities

Research Smarter, Not Harder: Become a real partner and get your research heard

Course syllabus

Formal presentations and engaging activities

Tuesdays & Thursdays

Actionable and immediately applicable lessons to practice between class sessions.

Weekly projects

Optional time to chat about any course content, homework, or things that are coming up for you at work. Offered on Wednesday and Fridays for the weeks the course runs.

[Optional] AMAs // Office hours 

Course schedule

Junior and mid-career user researchers who want to accelerate their career with stellar stakeholder management skills

Researchers looking to move from being a ticket-taker to becoming a trusted partner for your design, PM, and Eng stakeholders

Researchers who struggle with being stuck in an endless loop of low-impact prototype evaluation research

Current or past academic researchers who want to succeed in the industry

Who is this course for

What you’ll get out of this course

How to distinguish which research requests&nbsp;truly have the time commitment and support behind them, so you can do your best work and not run after stakeholders.

Framework for zeroing in on the most impactful research you can do now

How to say a nuanced yes to incoming research requests so you can focus on the research that matters. You’ll leave with a script and actionable set of questions to speak up and the confidence to do so respectfully.&nbsp;

Push back on unreasonable requests with confidence

Never execute irrelevant research again. You will learn to treat your stakeholders like research participants with a set of actionable questions you can use anytime.

Get to the bottom of each stakeholder request

Learn how to move from a ticket-taker to a true collaborator

Become a true partner to your stakeholders

What Stakeholders Really Want (And How to Find Out)

Founder & Principal, Aha Studio (ex-Asana, Lyft, Google, HUGE)

Senior UX Research Manager, Zillow (ex-Google, Betterment, Compass, Meta)

How to uncover stakeholders’ true goals, motivations, and concerns through strategic questioning.

Strategic questions to drive clarity

Techniques to decode unspoken priorities and avoid misalignment.

Uncover hidden priorities

How to position your research to address their biggest questions and challenges.

Learn directly from Anna A and Amanda G

Anna A and Amanda G

Courses

How to Uplevel Stakeholder Management for User Researchers

Lightning Lessons

What Stakeholders Really Want (And How to Find Out)