Igloo Software • 5 min
Turning scattered feedback into a scalable UX research program
Confidentiality notice
This work reflects my time at Igloo Software. Specific customer data and internal details have been generalized to focus on platform strategy, system design, and UX leadership outcomes.
Challenge
Established a structured UX research program to uncover real-world behaviours, validate assumptions, and connect product decisions directly to user needs.
Strategy
We built Lighthouse, a structured UX research program designed to generate consistent insight across customers and translate it into product direction.
Through guided workshops, we captured user goals, challenges, and workflows in a repeatable format, then synthesized patterns across participants to identify shared needs and priorities.
Results
Established a structured UX research program to uncover real-world behaviours, validate assumptions, and connect product decisions directly to user needs.
Challenge
From fragmented feedback to real understanding
When I joined the team, product direction was heavily influenced by second-hand feedback from sales, support, and internal stakeholders.
While valuable, this input was inconsistent, often anecdotal, and difficult to validate. Teams were making decisions without a clear understanding of how customers were actually using the product or where it was breaking down.
As the platform grew more complex, this gap became more visible. We weren’t lacking feedback—we were lacking clarity.
Without a structured way to gather and interpret user insight, it was difficult to identify real patterns, align teams, or confidently prioritize what to build next.
Before: Fragmented, inconsistent, and difficult to navigate at scale.
Strategy
Building a system for insight,
not just research
I led the creation of Lighthouse, a structured UX research program designed to generate consistent, actionable insight across customers.
We replaced ad hoc interviews with guided workshops that captured user goals, challenges, and workflows in a repeatable format. This allowed us to synthesize patterns across participants, validate priorities, and distinguish systemic issues from isolated feedback.
Insights were documented and shared in a consistent way, creating a growing body of knowledge that teams could reference and build on.
To ensure impact, we worked closely with Product and Engineering to connect findings directly to roadmap decisions—shifting the organization from reacting to feedback to aligning around validated user needs.
Before: Fragmented, inconsistent, and difficult to navigate at scale.
User insights
Clear patterns across customers
Complexity slowed adoption
Users relied on trial-and-error to structure content and workflows
Time-to-value was too long
Setting up and maintaining digital workplaces required significant effortContent organization was unclear
Users struggled to structure information in ways that made sense for their teamsEase of use was expected
Simpler, more guided experiences were consistently requested
These patterns appeared across sessions, confirming systemic issues rather than isolated feedback.
After: Consistent, scalable, and built on a shared system.
Results
Establishing a scalable foundation for the next generation platform
Lighthouse created a repeatable system for understanding users across the organization.
After: Consistent, scalable, and built on a shared system.
Customers engaged
5+
Engaged multiple enterprise customers across industries to identify shared patterns and validate insights
Workshops done
25+
Facilitated structured research sessions to capture user goals, challenges, and workflows
Decision making
100%
Replaced fragmented feedback with a consistent, repeatable approach and insight
Lessons
Scaling insight requires enabling the organization
Building a UX research program is not just about running studies. It is about enabling teams to consistently gather and apply insight.
Teams need the tools and structure to conduct research, not rely on a single function
Introducing UXR requires shifting how the business understands and values user insight
Real user behaviour should redefine personas, not validate them
Igloo Software • 5 min
Igloo Software • 7 min